State lawmakers returned to the Capitol Tuesday, and the clock is ticking on a self-imposed July 1 deadline to approve a budget.

Upper Peninsula Republican state Senator Ed McBroom was asked by Radio Results Network if he and his fellow lawmakers can meet the budget deadline.

“You’ve got different priorities,” McBroom said. “You’ve got one side that says, ‘Hey, we just want to get done by this July 1 deadline, and we’re willing to pretty much bargain whatever to do that.’ The other side says, ‘We have urgent needs in this state, particularly on roads, and that needs $3 billion, and we feel like we can get that out of the budgetary process without huge tax increases,’ but that’s going to take some tougher negotiation. It’s going to take sharpening more pencils, and it’s going to take longer.”

McBroom says he favors the House Republican budget plan.

McBroom also called on Governor Gretchen Whitmer to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Kristen McDonald Rivet following her election to Congress.