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| Michigan Government cutting some fat; annual savings and more | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 21 2008, 11:27 AM (271 Views) | |
| Mrs.M | Feb 21 2008, 11:27 AM Post #1 |
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Veteran
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http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...2/711140332/106 Cut Legislature down to part-time size BY HENRY WOLOSON • November 14, 2007 How can Michigan taxpayers justify the cost of our full-time Legislature, one of only four such lawmaking bodies in the nation? The 46 states with part-time legislatures managed to pass their required budgets on schedule. Michigan's 148 full-time lawmakers, with extensive recesses and vacations, needed 30-day emergency budget extensions, midnight madness sessions, and special-interest coordinated tax sales to produce the budget mess that is likely to be at least partially repealed. Adding political insult to taxpayer injury, Michigan, with a population of about 10 million, has 23% more legislators than California, population 36 million, and the only state paying its legislators more than us. Michigan needs to receive a lot more leadership for the $115 million-plus of public funds allocated each year for the operation of the Legislature. That money does not include the cost of lifetime health care benefits for former legislators, earned after only six years in office. How convenient that House members happen to be limited to three, two-year terms? (Senators can serve two four-year terms.) Had enough? We represent a group of Michigan citizens launching a petition drive to place a proposal for a part-time legislature on the 2008 ballot. We are tired of waiting for action and watching the Lansing budget circus while politicians generate countless press releases supposedly in favor of a part-time legislature but never manage to place the issue before the voters. We will hold organizational meetings Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Independence Township Fire Station, 6500 Citation Drive, Clarkston, with a view toward starting to collect signatures early next year. Once we start the petition drive, we will have only 180 days to gather more than 300,000, and we intend to do it with an all-volunteer effort. Under our proposal, legislative sessions would be limited to 90 days between Jan. 1 and April 30 each year. Special sessions could be called, but, with no additional compensation, these would hopefully be rare. Other provisions include: 1) Elimination of lifetime benefits for legislators. 2) Freezing salaries pending later review. 3) Downsizing the Legislature from 148 to 100 members (75 representatives and 25 senators). Estimated annual savings: more than $30 million. Additional items being considered for inclusion in our proposal: 1) Extending term limits to 12 years for voters who value legislative experience. 2) Having the terms of both representatives and senators be four years with one-half of each group standing for election every two years. A companion plan to extend the state sales tax to campaign advertising might best be a separate ballot proposal. Since nearly $200 million was spent in Michigan on political campaigning in 2006, a 60% increase from 2002, this would be a fairer and more collectable source of revenue than taxing tattoos, baby shoe bronzing, escort services, etc. Michigan needs our state government to become more productive and less expensive with greater accountability. We hope concerned Michigan citizens will support our efforts to let the voters decide if they wish to join the vast majority of states effectively operating with a part-time Legislature. HENRY WOLOSON is an attorney and business owner in Clarkston. To learn more about the planned petition campaign, contact him by e-mail at hwoloson@ameritech.net. |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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