What a Shamful Ending to a Pathetic Day!

The School Aid Fund is defeated. The Democrats applauded as if they had a great victory. This was a pathetic reaction to a terrible budget dilemma. If they aren't ashamed at their own reaction, they ought to be.

This is a sad day for Michigan. The contingent budget is at 2009 levels and we have no money.

This is a P.O.S. work that no one should be proud of. You have every right to be angry.

Action at last

We're voting on the School Budget. They're hoping to kill this bill and substitute a new version that draws more money from reserves. This sets up a rough spring and a very, very tough 2011.

Still no new taxes.

Progress

The Floor Leader is at the microphone!

What does Granholm stand for in budget battle? | detnews.com | The Detroit News

What does Granholm stand for in budget battle? | detnews.com | The Detroit News

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Possible Break Through!

Talked to an unnamed high government official. It seems that somebody is talking to someone else about doing something about something or another, and THAT... is when things will start to shake loose.

I think he's on to something!

Something surreal, that is!

Sitting and Pondering

Just got interviewed again by TV5. Less than four hours to the midnight hour.

Can't help but wonder, who in the majority party is working on the budget. Everyone seems rather comfortable, right now.

Dang, I wish I had the gavel in my hand.

An Idea on the Promise Scholarship - HB 5376 of 2009

It’s my thought that Michigan should keep the Promise it made to state college students through the Promise Scholarship regardless of ongoing state budget negotiations. That’s why I introduced legislation to create a state income tax credit for all Promise Grant recipients if their scholarship is reduced or eliminated.

If Lansing finds all of the $140 million dollars, somehow, then my bill is unnecessary. My idea certainly isn’t anybody’s Plan A. This is a back up plan, should all else fail. One way or another, Michigan must keep its promise to students.

Simply put, if the State of Michigan owes you money, you owe nothing to the state. This is actually tax credit created to offset student’s tax liability. The student would carry the credit forward to offset future all future income tax liability.

The credit will continue until students get all of the money they are owed. The proposal has the added benefit of keeping college graduates in the state of Michigan to take advantage of the credit. If a student moves away from Michigan, the money will be waiting for them when they return to our state.

None of my bill is perfect. I’d prefer to not need it at all. The most important thing that I’d like students to know is that Michigan cares deeply in their future and we want their future to include great success here at home.

Let’s keep our promise to the kids who trusted us.

Dinner Break in the Inaction!

Well... still locked into the Capitol. Can't get out for dinner, so they brought in some Chinese food. If nothing else, it a change of pace from pizza and sub sandwiches.

I'm not quite sure, precisely, who knows what the game plan is right now. But, the exit doors are blocked and there's nothing to vote on. I wish the House Leadership could convince its members that a school budget can be passed today, and the reserve fund of $225 million dollars can be used at anytime the legislature wants to reach into it. To my friends on the other side, this is all or nothing.

It's so odd this year that this isn't partisan, as it was in 2007. This is an internal struggle on the Democrat side. They can't find enough votes to cut or raise taxes. I'd like to help them, but this seems to be a family dispute.

Another Lost Vote!

This is brutal to watch. They will pull HB 4447 off the tally board, as well. The no-voters may get their way and avoid a 3% cut to schools. Problem is that there is no back up plan. With two more no votes (56 votes), the schools get a 100% cut.

Yes... really!

The School Aid Fund is not part of the contingency budget, which passed this morning. I’m rooting for you Mr. Speaker! You need to bring about 10 more votes to the table. I’m not joking around. This is dead serious business here.

This one we should say a little prayer over.

School Aid Fund Vote

The very hardest vote of the day. 3% cut to the School Aid Fund.

This will be the ultimate test of leadership for the Speaker of the House. Remember, 67 Democrats, 43 Republicans and we need to balance the budget after we've been told that 11% is too high of cuts for Townships, 29% is too high for DHS, 25% is too high for Community Health.

Where will opponents find the extra dollars to lower the 3% School reforms.

Hard vote, but interesting to watch the politics. Rep. Cushingberry is making a good point, but I'm not sure how he's voting.

Hang on to your hats!

What to expect in case of a government shutdown | detnews.com | The Detroit News

What to expect in case of a government shutdown | detnews.com | The Detroit News

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Shot out of the Water

This is where it gets kind of interesting. One of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle wrote proudly on facebook that she was voting no on the General Govt bill, because it cut too deeply.

