Negations have begun between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over the new state budget after the House approved a plan Tuesday night.

There’s a lot of ground to make up between now and October 1, and the two sides are still far apart.

House Appropriations Chair Ann Bollin said Republicans went line by line to find the waste, fraud, and abuse in every department, and that raised a few eyebrows when they cut from the Department of Civil Rights.

“There were a lot of PR type of positions and activities,” Bollin said. “They’re not producing results. We absolutely want a Department of Civil Rights that’s going to go out and defend people’s civil rights, etc, okay? What we don’t want is people going out and trying to find ways that, and create ways that people are violating the law.”

Other cuts to the Attorney General’s office and the Secretary of State.

House Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Leader Winnie Brinks met with Governor Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday as they now work against the clock. In a statement, Brinks said that, “Its work that we can accomplish, but the games and distractions need to end.”