Language Tweaked in Part-time Legislature Drive

Liz Gullett

Jul 07, 2017

After potential problems were raised with the initial ballot language of his proposal to enact a part-time legislature, Lt. Governor Brian Calley resubmitted his proposal with changed language. One of the major changes states the legislature must complete session by April 15, instead of the original language which set a cap of ninety consecutive session days without specifying dates. The updated proposal also provides clarity on how a legislator’s salary will be calculated, provides flexibility contains language that is now more consistent with other Constitutional provisions on how the Governor can call for a special session, among a few other changes. “Through this change, the Lt. Governor is tightening the language in case of a legal challenge to the language in the ballot proposal,” stated Cami Pendell of MLC. To view the ballot proposal, please click here.

The group behind the drive has been collecting signatures, however since the old language was used when garnering signatures the group will need to start over. They have a one hundred and eighty-day window to collect 315,654 signatures in order for the proposal to be placed on the ballot before Michigan voters.

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