LANSING, Mich. \u2014 State lawmakers have written a return-to-office goal into Michigan's new budget, a move designed to end the remote work habits that took hold across state agencies during the pandemic.

The new budget language sets a target of bringing at least 80 percent of state workers back into offices and requires a uniform return-to-office policy across every state department, House Speaker Matt Hall said.

Occupancy in state office buildings has declined sharply since the shift to remote work. Hall said fewer than a quarter of workers are currently coming into their offices.

"It's probably less than 25% of the workers are coming into work, so these buildings are empty," Hall said.

The provision also targets what Hall described as a lack of transparency from state agencies on their current remote work policies.

"They won't show us their policies, but with this new budget law they're gonna have to show us their policies," Hall said. "I'm hopeful that this will bring the workers back to work."

Downtown businesses see potential upside

The return-to-office push could have a noticeable effect on downtown Lansing businesses that have relied on foot traffic from state employees.

Aharon Hebert, owner of Babe's and Bango's sandwich shops, said his business took a hit when workers shifted to remote work. Bango's opened in 2019, just before the pandemic.

"When that happened, uh, we lost a lot of people," Hebert said.

Hebert said he would welcome more customers but stopped short of endorsing a mandate.

"I would not force anyone to come back to work downtown, but I do think it would help us, to have increased foot traffic down here," Hebert said.

Workers face added costs

For affected state workers, a return to the office could mean added out-of-pocket expenses for gas and parking. Hebert said he understood the perspective of workers who want to keep the flexibility of remote work.

"Yeah, I hope they come get lunch here, or come on their off time, but I don't think they should be forced to come down here just to help businesses," Hebert said.

The return-to-office provision is part of the broader state budget that lawmakers recently finalized after an extended legislative session.