Lansing - After a long winter recess, both houses of the legislature met Wednesday.
Senators clustered around desks, chatted on phones and moseyed around the Senate chambers in a session meeting that lasted about 30 minutes.
Sen. Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, said it was good to get back into the swing of things.
“I think we have a full agenda this year,” she said. “The thing we’ll probably be looking at most is the gloomy budget forecast.”
Budget cuts will directly affect MSU, not only in tuition prices and loan rates, but also in how the university plans its budget.
Aaron Keesler, press secretary for Senate Majority Leader Dan DeGrow, R-Port Huron, agreed the budget will be a major focus in coming months.
“It will take a lot of time to reconcile lack of revenue with important programs,” he said. “We’re going to have to make more cuts and it’s hard to decide what gets cut and what doesn’t.”
Also on the agenda is Gov. John Engler’s plan to make high-speed Internet access available across the state. Byrum sits on the Technology and Energy Committee that heard background on the issue Wednesday.
“Broadband is going to be an action item right away,” Byrum said.
Keesler also cited issues remaining from last year that DeGrow and the rest of the Republican caucus will pursue.
“We’d like to resolve the issue with the (Detroit) metro airport,” Keesler said. “We’ve been conducting a lengthy investigation on all the things that have been going on out there, including some questionable bidding, nepotism, and the fact that it’s been a pretty poorly run airport.”
Keesler expects an extensive anti-terrorism package that includes 50 to 60 bills to be pushed through quickly. The bills deal with defining terrorism as a specific crime, wire-tapping, protecting the water and limiting guns in state metro airports.
This is the last year for many senators due to term limits, and many may try to push through one last idea.
“Some may be saying, ‘I’ve been here all this time and there’s one thing left I didn’t get done,’” said Keesler.
The House also reconvened today, planning to meet again on Jan. 23.
Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said the year will be dominated by budget talks.
“We’re having major financial problems and we’re going to have to figure out how we’re going to move forward,” she said.
But Whitmer, who sits on four budget subcommittees, said cuts will be hard to predict until Engler’s State of the State Address Jan. 23.
“We’ll hold hearings and prioritize, but the first cuts will be coming from the governor,” she said. “Hopefully by the end of June we’ll have the budget out of both chambers.”
