Budget dispute forces Michigan to shut down

There's trouble in the Great Lakes State:

Michigan’s state government partially shut down early Monday with no budget deal in place for the new fiscal year.

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm was still awaiting key votes in the Republican-controlled Senate after 12:01 a.m., the deadline for approving a state budget. The state has no authority to spend money without a budget in place.

Parts of a temporary budget fix that would have avoided a shutdown were approved Sunday, but lawmakers at midnight were still scrambling to reach a deal on tax increases to help plug a $1.75 billion deficit.

The crew at MichiganLiberal have been providing continuous updates on the status of legislation inside the statehouse.

As of 10:12 PM, the latest thread begins as follows:

Well, here we go. Michigan's first government shutdown/payless payday in 48 years...brought to you by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and his Senate Republican colleagues.

According to a previous update:

We already know that some programs have already shutdown. They include preschool for at-risk kids, and certain programs with various state departments (i.e. the Dept. of Ag. emergency hotline). Now, I understand that already they've started shutting down senior citizen Meals on Wheels programs and home winterization programs (thank global warming this will become progressively less important).

This is low, low, low. This is more than just about people getting a tin foil plate of food once a day. For some of these folks, this is crucial social interaction, and the volunteers who drive these meals in many ways keep these shut-ins alive (they provide a necessary human connection, and also do things like make necessary calls to 911 for seniors in need who have no one else). This could be the most awful thing I've heard in connection to a government shutdown.

In order to close the gap and fund the budget, contentious revenue increases are needed, and that is apparently why no budget has been passed yet.