I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
A new poll and study from the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University has found that many voters in the state of Michigan would support a change to the 1992 Constitutional amendment limiting the amount of time a person can serve in the legislature.
“There are chinks in the armour of term limits,” said Charles Ballard, an economics professor at MSU as well as the survey director.
Ballard says the study found 61 percent of Michigan voters support lifting a lifetime limit for those serving in the House, the Senate or both. Currently, officials are limits to 14 years of service in a lifetime. Ballard says that 61 percent supports instituting a four year break for public officials after 14 years of service and then allowing them to seek office again.
In addition to lifting the lifetime ban, Ballard said 54 percent surveyed said they would favor allowing people to serve all 14 years in either the Senate or the House, or split their time between the two houses.
The study also found that 82 percent of voters supported having district lines being drawn by an independent, nonpartisan commission. Those voters said districts should be drawn to make them as competitive as possible, rather than to favor one political party or the other, as currently happens. Since 1982, the legislature has drawn the districts.
“The support for an end to gerrymandering is really overwhelming, and among all groups, including Democrats and Republicans,” Ballard said.
A move to change the term limits and gerrymandering could possibly have an impact on the rancorous politics of the state legislature. Prior to the term limit legislature, old school lawmakers were more likely to reach across the aisle and find solutions for the state’s problem, say long time reporters from the Capitol, myself included. Back then, no one was worrying about getting themselves framed for the next election and the next office– they were worried about getting their jobs done.
That partisan grand standing has lead to the many conflicts, and legislative inaction. A removal of term limits could free up legislatures to do their jobs without having to worry about their next, higher office. The question is, will Michigan put a ballot question on the 2010 ballot asking voter to approve a change to the Constitution and our term limits?
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