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Group Pushes For Part-Time Michigan Legislature

LANSING (WWJ) - Should the Michigan legislature be cut to part-time?

That's the question being considered by an advocacy group that wants to see lawmakers moved into one 60-day legislative session — with a corresponding pay-cut.

The idea of a part-time Michigan legislature is not new, having been proposed several times in the past.

Salaries would be capped at $35,000 per year. The group would need to collect around 325,000 signatures by early July in order to put the initiative on the November ballot.

WWJ Newsradio 950 Mike Campbell took to the streets to see if Metro Detroiters like the idea.

"I wouldn't say so, no," one woman said. "Well, I think that it's a full-time responsibility, isn't it? I understand money wise, but sometimes you have to look at the importance of a job and kind of go with that."

The majority Campbell asked said they'd prefer to stick with full-time. A few, however, liked the part-time proposal.

"Part time legislature with part-time pay? Yeah," one man said.

"They can get done what they need to get done in a short and more focused time, and there would be less cost to the taxpayers," another man agreed.

Michigan is just one of four states with a full-time legislature.

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