State Sen. Kevin Daley on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment to withhold pay from lawmakers and the governor if a state budget is not passed in time for the annual budget deadline.
“This is a very simple measure. It says — quite plainly — that if we don’t do our job, then we don’t get paid,” said Daley, R-Lum, during remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, adding that “[p]assing an annual budget is the most basic responsibility of the Legislature,” and that “families, schools and our local communities are counting on us to deliver.”
State Senator Daley represents Michigan’s 26th Senate District, which represents Genesee, Lapeer, Saginaw, and Tuscola counties.
Senate Joint Resolution E would amend the state constitution to prescribe the withholding of paychecks from legislators and the governor if the July 1 budget deadline is missed until a balanced state budget is passed and signed into law.
“In the real world, you don’t get paid if you don’t do your job. It should be no different in the state Capitol,” Daley said, noting that “It’s time to hold ourselves accountable. It’s time to pass a budget.”
Lawmakers have less than a month before the state’s fiscal year begins on October 1. Together with a $21.9 billion education plan passed by the House earlier this year, House Republicans have put forward a roughly $78.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That budget was passed to the state senate for approval on Tuesday, August 26.
