Over the past three years, this situation has arisen
in two Midwestern states, and it came within hours of occurring this
fall in a third.
In most cases, based on statutory or constitutional
language requiring that appropriations be authorized by the
legislature, some type of government shutdown occurs when the fiscal
year or biennium begins without a budget agreement in place (the
extent of the shutdown often is decided by the executive branch
and/or the courts).
The lone exception in the Midwest is Wisconsin.
There, state government continues to operate at previously
authorized levels of appropriations. While this law eliminates the
chances of a government shutdown, it also removes an incentive for
getting a budget deal done.
During its first few months of the new biennium,
which began July 1, Wisconsin operated without a new budget.
Concerns about the legislative stalemate have led some lawmakers to
call for a statutory change that makes a shutdown possible.
In 2005, state government in Minnesota
partially closed because of a budget impasse between legislators and
Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The shutdown of government services in that state
was only "partial" for two reasons. First, the Legislature had
passed a separate bill to fund state parks, public safety and
colleges. Second, a Minnesota district court ruled that essential
services must be funded. An ex-Supreme Court judge was then brought
in to help determine what services were "essential." Questions
linger in Minnesota over whether the court had the constitutional
authority to order the funding of services without legislative
approval.
This year, a government shutdown was a real
possibility in Michigan. Lawmakers there finally reached a
budget deal early in the morning on the first day of the fiscal
year, Oct. 1. The near-miss led Gov. Jennifer Granholm to develop
and release a plan on the extent of the shutdown. About 35,000
employees would have stopped working, including many state police.
Some officers would have stayed on duty, and certain other functions
(the staffing of state prisons, for example) considered fundamental
to public health and safety would have continued.
In many other Midwestern states, the chances of a shutdown are
highly unlikely, in part because the legislatures adjourn months
before the beginning of their respective fiscal years.
