Recently, the Senate Republican caucus unveiled their top 10 legislative reforms that they say, can aide in eliminating the 2011 budget deficit. Currently, early figures of the 2011 deficit are around $1.7-2 billion. Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) unveiled 10 cost-saving legislative initiatives for state and local government entities. The goal of the initiatives is to provide efficient government services, while making it cost-effective for Michigan citizens.
The 10 initiatives cover six key reform areas for an estimated total savings of $2.24-2.6 billion:
- Public employee health care ($615 million in savings);
- Local police and fire ($70-118 million);
- K-12 school spending ($363-663 million);
- Medicaid spending ($160-500 million);
- Government efficiency (indeterminate); and
- Public employee compensation ($1.2 billion).
Additional highlights of the Senate reform package include:
- Reducing the number of state departments to 11;
- Combining all permitting and licensing into one department;
- Expediting the arbitration process for police and fire;
- Reducing school administrative costs to direct more resources into the classroom; and
- Competitively bid K-12 non-instructional services, including transportation, custodial
The Senate has created a new bi-partisan panel, the Reforms and Restructuring Committee, to analyze the proposed 10 reforms. Senator Bishop will serve as Chair of the committee, and Senator Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac) as Vice Chair. Also serving on the committee will be Tom George (R-Texas Twp), Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), Deb Cherry (D-Burton), and Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit).
On the other side of the aisle, Senate and House Democrats have scheduled a joint caucus retreat, and will hash out their own list of reforms they would like to see put forth this year. Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming) has stated that the Democrats have been working on reforms that are in the best interest of moving Michigan forward.
You may recall that the Michigan Association of REALTORS® banded together with other members of the business community to form a coalition to push for government reform before taxation. The “One Voice for Reform” coalition urges real reform without tax increases in order to balance the state budget. REALTORS® are fighting for survival and have a deep concern for the future of the state. The coalition knows that some of the choices to be made are tough, but difficult decisions are being made everyday by families and job providers across Michigan and government has a responsibility to do the same. The coalition is pleased that these reforms will be on the forefront of the legislative agenda this year.
To learn more about the “One Voice for Reform” coalition and members, please visit http://www.mirealtors.com/content/onevoice.htm/ |