State Rep. Cam Cavitt on Thursday voted for a plan, House Joint Resolution M, that would suspend legislator pay if a state budget is not signed into law by the statutory July 1 deadline.

“The deadline to pass a state budget was nearly a month ago now, and I’ll never forget sitting at my desk and looking out the window to see members of the Michigan Senate walking to their cars just after five on the July 1 deadline,” said Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. “House Republicans were in Lansing, ready to get a bipartisan deal done for the people. Passing a state budget is our most important job as legislators. Yet, state senators still threw up their hands and gave up. Instead, those same Senators are still collecting fat government checks while schools and critical services are put increasingly at risk for next year with every passing day. I bet a state budget would get done real quick if someone put a stop payment on those checks.”

The proposal to withhold lawmaker pay would require an amendment to the Michigan Constitution, which requires two-thirds support in both the state House and Senate. The measure failed to meet that mark in the House due to a lack of Democrat support.

“How House Democrats can honestly vote against this measure is beyond me,” Cavitt said. “We may not agree on the details, but we’ve all been talking about how important getting a budget done is for months now. The truth is, the Michigan Senate is sitting on its hands while the House – Republicans, and I thought Democrats – are ready to get something done. Apparently, the urgency for House Democrats was entirely political. Because this was their chance to show they actually wanted to secure final a budget on time – not just this year, but every year – and they entirely swung and missed.”

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