LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the 2020 budget sent to her Tuesday by the Republican-controlled Legislature is "a mess."

What can she do about it?

So far, Whitmer, a Democrat, isn't showing her hand. The budget, though approved by lawmakers, has yet to officially arrive on her desk. She normally has 14 days to sign or veto a budget, but that time frame is effectively tightened by the looming start of the 2020 fiscal year on Oct. 1.

"They're dropping this baby on her lap in a very short time period," said Bruce Timmons, an attorney and longtime House judiciary staffer who served leaders from both parties until his retirement in 2013.

Whitmer has several options, but most of them are quite limited. The following is compiled from guides published by Michigan government agencies and the National Conference of State Legislatures, and from interviews with Timmons and other attorneys who have worked in state government.

Outright veto

The option that is not limited — the nuclear option — is an outright veto. Whitmer could veto entire budget bills and ask the Legislature to try again.

This is seen as unlikely, since doing so would almost certainly result in a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1.

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Whitmer already cited concerns about a shutdown in yielding on her earlier requirement that a comprehensive road plan be part of the budget. Having done that, it's unlikely, though not impossible, that Whitmer would be willing to trigger a shutdown over the remaining budget, some elements of which received bipartisan support.

Line-item veto

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Michigan is one of 44 states where the governor has some form of line-item veto power with respect to budget bills.

In Michigan, the governor can veto funding for a specific item, an entire program or agency, and language accompanying an appropriation. The governor can't reduce or increase the amount of a specific appropriation, or substitute a different number for the Legislature to consider.

Line-item vetoes are limited to budget lines with a dollar-amount appropriation attached to them. Governors often use line-item vetoes to kill pet projects that lawmakers have placed in the budget without executive sign-off.

Handling boilerplate

Much of the budget is made up of "boilerplate."

These lines of budget language usually do not include dollar amounts but frequently involve direction or conditions from the Legislature on how money should or can be spent.

Boilerplate generally isn't struck from the budget, but it can be ignored or declared unenforceable if it amounts to an amendment of an existing statute, amounts to legislators exercising executive power, or otherwise violates the constitution.

An example in the budget passed Tuesday is a requirement that the Michigan Department of Transportation not award contracts to contractors who require union subcontractors. Such a provision could be declared unenforceable if, for example, it conflicted with existing state or federal labor laws.

Other options

An appropriation is not a mandate to spend.

On the other hand, a governor can't "impound" money appropriated by the Legislature.

The governor has some flexibility in between and in some cases is able to "slow walk" the spending of an appropriation in such as way that it lapses for the budget year.

The governor also has limited power to move money from one program to another within a single department. But she can't shift funds out of one department and into another.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.