(Also available in green at BFM, under a different title. So, if you read it there, you can skip this.)
The MSM finally catches up. As reported at BFM, at Michigan Liberal, and by MIRS, legislators have cancelled "work" for this week.
That's a change from scaling back to a one-week break, after Gov. Jennifer Granholm chided them for leaving next year's budget - and a likely tax increase - still unresolved.
House and Senate leaders decided a two-week vacation would do no harm.
Cue that excuse machine Matt Marsden, complete with the obligatory swipe at Granholm.
"Just because they're not on the Senate floor doesn't mean they're not working," said Bishop's spokesman, Matt Marsden. "They are in their districts, they are doing things for their constituencies."
Marsden said the governor's insistence that lawmakers delay a summer break to solve next year's budget "is not going to help the process move any quicker."
Being at work does not actually mean that you will get any work done! Senate Republican leadership should know. They have made great sport of dragging their feet on budget issues all year.
The LSJ reported on the original vacation cut in this editorial.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm had blasted lawmakers for thinking vacation when budget work was unfinished.
Republican leaders in the Michigan Senate then arranged a vote to change chamber rules to ensure minority Democrats could not force them to stay at the Capitol, as opposed to taking a two-week vacation.
Sometime Thursday, Senate leaders changed their tack. The Senate is set to reconvene July 10; a two-week vacation becomes a one-week jaunt. House Democrats, which had their own extended vacation planned, apparently are following suit.
Nope. The House Democrats bailed first, according to MIRS. But back to our friends at the LSJ-
Most likely this was the result of someone realizing two-week vacations are not a good message for lawmakers to send. In the current climate, voters would like nothing better than to get their hands on legislators' salaries and perks.
So, it looks like someone wised up. But how could it have taken so long? A two-week vacation looked just as bad on June 25 as it did on June 28. Was the shift simply a result of too much public attention? If no one had raised the issue, would the vacation have gone forward as planned?
If so, that doesn't say much for lawmakers' personal priorities.
Indeed. Have to wonder just what it says now, making a show of cutting back and then blowing that off, too.
And here's another knee-slapper; State House Speaker Pro Tem Michael Sak introduced legislation to mandate they get some of the job done by June 15th.
Get that? They need a law to force them to take care of business.
State House Speaker Pro Tem Michael Sak said Tuesday he's pushing for a resolution to amend the state constitution, mandating lawmakers have the education part of the state budget in place each year by June 15.
The move comes as the Legislature continues to wrangle over the 2007-08 state budget, leaving school districts to turn in budgets this week based on educated guesses instead of facts.
Seems that educators got all nervous about not having a budget, and they complained.
Sak, D-Grand Rapids, said he pushed for the change after hearing from frustrated school leaders.
"I understand how difficult it is for the schools because they need to know how much state aid they can expect before they can build a budget," Sak said. "It's even more difficult for the colleges, who need to have that information so they can determine their tuition for the next year."
So, we'll pass a law for the future, but this year? Eh, who cares. Party time!
Let's check our calendars. Everyone is now scheduled to get back July 17th. Hmmmm. How about August, then. Will August be good for you guys?
Ooo. August is looking a little tight.
Tell you what, have your people get in touch with our people and we will see if we might be able to work this thing out, k? No pressure, really, none whatsoever. Not like people's jobs come into play here or anything.
By the way- July doesn't have two "31sts", but who's counting.
Apparently not the Legislature. Not this week, anyway.