North Michigan News

State Rep. Parker Fairbairn voted in favor of House Joint Resolution M, a measure that would suspend pay for state legislators if the annual budget is not passed by the July 1 deadline. The proposal aims to ensure lawmakers meet their statutory responsibility to approve the state budget on time.

“When state lawmakers miss the July 1 deadline for passing a budget, every facet of our state is put at risk,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “Schools, local municipalities, corrections officers, state agencies, and many others need us to do our most important job – passing a budget – in order to have the information they need to prepare their own. If any of those officials – superintendents, department directors, law enforcement, or others – fail to finalize a budget, they wouldn’t just lose their pay, they’d be fired. The fact that lawmakers can skirt their constitutional duties and still collect their checks is absurd.”

The resolution calls for an amendment to the Michigan Constitution and requires approval from two-thirds of both legislative chambers before it could move forward. However, it did not pass in the House due to insufficient support from Democratic members.