With Roads A Top Priority, Michigan Senate Meets For Rare Monday Session

LANSING (WWJ/AP) — The Michigan Senate is meeting for a rare Monday session as lawmakers enter their final week of voting this year.

"It's crunch time, Thursday is the day they want to get out of here and it looks like they're making some significant progress," WWJ's Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reported. "When we left this story last week, the governor and the legislative leaders had met four times over two days and this weekend they were very much at it."

Legislation not approved this week will die and have to be reintroduced in the next two-year session that begins in January.

The top issue for Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative leaders remains a potential tax increase to boost road funding. The Republican-led House and Senate have approved different transportation funding plans. One would raise fuel taxes, and the other would effectively divert funding from schools and local governments and instead direct it to the transportation budget.

Skubick said he was told by a source things looked shaky Friday, but recovered over the weekend.

If a deal is reached, House-Senate conference committees could begin meeting as early as Monday but more likely Tuesday or later.

Will a deal happen?

Skubick said "at the end of the day the governor wants some massive, massive movement with the House and Senate."

"It's going to be interesting, my friends," Skubick added.

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