By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-861439.mp3
LANSING, MI – At the state Capitol, legislative leaders hope this is the week they seal a budget deal, and send it to Governor Granholm. The deadline for wrapping up the budget is now nine days away.
Lawmakers spent the weekend trying to find a consensus on at least one-point-two (b) billion dollars in cuts.
Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop agreed that would be the next step in the negotiations. That's opened Dillon to criticism by more liberal lawmakers and his political adversaries of selling out key Democratic positions on health care, education, and local services. But Dillon says protecting those priorities is still his end game.
"But we're going to continue to fight to fund Medicaid, and to fund the scholarships, to fund K-12, early ed, to fund police and fire, so the fight's not over," Dillon says.
Dillon and Bishop say they want to send a budget to Governor Granholm by Friday. She's hinted there could be vetoes if the cuts go too deep.