Friday, March 20, 2009

House Members Don't Respond To Governor's Call To Return 10% of Their Salaries; Only Two Senators Gave Back 3%. Michigan House members have balked at the idea of following Gov. Jennifer Granholm's lead and giving back part of their pay. The House Business Office said in a letter dated Monday it does not know of any of the chamber's 110 representatives returning money to the Michigan Department of Treasury. The Associated Press sought the information in a Freedom of Information Act request and got a response Tuesday. The secretary of the Senate last week said two Republicans in the 37-member Senate will give back 3 percent of their pay. Granholm, a Democrat, has returned 5 percent or 10 percent of her $177,000 salary every year since taking office in 2003 as Michigan has struggled with a weak economy and ongoing budget problems. She recently urged other elected officials to do the same, especially lawmakers, since they have so much say in the state budget. A state panel has recommended that legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general take a 10 percent pay cut starting in 2011. But that will not affect many current officeholders because term limits require them to step down at the end of 2010. Lawmakers still have to approve the pay cuts this year or next or the panel's recommendations remain just that. Michigan legislators make $79,650 a year, second-highest in the country behind California. The 12 legislative leaders earn more depending on their rank. Granholm's salary is third-highest in the country. Democratic Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Republican Attorney General Mike Cox and Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land -- who are considering runs for governor in 2010 -- do not give back any of their pay to the treasury department. Cherry says he will give more of his $123,900 salary to charity. Land says she does not seek reimbursement for driving her own vehicle tens of thousands of miles each year on state business. Cox says he will give about 10 percent of his pay to a charity of the governor's choice if she creates a user-friendly Web site for the public to track state government spending. For the full article, see David Eggert, "No one in House to give back pay", Detroit Free Press, March 19, 2009. [Red Tape Blog] 3:15:20 PM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 4/1/2009; 2:34:15 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien