“It’s a simple balance sheet,” said Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, who introduced the resolution.

But not all legislators agree the resolution is effective since it includes no punishments for missing the June 1 deadline.

“It doesn’t matter what they say. As long as there are no sanctions, the budget deadline is Oct. 1,” said Sen. Martha Scott, D-Highland Park.

An annual May revenue conference determines how much money each budget department would be given during the next fiscal year.

With the latest resolution, legislators would have to propose how much money would be spent in each department and how any additional spending would be raised.

“If you want to spend $42 million, and the revenue says $40 million, you would have to list where the other $2 million came from,” George said.

Historically, the budget process was passed during the summer, even though the deadline is Oct. 1. But in 2007, the state government was shut down for several hours after state leaders missed that deadline.

When the budget process extends into October, universities cannot plan ahead for funding cuts before beginning the school year, said Sen. Michael Switalski, D-Roseville.

“If we wait until October, they are well into their school year,” he said.

Setting earlier goals for budget proposals helps everyone plan ahead, George said.

“It’s good for local governments, for MSU, for the city of East Lansing to know what’s coming,” he said.

The resolution establishes and clarifies the Legislature’s duties, George said.

“The power of it would be in having it in the book so everyone would know,” he said.

But Michigan has a clear budget process compared to those of most states, MSU political science assistant professor Matt Grossmann said.

“We already have a pretty professionalized way of looking at revenue coming in and budget forecasting,” Grossmann said.

And during an economic crisis, budget planning takes longer because cuts are harder to make, said state Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing.

“There’s really no money, period,” he said. “It makes the task that much more difficult because it’s not a question of reducing money in any of these programs, it’s a question of who lives and who dies.”

The resolution is in line to be voted on by the House, and, until the vote, it has no effect on the budget process, said Megan Brown, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“Unless the House approves it, it doesn’t have an impact,” Brown said.