Michigan lawmakers may shift the state's legislature from full-time to part-time if a plan supported by Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, goes through.
The move could offer various benefits to the state, such as reduction in legislative staff, pay and benefit levels, which would save the state money, Bishop Spokesman, Matt Marsden, said.
"I think it's an example of one of the reforms that needs to take place in state government to make it more efficient and more cost-effective than it currently is," he said.
The plan has additional benefits, such as forcing legislators to go back to their districts to deal with their constituents, and create time lines to expedite the legislative process, he said.
The plan has an ally in Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who supports the idea - if it comes with the abolishment of term limits for legislators.
Moving to part-time legislature, the way a majority of states run their government, might make good sense, Granholm's Spokesperson, Liz Boyd, said.
"It would reduce the cost and size of government making it smaller and more efficient,"
Eleven states operate with a full-time legislature, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The states that feature such legislatures are larger, such as California and New York.
The proposed change would only work if it is coupled with salary reductions, said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of the Lansing-based newsletter, Inside Michigan Politics.
Reducing the number of days the legislature meets only saves the state money if other costs, such as salary, are cut proportionately. Otherwise, the savings would be negligible for the state, he said.
Michigan legislators make $79,650 a year, the second-highest salary for legislators in the country, after California.
Some legislators support the idea of a reduction of salary but don't support the idea of a part-time legislature. Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, has proposed a constitutional amendment to reduce salaries and require legislators to be in session four days a week in exchange for a repeal of term limits.
"A part-time legislature is not what the people need," he said. "They need a legislature that's there, working for them full time."
In addition to affording legislators less time in the Capitol, the plan would dramatically shift the balance of power in Lansing, Meadows said.
"The reason we patterned our full-time legislature after the federal system was because of our desire to have three equal branches of government with checks and balances on each," he said.
The switch to a part-time legislature would give too much power to the governor, he said.
"I think it's a very bad idea and not a fix for the state government," he said.
