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Headlines : Michigan
Michigan budget director John Nixon: Don't expect radical changes in spending plan
Nixon said the state could have nearly $300 million more money than previously anticipated as lawmakers put together budget plans, including slightly better than expected overall tax revenues and changes in caseloads for Medicaid and other services related to the current fiscal year.
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Headlines
Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets
Only 27 states have devoted all their funds from the banks to housing programs, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing group. So far about 15 states have said they will use all or most of the money for other purposes.
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Headlines
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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Headlines
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
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Headlines
Local and state governments look for creative ways to fund transportation projects
Constrained budgets and deficit reduction efforts mean federal fewer dollars for infrastructure. As such, the burden is shifting more to state and local governments, which are being forced to find creative funding solutions.
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Budget timeline: Annual
Fiscal Year starts: October 1
Gov. Rick Snyder
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (517) 373-3400
Fax: (517) 335-6863
http://www.michigan.gov/gov
Bob Emerson, Director
Office of the Budget
111 South Capitol, 6th Floor
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone (517) 373-7560
Fax (517) 241-5428
http://www.michigan.gov/budget
2012 Legislative Calendar: Regular Session convenes January 11, meets throughout the year.
Legislative Budget Leader:
Rep. Chuck Moss (R), Chair, House Appropriations Committee, chuckmoss@house.mi.gov (517) 373-8670
Rep. Joseph Haveman (R), Vice-Chair, House Appropriations Committee, JosephHaveman@house.mi.gov (517) 373-0830
Sen. Roger Kahn (R), Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee, SenRKahn@senate.michigan.gov (517) 373-1760
Sen. John Moolenaar (R), Vice-Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee, SenJMoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov (517) 373-7946
Rep. Judson S. Gilbert II (R), Chair, House Tax Policy Committee, JudGilbert@house.mi.gov (517) 373-1790
Rep. John J. Walsh (R), Vice-Chair, House Tax Policy Committee, JohnWalsh@house.mi.gov (517) 373-3920
Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R), Chair, Senate Finance Committee, SenJBrandenburg@senate.michigan.gov (517) 373-7670
Sen. Mark C. Jansen (R), Vice-Chair, Senate Finance Committee, senmjansen@senate.michigan.gov (517) 373-0797
The current state budget can be found here.
Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.
Michigan is required to pass a "balanced budget." According Article III, Section 52 of the 1867 Constitution, in the budget the governor submits, the balance for total appropriations shall not exceed the balance of total revenues. Neither the governor nor the general assembly shall cause the total appropriations to exceed total revenues. Michigan law forbids the carrying over of a deficit from one year to the next. Even with these requirements, the State reported budget deficits (negative net transactions) on the CAFR's Budgetary Comparison Schedule for each of the years reviewed.
The State maintains five governmental funds: (major) the General Fund and the Department of Transportation-Special Revenue Fund, and (non-major, which are combined for reporting purposes) the debt service fund, the debt service fund for transportation revenue bonds and the capital projects fund. Michigan budgets on a cash basis. Funds that are budgeted include: the General, Special Revenue, and Federal funds. Most, but not all funds, are budgeted.
There are no statutory requirements that govern what kinds of assumptions can be made about revenue or expenses, and so the Michigan budget may be "unbalanced" in different ways in different years. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Find the state's bond ratings here.
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Mackinac Center for Public Policy |
Unions :
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HEADLINES: Michigan
Unions, liberal groups seek stronger collective bargaining laws with campaign
A coalition of labor unions and liberal groups is set to announce Tuesday a campaign to amend the state constitution to strengthen collective bargaining rights and block attempts by the Legislature to make Michigan a right-to-work state.
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HEADLINES: Michigan
Mich. gov't plans 4 furlough days, lost positions
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's administration plans to save the state money by requiring unionized state workers to take at least four unpaid furlough days off and by introducing legislation requiring them to contribute to their defined benefit retirement plans if they want to keep them.
- View All Michigan articles
Pensions :
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HEADLINES
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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HEADLINES
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
- View All Michigan articles
K-12 Education :
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HEADLINES: Michigan
Michigan lawmakers may seek scaled-back state budget
Republicans, who control the Senate, have plans to spend roughly $150 million less overall than the GOP governor has proposed for the next fiscal year starting in October due to lower-than-anticipated tax revenue.
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SOLUTIONS: Michigan
Top 10 Budget Recommendations
Converting these statistics into actual budget savings involves a combination of straightforward "eat your vegetables" cuts, and process innovations like privatization that generate savings through "second-order" incentive changes throughout the system.
- View All Michigan articles
Higher Education :
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HEADLINES: Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey
Higher education funds begin slow recovery
Last year, only six states increased overall spending on colleges and universities. While higher education typically takes longer to recover from recessionary cuts than other parts of the budget, experts say they expect the number of states with boosted higher education funding to increase this year.
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HEADLINES: Michigan
Michigan lawmakers may seek scaled-back state budget
Republicans, who control the Senate, have plans to spend roughly $150 million less overall than the GOP governor has proposed for the next fiscal year starting in October due to lower-than-anticipated tax revenue.
- View All Michigan articles
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Solutions: Michigan
Top 10 Budget Recommendations
Converting these statistics into actual budget savings involves a combination of straightforward "eat your vegetables" cuts, and process innovations like privatization that generate savings through "second-order" incentive changes throughout the system.
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Solutions: Michigan
Reconsidering Michigan's Public Employment Relations Act
No area of public policy in Michigan is more in need of fresh thinking than the relationship between government and its employees. With Michigan's recurring government budget struggles, and with a new Legislature and governor espousing a commitment to performance, efficiency and accountability in government, a new labor law for government employees is imperative.
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Solutions: Michigan
Michigan’s Public-Employee Retirement Benefits: Benchmarking and Managing Benefits and Costs
This paper reviews Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System and Michigan State Employees’ Retirement System pension and retiree medical benefits and confirms many of the published concerns related to the level of benefits provided and the associated fiscal challenges facing Michigan taxpayers in both the short and long term.
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Solutions: Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Alaska, Michigan
State Budget Solutions with Bob Williams
Video of Bob Williams addressing the underfunded state pension fund problem facing so many states. He states that the public cannot afford the benefits and suggests defined contribution programs as a solution.
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Solutions: Michigan
How to Find and Eliminate Wasted State Money
Michigan needs to systematically investigate its spending to identify waste and doing so is one step in solving the state's budget crisis.
- View All Solutions
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Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
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Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
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"GASB Won't Let Me" - A False Objection to Public Pension Reform
Pension reform is a separate issue from amortization. These two issues have been conflated by those invoking the GASB proviso for closed DB plans, but this has only sown confusion. This is clearly demonstrated when the reform is structured with amortization payments on total payroll. In this way, the growth in the base for amortization payments is unaffected by the reform, so there is no policy reason for changing the schedule of these payments. The funding schedule for amortization is a red herring, irrelevant to the fundamental policy decision for pension reform. Amortization pays for past debts; pension reform lays a path toward a responsible future.
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OPINION
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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OPINION
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
- View All Pensions
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BLOG: Courts & Corrections, Unions
Prison privatization at issue in Michigan
A prison privatization bill that aims to lighten the state's giant corrections budget is held up in Michigan's Republican-controlled House.
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OPINION: Pensions
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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OPINION: Pensions
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
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BLOG: Pensions
COMMENTARY: This plan could save municipal, state workers' pension checks
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
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BLOG: Pensions, Federal Government Impact
COMMENTARY: Fed screams softly in warning about public pension crisis
This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments." - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto
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