PART-TIME MI: Petoskey News-Review

Another great editorial in the Petoskey News-Review on moving Michigan to a part-time legislature state. Here is their conclusion:

We certainly think the issue of a part-time, unicameral Michigan legislature is worth public debate. We've been advocating it for several decades

Well said!

OTHER STATES: Pennsylvania

The pressure in mounting is Pennsylvania to also go part-time. The citizens are sick of ridiculous legislation has no business being passed, let alone proposed. A prime example: a Pennsylvania legislator who wants to let students sue their teachers if they disagree with the teacher's political positions. It's sad to even consider how much of a sickening waste of tax-payer money bills like this are.

OTHER STATES: Kansas

Another great feature of part-time legislatures is that you always know what other business ventures a legislator is involved with for their other job. This is a great example in Kansas, where a part-time legislator has a conflict of interest between her other job and her role as a legislator and it's immediately obvious to everyone:

A state Democratic Party official criticized Rep. Shari Weber, R-Herington, on Thursday for fighting against a bill that might negatively impact members of the association she leads.

Kansas Democratic Party Executive Director Mike Gaughan said Weber, the president of a group representing local banks, was putting her own interests ahead of her constituents in opposing a banking bill dealing with the investment of local public funds.

"Kansas has a part-time Legislature, but Shari Weber is acting like a full-time lobbyist," Gaughan said. "Rep. Weber needs to remember she's an employee of the people of Kansas first."

OTHER STATES: New Hampshire

A great comment from a citizen of New Hampshire on this blog:

That's one of the nice things about New Hampshire and our part-time legislature (we pay them $100 per YEAR for serving). They seldom feel "obligated" to earn their pay by simply passing new laws, like seems to happen so often in Massachusetts.

PART-TIME MI: Great Editorial

There was a great editorial in yesterday's Jackson Citizen-Patriot. Here's the best part:

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If the Legislature is unable or unwilling to control its spending, perhaps it is time the people stepped in with a solution. Currently, there are two plans on the table:

A citizens group, Unicameral Michigan, is pushing a ballot proposal that would merge the House and Senate into one chamber; and state Rep. Glenn Steil Jr., R-Cascade, has introduced a resolution calling for a state constitutional amendment to cut the number of senators from 38 to 20, and representatives from 110 to 60. Then, of course, there is always the possibility of a part-time Legislature. We're not advocating any of these ideas yet, but something's got to give.
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Only one state, Nebraska, has a unicameral legislature, so that idea is not likely to fly here. The legislators will never reform themselves and reduce the number of members. That only leaves the most realistic opportunity: A PART TIME LEGISLATURE!

REINVENT MICHIGAN: First Press Release

Our first press release went out today to alert the media about our activities. Hopefully, they will respond with some good coverage to help us get the word out and make this happen. Too many people across our great state have talked about this issue for too long and we are finally taking the action to make this happen!

PART-TIME MI: Letters to the Detroit News

All of these letters to the Detroit News are so great (well, there might be one exception), we just had to repost them all:

Eliminate state Senate

Our legislators are abusing their office ("Lawmakers rake it in," March 5). Now is the time to eliminate our state Senate and have only one state legislative body. Our state can no longer afford it. Many companies are down sizing and government needs to.

Betty Pfeiffer
Clarkston

Change salary, benefits

An underpaid, smaller, part-time legislature is more susceptible to corruption, dependence on special interest groups and costly legislative mistakes. A professional legislature in Michigan allows for more leadership and accountability regarding our $40 billion state budget.

However, besides correcting the lack of conflicts of interest and ethics regulations, I favor a plan whereby legislator salaries and benefits would be pro-rated according to each legislator's net worth. Salaries therefore would range from the present $79,650 to zero. The cost of benefits also would be pro-rated. Representing us in our legislature is foremost a public service that should not reward those who already are financially well off, but certainly should adequately reward those who have humbler financial circumstances.

Don Roy
Associate Professor of Political Science
Ferris State University
Big Rapids

Legislature adds problems

Certainly, the lawmakers' arrogance is typical of an elite and distant class that gets much but gives little, hardly the proper symbol for a state whose people pride themselves on hard work learned in the factory or on the farm. While I respect the proposal of state Rep. Glenn Steil Jr. to reduce the size of each body, a much better idea is the one calling for elimination of the state Senate, leaving the 110-member House as Michigan's unicameral Legislature.

While the article referred to the Unicameral Michigan petition drive as a "long shot," I believe it to be our "best shot" at making a significant change in a legislature that, instead of working to help the state and its people solve their problems, is only adding to them.

Jerry Lee Morton
East Lansing

Blame GOP for paychecks

The News story failed to mention what political party has been in control for the past 14 years. It is the Republicans, and they alone are to blame for the fat paychecks and other inequities mentioned in the article. This is the same bunch of do-nothings who have run the state's economy into the ground while trying to blame the whole thing on Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

John Council
Petoskey

Time to fire Senate

The March 5 story is exactly why the petition drive to fire the state Senate by the group Unicameral Michigan was started. The News did an outstanding job of calling attention to the bloated salaries, the top-of-the-line benefits and many other perks our legislators receive for their part-time job.

Joseph Lukasiewicz
Spokesperson
Unicameral Michigan
Hastings

Time for part-time body

Stunned was how I felt after reading the front page article on legislative pay and benefits. Perhaps it is finally time to have a discussion about a part-time Legislature. It seems to work for Indiana, and isn't it ahead of Michigan in taxes, jobs and unemployment? Also, the expenses are out of control -- what company allows expenses equal to or greater than 50 percent of the employees pay?

The pensions seem excessive in this era of down sizing and streamlining operations. State Rep. Glenn Steil's call for cutting the number of senators and representatives is a step in the right direction.

Linda M. Thielfoldt
Troy

Eliminate redundancy

After the 40 percent pay raise our senators and representatives gave themselves a few years back, Michigan now has the second highest paid legislators in the nation. Their salary and benefit package nears $135,000 per year for a part-time job. Meanwhile, Michigan is second from the bottom in employment. What's wrong with this picture?

With the Michigan House and Senate both based on population, there is no "equal" representation by county like in the U.S. Senate, where, each state is equally represented by two senators. So why should taxpayers pay $80 million per year for redundancy?

Chris Norton
Bellevue

Responsibility diluted

I would like to hear the arguments proving a full-time Michigan Senate fulfills any useful purpose. It appears it has represented only a means to dilute responsibility for progress in the state.

Jim Nowka
Northville

Super-sized Legislature

Michigan's 148 lawmakers are the second highest paid in the nation at $79,650 annually plus $12,000 per year for expenses and yet we are only the eighth most populated state. Only California pays its state legislators more than Michigan. But California has 23 percent fewer lawmakers representing a population more than three times the size of Michigan's.

If Michigan's lawmakers are doing such an outstanding job, why are California, Texas and Florida gaining jobs and population and Michigan has the highest unemployment in the nation?

Henry S. Woloson
Clarkston

PART-TIME MI: Lenawee Opinion

In this opinion piece in The Daily Telegram in Lenawee County, they focus on the costs of the full-time legislature and make some very good points, including:

Shorter sessions, not larger districts or a unicameral Legislature, are the answer. Mark Twain famously noted that "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session".

Mark Twain's point is very correct, especially so for full-time legislatures. (He was actually focused on US Congress and not the state legislatures, but he's definitely right either way.)

PART-TIME MI: Kalamazoo Gazette

The Kalamazoo Gazette discusses our situation in Michigan in this article, but they come to wrong conclusions:

"In comparison with legislative salaries paid in the other 49 states, Michigan is second only to California"
"Michigan is the country's eighth-most populous state"
"Michigan's economy isn't anywhere near the top of anyone's list"
"Michigan's state legislative body now is the sixth costliest to operate."

"So how could we save money in doing the people's business? Switch to a part-time legislature? Consolidate into one chamber from two?

Probably not.

Life in the 21st century is too complicated for a part-time legislature, a practice begun long ago when the economy was largely agrarian."

If they agree with our positions on the poor economy, overpaid legislature, and costly legislative branch expenses, then how do they come up with the conclusion that a part-time legislature is an artifact of agrarian society? Let's use just a little bit of logic here (it doesn't take much): Michigan's economy is among the worst. Almost all of the states ahead of us have part-time legislatures (there are only 4 truly full-time legislatures: CA, MI, NY, PA) - you think maybe they're doing the right thing since they're ahead of us?

OTHER STATES: What's right in Virginia

This Register-Herald opinion piece tries to turn a good thing into a bad thing:

"In part a product of the bottle-neck situation that is created by a 60-day session held by a part-time legislature, the final week is often considered “crunch time” for the Legislature, and I expect this year to be no different."

Forcing part-time politicians to do the business of the state and then leave town to return to the real world can never be considered a bad thing.

OTHER STATES: Virginia makes excuses

A lawmaker in Virginia is making excuses why he can't write a common-sense law on handling dangerous dogs:

"You're trying to codify common law. You're creating a whole new statutory mechanism. You're trying to solve all the problems of dangerous dogs in one bill, and it's difficult to do in a part-time legislature," said Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax. "You have to simplify it, otherwise it'll be nitpicked on things that aren't really at the heart of the bill."

This is exactly backwards: A full-time legislature writes all kinds of little nitpicks and loopholes into the law, which is what is wrong with most American state and federal laws. A part-time legislature gets to the heart of matter quickly and write the law as needed, because there's no time for the lobbyists to wine and dine their ridiculous attachments into a bill during a limited session.