Because they didn't have enough votes to pass the Conference bill, they cleared the board, and promptly called for another caucus. Not counting your votes is as close to a sin as you get in politics. Closing the board, means that no votes do not have to be recorded, and that it can come back up again.

This has a range of 4% to 11% cuts to revenue sharing to my Townships, villages and cities.

It will be interesting to see if the Speaker can twist enough arms to pass this budget with 56 votes.

General Government Budget

As an old county commissioner, this is another tough vote. Revenue Sharing is is so vital to local units of government. Fortunately, many of my townships are not dependent on the statutory side of Sharing. It looks like the County of Saginaw will be okay, for now.

I don't even know if this will pass. Two republicans are voting no as I write, and there's an awful lot of red (no vote) on the tally board.

Frankenmuth visits Lansing

McDonald's of Frankenmuth came to the Capitol Building to share some healthy food with us. Thanks Tony, family and crew, the Caesar salad was great!

An afternoon latte would be great, if only we weren't locked in. :)

My seatmate says a sundae would be really good right now.

I think the point, though, is that their is no reason to tax certain restaurants, because of some unreasonable perception.

The School Budget will have to come up for a vote!

I'd like to take you through some of the reasoning behind the k-12 budget. It's important to remember that this budget is still very fluid.

It's also important to remember that with the exception of 2004, The School Aid Fund (SAF) has gone up every year since 1999. I think this demonstrates that education is a top priority for members of the House of Representatives, regardless of party.

But state government is spending more money than it is taking in, and we need a budget that reflects the economic realities of the state. Families across Michigan are also making tough spending decisions and it's time for Lansing to do the same.

As it stands right now, the SAF is facing a 3% cut. To compare this, the Dept. of Human Services budget was just cut 29.9% and Community Health is facing a 25% cut.

The reality for Michigan is that we've seen such a huge drop in revenue, because of plummeting property values and lower sales taxes. A total of 99% of the school aid fund is determined by the people through the constitution and still the budget is held nearly harmless at 3%. (I’ve included a chart to show the commitment to education over the past ten years.)


In one school district, stiff collective bargaining could put $400,000 into the classroom. There are many programs that the governor can suspend to add dollars to the school budget.

We're still waiting for the administration's support in this area.

To make things worse for Michigan residents, anything we don't fix this year will come back harder in next year's budget. I will do what I can to minimize damage to the budget for this year and for next year.

Community Health Budget

25% cut to Community Health. Certainly not an easy vote. Keeps the deal with the Senate intact!

Passionate arguments against the cuts.

Angry ain't the Word!

Good Lord...Nobody, and I mean No Body, better call me and tell me I need to be more bi-partisan.

The GOP is keeping its word in reforming the State budget to live within our means, but the majority party is trampling the constitution in a rush to raise taxes.

This bill HB 5406 violates the bipartisan, signed agreement between the Democrat Speaker of the House and the Republican Senate Majority leader to balance the budget without raising taxes. And, more importantly, overthrows a conference report between the two Chambers.

They just can't help it!

Right away the sneakiness starts. HOW, Mr. Speaker can the House vote on a bill that screws up a budget that doesn't exist yet?

HB 5403 This bill appropriates money outside of the target agreements from legislative leadership. And, the bill appropriates funding that does not exist based upon target agreements and would require a tax increase or significant programmatic cut elsewhere to support the funding level.

Including the Call of the House, this underhanded politics is very close to the games of 2007.

And... its still early!

Lock Down

The Speaker of the House announced a "Call of the House". This means that the Sargeants guard the doors and no representative can physically leave the building. Nobody leaves, which ensures that no one can hide from a tough vote, but protects members from lobbying influences.

This is reminiscent of 2007, I just hope its not as long and stinky!

Continuation Budget

Just passed the senate version of the continuation budget. At the very least, this protects Michigan from a government shutdown. The Continuation budget is designed for 30 days of expenses to fund state government. K-12 budget is not included. We will need to pass that budget today

Democrat side caucusing for the 2nd time today, and it's only 9:30am.

This is going to be a very long day!

Beginning of the Final Day

As the Sun comes up over Lansing, the House of Representatives prepares for the work day ahead. This is the last day of Michigan’s fiscal year, and the toughest decisions need to be made before we close session today.

I drove back to the district, last night. I got a few hours of sleep, fed the pets and took out the garbage. Life seems to go on, as it will the day after today.

