Budget cuts coming, but not to legislators’ health care

Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday said that she will be forced to make budget cuts before Christmas because of diminishing state tax revenue. She is in negotiations with the legislative leadership to determine where those cuts will be made, but no announcement has been made yet. The Michigan state constitution requires a balanced budget, so any shortfalls in revenue must be balanced either by tax increases or spending cuts.

One thing that will not be cut is the cost of health care for former state legislators. Unlike any other state employees like teachers or police officers, state legislators are eligible for health care coverage for life, with the state paying 90% of the premiums, after only 6 years in office. Last year, both the House and Senate passed a bill to change that, but the bills were different in key aspects and were never reconciled so the old law remains in place.

AP reports that it does not appear that the state legislature will take up the issue during the current lame duck session to make the changes they wanted to make last year.

If no action is taken in December, Republican Sen. Wayne Kuipers of Holland said he’ll resubmit his bill when a new Legislature convenes in January.

Under his legislation, newly elected lawmakers would get a percentage of their health care paid for based on the number of years they serve in the Legislature.

While the bill wouldn’t affect current legislators, future lawmakers would have to work 14 years — six in the House and eight in the Senate, the most allowed under term limits — to get 90 percent of their premium paid by the state, the same percentage legislators now get after six years.

As usual, budget cuts will inevitably affect state workers but not the legislators that vote for those cuts.