“There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the way the issues have been handled by the Legislature and for good reason,” said Charles Ballard, an MSU professor of economics.

With Michigan facing a $1.75 billion shortfall and the start of the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, the state risks a government shutdown if a solution is not reached in time.

For some citizens, however, the state Legislature, no matter what partisan affiliation, has been dragging its feet and putting many lives at risk.

“I’m very concerned the public is losing faith in their Legislature,” said Dan Farough, executive director of Progress Michigan, an organization that works to hold public officials accountable for their actions or lack thereof. “(Legislators’) job is to solve the fiscal crisis and they have continually failed to do so.”

Progress Michigan has organized a petition to force the state to withhold state representatives and senators’ pay until a budget is reached. The petition is expected to reach about 100,000 families.