The reforms we don’t make in this budget will be hardships that will need to be made for the 2011 budget year. I want to say again that no one, and I mean no one, is taking any pleasure in balancing this year’s budget crisis. This is a task that carries no glory.

The choices we make will affect public services that our residents want or require, or will effect our families sitting at their kitchen tables, scrambling to make ends meet.

Today, I will be sitting at that kitchen table with the countless families, who are telling us that the checkbooks are closed to politicians. The wallets are empty, and moms and dads are making choices that benefit their families first. I will work to discharge my Promise Scholarship “Plan B” bill to keep our promise to students.

I will continue to monitor change in the education and revenue sharing budgets. I will not put any more burdens on my Michigan working families. Enough is enough!

Those are my goals today!

Well... that's it for tonight! I'll miss all you until 8am tomorrow morning :)

Human Services Budget

Voting again! Dept. of Human Services budget. This is one of the big ones. 29% cut, which is taking a lot of heat off of the k-12 education budget at 3% cut.

You should know that nobody in the Capitol building is very happy about these cuts. Not that I can see anyways.

This is tough, and we’re all thinking that it isn’t going to get any easier with next year’s budget.

Let's get this show on the road, already!

Oh… good Heavens!!! Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle just called a caucus for the third time today. It’s almost 9pm, and we’ve had no more than three votes. Four, if you count the two times we voted on the Corrections budget.

It least the lobbyists are staying busy just outside the doors. Special interest groups, like the MEA, are applying heavy pressure to raise taxes of any kind.

All of this gives me plenty of time to keep in contact with my district. Interesting what the taxpayers say in relation to what tax spending groups feel about budget solutions. I have great empathy for educators, human service workers, and state employees, but the state of Michigan is just plain out of money!

Corrections Budget

Voting on the Corrections budget now. There are cuts in the budget, but one 0f the problems with this budget is that any early paroles that violate their conditions of parole, go into our jails and we're cutting revenue sharing for Counties. Double whammy for local units of government.

Turtle's Pace

Again, to give you a little flavor of what it’s like to be down here today. Check out my previous post (the time). The same vote is still on the tally board, 68-40. They are moving at a snails pace. I have no clue why the vote is hanging.

We’ve had two votes since 10am, which means a lot of phone calls were made and a lot of budget reading was done. But, we have an awful long way to go to balance the budget.

DEQ/DNR Budget

Right now… voting on a 10% cut to DEQ/DNR. Looks like support for the Conference bill

Negotiating School Budgets

Well… spent most of the day fielding phone calls on budget issues (When we weren’t voting on that one bill). The k-12 budget is the toughest one for administrators to deal with, because we’re already into their fiscal year and programs are already established.

We get that down here. The biggest problem is that school budgets are so tightly woven into constitutional revenue, such as property tax and sales tax, that this isn’t much room to wiggle. Two years ago, we could back fill budget holes with general fund. This year, there are no extra dollars.

Dept. of Ed Budget (different from School Aid Fund)

Voting right now on the Dept. of Education budget. This is a tough one because the libraries are shifted over from History, Arts and Libraries (HAL)

The vote is split, but very bi-partisan.

Corrections budget comes next, I think.

Editorial: Keep cutting | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Editorial: Keep cutting | detnews.com | The Detroit News

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Back in session at the Capitol Building. A lot of very tough decisions need to be made in the next two days. Decisions that will impact how next year’s budget will unveil itself. Michigan government will be reshaped by this Thursday.

Early thoughts: I’m a terribly concerned that legislators have had the past three days off. Saturday and Sunday sessions were canceled and Monday was lost to us because of Yom Kippur (Though I noticed the post office was delivering mail on Monday)

The House Majority leadership must be extremely certain that we can complete our work to avoid a shutdown. I wish I shared their confidence, this morning.

Time will tell, and I’ll keep you posted as things unfold today.

Well... looks like they're calling it a night. Session is scheduled for Sunday at 2pm.

That's not bad, I can still hit my Thomas Township Firefighter's Pancake Breakfast. I missed it 2 years ago because of the budget mess. I have to admit that the pancakes are pretty tasty.

I'll start writing again, as things begin to unfold.

Thanks to all that responded on facebook and by email to my office.

Talk to you soon

Resumed voting a little after 9pm. Kind of looks like one last non-controversial vote and the House might adjourn for the night.

