Would you support the idea of turning the Michigan Legislature into a part-time entity? State Senator John Proos of St. Joseph has introduced a bill to put that idea to a vote of the people and says it will save money and not be much different from now. Proos' bill limits session days to 90 per year, and for the last eight years state lawmakers have been in Lansing and in session an average of 110 days annually.
Michigan is one of just four states with a full-time legislature with the others being California, New York and Pennsylvania. State Representative Al Pscholka says the idea needs to be looked at, but he has some concerns with going part-time.
Pscholka adds lawmakers need to be careful to not cede too much authority to the executive branch if such a move is taken. In addition to Proos' bill, there are other ideas being discussed in Lansing to cut the pay of lawmakers if they're moved to part-time. One would slash the pay by 75% from the current level of $71,685 to just under $18,000 a year.
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Michigan is one of just four states with a full-time legislature with the others being California, New York and Pennsylvania. State Representative Al Pscholka says the idea needs to be looked at, but he has some concerns with going part-time.
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Listen: |
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Pscholka adds lawmakers need to be careful to not cede too much authority to the executive branch if such a move is taken. In addition to Proos' bill, there are other ideas being discussed in Lansing to cut the pay of lawmakers if they're moved to part-time. One would slash the pay by 75% from the current level of $71,685 to just under $18,000 a year.
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