The future of Energize Michigan for a state constitutional convention is on the Internet, organizers say.
‘In a 48 hour period, we had 300 people visit our website, ? said Henry Woloson of Independence Township.
Woloson hosted two meetings, Oct. 22, at Independence Township Fire Hall to discuss changing Michigan’s budget year and go to a part-time legislature.
Woloson said Michigan and Alabama are the only two states whose fiscal year starts Oct. 1, while 46 states start on July 1. New York starts April 1 and Texas, Sept. 1, budgeting every two years.
‘Schools produced a budget by July 1. However, the funding is not determined theoretically until Oct 1,? he said.
According to Woloson, ‘the number one thing people say when they talk about cutting things in Lansing is cutting the legislature.?
He said part-time legislature is defined by time on the job, compensation and number of staff per member.
Michigan’s regular sessions begin Jan. 14, but their end dates are ‘open ended.?
This past summer, when Michigan was facing a $1.7 billion dollar deficit, the House of Representative met twice out of the four scheduled meetings in July.
‘They only have two days in which they had a quorum,? Woloson said. ‘Two days, they dismissed because they didn’t even have a majority showing up for work to even handle the job.?
The Senate met once out of a scheduled three times. Two of the meetings adjourned in the first minute, he said. In August, the House only met twice out a scheduled four times and Senate met five times.
‘Now the legislature is saying we’re camping out,? Woloson said. ‘Why weren’t they working in August, why are we having this artificial crisis being handled especially given the fact 46 states have an end date in June, so if in fact you don’t make the budget on time, you have two months before Labor Day hits in order to resolve the issue.?
Woloson said of 10 states that missed their July 1 budget deadline, nine of them made it by Labor Day.
When it comes to compensation, he said Michigan is the second highest paid legislature, at $79,650 a year as well as an additional $12,000 for expenses. California ranks first with $116,208 a year, as well as being paid $173 per day for each day they are in session.
Michigan has a total of 148 lawmakers, while California only has 120.
‘We have in Michigan 23 percent more lawmakers for a population that’s less than one-third of what California has,? Woloson said. ‘Are we picking on the legislators? No. We’re simply trying to show, compared to other states and certainly compared to the job that’s being done, we stink.?
Ohio, which has a population of a million more people, operates on a budget half that of Michigan’s. Woloson said Ohio was able to cut costs by sharing staff.
‘In Michigan, they all have their various staff members, various individuals, majority staff, and minority staff,? he said. ‘All these individuals, and somehow the state of Ohio, similar demographics, managed to get the job done.?
Another way to reduce cost would be to lower the legislature from 148 to 120.
‘They’re asking education and all the various agencies to cut. What have they done to cut,? Woloson asked. ‘Very important from the standpoint of credibility to basically show they are sharing the pain, which they aren’t.?
Peggy Hawke said ‘the public is angry.?
‘I’m very unhappy with our state government. There are just so many simple things that are so obvious that we need to get changed,? Hawke said. ‘This is our opportunity to go forward and promote the constitutional convention to let people know this is something they can vote on.?
Randy Snoeyink agreed the public should be made aware of the constitutional convention, but should also raise expectations of their representatives.
‘We need to hold the representatives feet to the fire to the get the work done,? he said. ‘The constitutional convention seems one good way to bring a lot of different issues forward and get people’s attention.?
For more information, call 248-625-6736 or visit www.energizemichigan.com