Not sure whether, whether we'll reconvene Saturday or Sunday. We're preparing for a full weekend.

Recessed for an hour. Looks like we'll be here untill at least midnight.

Yes... couldn't find enough votes! The DEQ job-killing bill was withdrawn. At least for a little while.

More agency blackmail! The Department of Environmental Quality is telling Michigan residents that if it doesn't get outrageous fee increases the permitting process will "slow down."

This kills industry in Michigan. It's a simple money grab.

This will add 60% to Consumer's Energy. Guess who pays for that! 830 plus companies will pay through the nose. This may add up to a couple million dollars

This is an devious end around toward your wallet! I voted no on this HB 5220

Just to give you a flavor for what happens in Lansing. This is about Transportation Funding:


HB 5072 - Amends the Michigan Vehicle Code to allow $12 million in drivers license fee revenue to be diverted from the Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) to the state's general fund for FY 2008-09.

While the bill indicates that $18 million is being transferred to the general fund, the bill actually shifts only $12 million more, since the statute was already previously amended to shift $6 million from TEDF for FY 2008-09.

Arguments in Support:
Is consistent with Executive Order 22 of 2009, which the House Appropriations Committee adopted in May to bring the current fiscal year budget into line.

Arguments in Opposition:
Will dilute road funding at a time when Michigan already faces a transportation funding crisis.

I voted no, because it’s a simple shift in spending. Kind of a shell game.

Budget Update: Just passed the Military and Veterans Affairs budget.

Up on the Board, right now is the Agriculture budget! It cuts almost 7%, but increases fees by $100,000, plus fee for migrant housing inspections.

I'm voting no. And... yes, the no's are bi-partisan.

First vote of the day (two days, actually).

Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Not a real controversial bill.

Back at'er. It's a little after 10:30am, I hope I can get the blog clock to set correctly today.

Looks like a long, long day today. The basic framework should be in place by the time we get out of here early tomorrow morning.

Promise Scholarship money still up in the air, but my HB 5376 will likely be discharged directly to the floor today. It acts as a backup plan, that gives students the money through the treasury.

School Aid fund is really getting whacked! Because the budget is dedicated by constitution, so directly, not much wiggle room there, probably.

Will keep you posted as conference committees complete thier work

Noon in Lansing.

27 students and 10 adults from North Elementary School came to visit the Capitol. They said the best part, so far, was laying down on the glass floor in the rotunda and looking up into the tall dome.

In later years, they'll remember being part of a historic time of change. We've not seen this kind of change in the state government in my lifetime, to be sure.

Note to the Teachers: I'd be pleased to come visit your classes to talk a little bit more about what happens here in Lansing. Email my office anytime at kennethhorn@house.mi.gov and Sarah will help make the arrangements.

Seriously... we're adjourned for the day. They announce, "And, to let the members know, there will be no further voting"

We actually had no votes at all, so it sounds kind of wierd.

Shades of 2007, sadly!

Almost 5pm, and still waiting for the action to start.

Pretty sure there's something to do today. Yup... any minute now

This is the first edition of my new blog. I’m just learning this technology, and this is a great time to take a couple of minutes to write to you live from the floor of the House of Representatives.

The state budget is being hammered out as I type. We are currently “At Ease”, meaning that we’re sitting idle while the lawyers are writing the budget bills that the committees have negotiated.

It’s often been said that there are two things in this world you really don’t want to watch, sausage making and politics. I grew up on a farm and grinding sausage was never really a problem for most people. I took my son to a Schlacht fest one winter; it was not the sausage making either. It’s ‘bleeding’ the hog that kind of makes people queasy, I think. And, that’s closer to what’s happening in politics, right now.

In 2007, the fight was over taxes vs. cuts. For my caucus, the focus again will be on cuts and reforms. There’s a reason to be so adamant, and I think the Speaker of the House agrees with us, for the most part.

Severe reforms are on there way. I can’t imagine that any agency director, depending on state financing, will escape the budget ax. But, we’ll all try to be as fair as possible to all.

In the end, this is about Michigan families, and what they can afford. The burdens are heavy, and we’ll (democrats and republicans alike) focus keeping families whole through this terrible economic time.

I will write as news breaks, and if I learn how to add attachments, I’ll send along vital information. You can comment on my blog or send me an email at kennethhorn@house.mi.gov, and I will respond as I can. We’re getting hundreds of emails from concerned residents from the district. I answer as many as I can in a timely fashion.