Bipartisan commission makes budget recommendations

The Michigan Legislative Commission on Government Efficiency last week released a series of preliminary recommendations for how to fix Michigan’s budget problems. The recommendations were broad in scope, including a large number of suggested changes in K-12, higher education, Medicaid, and corrections funding, among many other aspects of state government. Among the suggested changes in K-12 funding policy:

– Allowing the State Superintendent the option of requiring consolidation of school districts or ISDs if savings of at least 5% can be shown

– Offering $5,000 state cash retirement incentives to be matched by local school districts and phased in over a three year period for school employees already eligible to retire

On higher education, the commission recommended the elimination of the Michigan Promise scholarship, noting that it was “the only major financial aid program whose eligibility is not based on financial need.”

For the corrections department, the commission recommends a number of steps including releasing thousands of inmates who are eligible for parole and putting them on tethers instead.

The commission also recommends changes in state revenue sharing with local governments, including earmarking those revenues for specific programs and providing incentives for smaller communities to share some services between them.

Michigan Legislative Commission on Government Efficiency is a nine-member board that includes the directors of the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies; one member appointed each by the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and the minority leaders of the House and the Senate; and three members appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader.