After the interview I asked the Senator how far along the caucus was in formulating a list of potential changes and cuts.  He indicated that there were actually a lot of ideas floating around and that many were being put together into a preliminary sort of battle-plan.  They know where savings can be had and they know the sorts of numbers they're looking at.

Some of them are easy cuts and some of them aren't.  But they're all doable and they all position Michigan in a better position to compete with our neighboring states for jobs and families.

Now we've gone around and around here on Right Michigan talking about reforms and potential savings that various think tanks and economists have identified over the last year or so.  Those numbers are well known at this point but they're still floating in the ether, abstracts, savings without sponsors.  So I was curious what exactly the Senate was looking at themselves.  Did any of the well known opportunities for savings and reform make the list?  Are there many that we've missed?  

I asked.  

They answered.  

Bishop's office sent through a much more comprehensive list of potential savings and reforms that they're insisting be a part of any solution before the Majority Leader will even allow a vote on a tax hike to take place in the Senate chambers.  These aren't theoretical savings.  This is actually a roadmap for the Senate GOP while the House Dems and the Governor continue to demand a nearly two-billion dollar income tax hike.  Though portions have been discussed, this is the first time a document has surfaced indicating specifically where the Senate is hoping to go.

While many of the potential reforms don't have easily calculable dollar figures for potential savings others do.  We'll call that the "money list."  It includes:

*Reform eligibility and work requirements in welfare to be more in line with our surrounding states and the national average: est. annual savings of $30 million.

*Medicaid reform: est. annual savings of $60 million.

*Prison reforms (aside from employee wage concessions): est. annual savings of $200 million from targeted privatization and reforms to address recidivism.

*Public employee healthcare and retirement reform: est. annual savings of $220 million

*Consolidate Departments- HAL/DIT/DNR/DEQ: est. annual savings $3 million if consolidated.+

*Suspend state worker raises for `08: est. savings $109 million.+

*Seek wage concessions in corrections to bring us inline with the national average instead of releasing felons: est. annual savings $150 million.+

*Agree to suspend prevailing wage on all public projects when our unemployment rate exceeds 20% of the national average: est. savings of $150 million.+

*Cut executive travel expenses: est. savings $11 million.

The items followed by plus marks (+) represent savings that only the Governor herself can take care of through executive orders and the like.  They're absolutely necessary but the legislature can't do anything with them, constitutionally.  

All told that comes to savings of $933 million a year.  It's worth mentioning, there are other estimates out there on the dollar amounts that indicate the Senate's low-balling some of these figures and / or not shooting for the moon on potential reform, opting to pursue solutions more easily embraced by members of the opposition.

Of course the list of streamlining and other reforms is much larger than the money list.  It includes a swath of changes that will save mega-bucks for local governments.  We'll call this one the "local reform list."  It includes:

*Eliminating barriers to consolidation (SB 550 & 551, Sen. Garcia):

--Clarifies statutes to provide that when local units of government choose to consolidate or transfer services that the highest wage and benefit package of the two units does not have to be paid.

*PA 312 Reforms (Language being drafted):

--Adhering to time limits for the arbitration and awards process;

--Requiring that the timing of the presentation of the last best offer be moved to the beginning of the process to limit the number of items arbitrated and to facilitate faster resolution;

--Increasing the number and quality of arbitrators through training and a more refined selection process;

--Clarifying what constitutes a local units' "ability to pay".

Other possibilities?  They want to have the right-to-work debate.  Bishop addressed the issue in the time we spent together and also brought it up unprompted in the larger meeting.  There's legislation in the House and the Senate to deal with it, too.

The Senate is also looking at the possibility of selling or leasing a portion of the poor-tax... errr... state lottery.  That move alone could bring in as much as $750 million.

My thoughts?  It's a good start.  There are still plenty of things that aren't on the list.  Areas for reform, savings, real change and opportunities to bring Michigan closer in line with our competition in other states.

The welfare reforms could likely be tighter.  Outside of corrections there aren't any wage concessions on the list.  Legislative pay and benefit cuts could be added (with a minimal dollar impact but a far larger symbolic effect) to the list.  Heck, the Senate could do right what Robert Dean and his friends in the House Dem caucus did wrong and eliminate life-time benefits for current freshmen legislators, not just those who'll be elected next fall, signaling that cronyism's on it's way out too.

Reigning in state contracts to third party vendors would be a positive step in the right direction.  So would a move to prohibit tax dollars from being spent by one state-funded entity to lobby another state-funded entity.

Then there are the peripherals, things like the Office of the First Gentleman and the new MSP headquarters.

Does it go far enough?  I don't know.  But does it have a sufficient number of entries to the money list to make an income tax unnecessary?  Absolutely.  And just as exciting is the discussion they're hoping to start on substantive reforms that might not move the needle on the cash-scale at the state level next year but will radically alter the way government does business making local governments leaner, meaner and much more able to handle the challenges faced by Michigan's communities.

These changes aren't rocket science.  They hold education harmless, not cutting one red cent from our kids.  They protect the sick and disabled.  They keep dangerous felons behind bars.  And they save the state serious cake.  

There's too much at stake to continue defending the status quo.  It's time to move on these changes yesterday.