Last week, we saw a flurry of voting at the State Capitol as lawmakers put together the next state budget, which is expected to total about $48 billion.
The Republican controlled State House approved spending for schools and colleges as well as a budget to fund the rest of state government.
The State Senate, also controlled by Republicans, approved about half of its budget plan with more votes scheduled this week.
The votes set the stage for negotiations between the two chambers in May.
The goal in Lansing is to get the budget complete by June 1st, although the new fiscal year doesn’t really begin until October 1st.
There have been some key issues focused around the state budget.
The Governor says he wants more than a billion dollars annually more in funding for roads and bridges, but there has been a lot of debate over where the funding should come from.
Republicans in the Legislature and Governor Snyder are also running into some trouble over the issue of expanding Medicaid funding and the state's "Rainy Day Fund."
Chad Livengood, Lansing reporter for The Detroit News, and Chris Gautz, Capitol Correspondent for Crain’s Detroit Business, joined us today to break down the proposed budget plan.
