LANSING – Another stab at restructuring state government, this time under a realization that Michigan’s economy will never be what it has been as an auto-dominant culture, is underway with the expectation it will lead to a series of gubernatorial actions late this year and early next to shrink the number of departments and realign what services each agency provides.
Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr. announced Tuesday a list of seven core functions the state should or is obligated to provide. It is the first step in responding to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s directive that the state operate with no more than eight departments, down from the current 18.
“We’re driving a government that was designed in the 1950s,” Cherry told reporters.
He said the goal of streamlining government is not focused on the budget, or how to fit the government functions within the available revenues, but is an attempt to reduce duplication and make government more responsive. “We are focused on the bureaucracy,” he said.
The next steps will involve public hearings, beginning June 16, and taking comments online from residents, legislators, those within government at all levels and others interested in what government provides.
Cherry said despite seven consecutive years of a shrinking economy while Granholm has been governor, it is this year when it became clear that it was not a cyclical downturn but a fundamental change that must force state adjustments.
The core functions identified by a workgroup led by Cherry, and which were shared with Granholm cabinet members early in the day, are:
Public safety
Education (from early childhood through adult);
Public systems (transportation, recreation, water/waste, utilities and information technology);
Well-being (people should be free from hunger and have access to medical care and safe shelter);
Sustainability (protect land, air, ecosystems and water);
Economic opportunity and prosperity (stimulate entrepreneurship and promote the state’s existing and emerging industries);
Efficiency and effectiveness.
Not part of the review led by Cherry are the functions of the attorney general or secretary of state, who each head separate departments but are elected independently.
State government has been studied at other times with an eye to improve what it does, such as the Secchia Commission in the Engler administration with recommendations in 1994 that was focused on making government more responsive and efficient by such means as setting timelines to make decisions and reducing state worker classifications
.Then in 2004-05, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce helped promote a budget-driven review of state government based on principles in Peter Hutchinson’s Price of Government book.
Chamber President Rich Studley said it is too soon to tell how productive the Cherry effort will be, though he said the lieutenant governor is very knowledgable about state government and is respected by the business community as a capable leader. “I think the most important message I could share with him from our membership is the very strong sentiment that it is time for bold action,” Studley said. “The time for fact-finding and further studies is long gone.”
Jack McHugh, legislative director for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which has long advocated for smaller government and who has proposed cutting $2.2 billion in spending by restructuring government systems, such as privatizing prison operations, was skeptical the outlines announced by Cherry can provide meaningful change.
“The seven core functions fairly describes every aspect of human life, so we might ask what isn’t a core function of government,” he said. “That doesn’t seem like a profitable way to begin this exercise.”
He said some are clearly governmental functions but others are too broadly described to provide guidance. Still, McHugh said there is room within the points raised to have a discussion about what government should look like, “and that’s a good thing.”
Cherry said his group would begin by late summer to “map” state activities within the core functions. He said he would not prejudge what activities might be candidates for elimination, but they would likely be laid out in the governor’s 2010 State of the State and 2010-11 budget recommendations.
The changes that will be done can largely be accomplished by executive order, a process that does not require legislative approval, and some of those could be issued by late this year, Cherry said.
“This is not an exercise in cutting,” he said. But Cherry said it would get at such things as reducing the number of state entities that operate purchasing functions or perform lobbying functions. He said it would also help to consolidate some activities that may be spread out over several departments into one agency, making accountability clearer.
Cherry discounted potential criticism that the process is merely a way for him to raise his visibility as he prepares to run for governor in 2010. He said the end product is potentially controversial and likely not a way to become more popular. “This may provide a barrier to political success,” he said.
In addition to the June 16 hearing, another will be held June 24 as part of perhaps a half dozen in total. No locations or other details have been set.
Cherry said the restructuring effort will be his chief focus at this week’s Detroit Regional Chamber policy conference on Mackinac Island.
However, Matt Marsden, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester), said Mr. Cherry’s efforts seem like a duplication of efforts already underway by Mr. Bishop and Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.), and endorsed by Ms. Granholm, to develop ideas for restructuring. Those discussions have been underway, with separate commission meetings, for about a year.
The state needs action now on restructuring and not waiting for another 18 months for action, he said.
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