Whitmer has given up pay, more than $1,000 for six days, matching what most state employees are required to take as furlough days.

Also sacrificing more than $1,000, state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township, said the money given up by legislators might not be enough to save the state budget, but the example set is more important.

“This goes way beyond the notion of the dollars,” he said. “This is showing by example that the legislators are in touch with the people and joining them in the problems that our people have with our economy.”

Other lawmakers are donating a portion of their salaries to local charities, as opposed to writing a check to the state.

State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, is reducing his salary by 15 percent after giving thousands of dollars to charitable organizations.

“(I did this) rather than turn my money back into the state,” he said. “There’s no guarantee that money gets appropriated and gets used in my district.”

Meadows holds a program to honor high school students in the community, giving about $3,600 a year.

He also donated $7,000 to organizations in the community focusing on the homeless and hungry and raised $20,000.

State Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, is giving six days worth of pay to charities instead of the state to show his disagreement on the pending lease for the new Michigan State Police headquarters.

“I refuse to give money to be wasted,” he said. “At least I know the money being given … is doing good for the people in my community.”

Jones said if the lease were terminated, he would voluntarily give another six days of salary to the state treasury.

Since 2003, state Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Fawn River Township, has voluntarily given up a portion of his salary, something he said is a personal decision and a good-faith gesture.

“It’s not something you trumpet from the rooftops,” he said.

Because other state employees are making sacrifices by taking mandatory furlough days, state Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, has cut more than $1,000 from her salary.

“I have literally thousands of constituents that are state employees, so I’m especially sensitive to this issue,” she said. “I guess I just felt is was the right thing to do.”

Some students said lawmakers have the opportunity to make an impact in the state, but cutting their salaries might not be enough.

“I don’t know if they’re doing enough,” family and child ecology senior Rebecca Parmet said. “I think there’s always more that could be done.”

The recent actions taken by state lawmakers only represent one step toward tackling the state’s issues, said state Sen. Jud Gilbert, R-Algonac.

“Even if all the senators did it, it’s a small part of the budget problem,” he said. “This is a very small part of what needs to be done.”