The House and Senate appropriation committees were split on Gov. Jennifer Granholm's budget proposal Thursday, with the House group approving the budget and the senators rejecting it.
The House passed a version of the executive order that holds off Granholm's proposed $30 million cut to higher education until August to see if more money is available to the state. It also eliminates a proposed $3.3 million cut for the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and $6.7 million from the MSU Cooperative Extension Service.
If there is not enough money available in August, the higher education cuts still could be made.
The House and Senate must pass the governor's budget before it can be put into place for the 2006 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Matt Resch, spokesman for Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, said the House Appropriations Committee worked with Granholm to resolve the issue of higher education cuts, which is reflected in the changes made to the budget.
"It was a very creative solution to a difficult problem," Resch said.
Ari Adler, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said waiting to cut higher education funding still could hurt universities.
He said Senate Republicans were concerned the $30 million cut violated an agreement Granholm made with the universities that she wouldn't cut funding if they kept tuition at or below the rate of inflation - currently about 2.9 percent.
"It doesn't resolve the problem of breaking the promise," Adler said. "When we said we will not cut your funding, there wasn't an asterisk after it.
"It didn't say, 'Unless there's no money available.'"
MSU Extension officials are waiting to see what the Legislature passes before making any major decisions. The extension service has an office in every county in Michigan and offers a variety of programs to the public, including family budgeting and nutrition education.
"Certainly we look at that as a positive sign for both the extension service and the experiment station, but it isn't reality," said Margaret Bethel, director of MSU Cooperative Extension. "The House took that action, but it wasn't official."
But Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the Senate acted "fiscally irresponsible" Thursday by rejecting the governor's budget.
"Perhaps the state Senate needs to spend the next week studying the agreement we made with the House and realize what a great deal it is," Boyd said. "People need to ask the question, 'Where is the state Senate?'"
Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, said he voted to reject Granholm's executive order because he wanted to see the House's changes before he approved it. He wants to wait until a new executive order has been released.
But Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said the delay caused by the rejection is slowing the process down.
"At this point I would say the Senate leadership is obstructing the process and not working with the governor to put our fiscal house in order," Whitmer said.
Although the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, Adler said the two legislative bodies will work together with Granholm, who has 30 days to issue a new executive order.
"There's a House and a Senate and they don't always agree, and that's OK," Adler said. "We have pledged to work together, and I'm certain we will continue to do so."
Staff writer Margaret Harding contributed to this report. Rebecca McNulty can be reached at mcnult13@msu.edu.
