In reality, this effort would fundamentally change Michigan government for the worse by weakening the people's voice in Lansing and greatly empowering bureaucrats, lobbyists and the governor.

Senators and representatives in states with a part-time mandate seldom have the experience they need to be an effective voice for the people.

In fact, many of these legislatures only meet once every other year for a very limited period of 30 or 60 days. Instead of serving as a true check-and-balance on the executive and judicial branches of government, they end up functioning with decisions made in advance -- away from the scrutiny of the public -- by unelected bureaucrats.

While critics of the Michigan Legislature point to the last year's budget debacle, it's certain the crisis would have been considerably worse if those legislators had been part-time.

Additionally, the $1.4 billion tax increase on families and businesses would have been substantially higher had the governor got what she wanted, which usually happens in states where the people's voice is part-time and controlled by special interests.

Many will also talk about the salary of Michigan's legislators.

It's true they get paid a lot more than counterparts in many states, however, they also do considerably more work and are also considerably more independent than others.

Michigan is larger -- both geographically and by population -- than most states with part-time legislatures. You can actually drive from Detroit to Washington, D.C., quicker than driving to many locations in the western Upper Peninsula.

Yet despite our state's size, most of our legislators make an effort to commute back and forth between their districts and Lansing. They attend local meetings, go to festivals, hold office hours and go out of their way to listen and learn from their constituents.

Having a higher salary also ensures independence from the influences of special interests. It's also worth pointing out that most corruption and bribery charges involving politicians are found in states with part-time legislators, who in some cases receive a salary of $10 a day.

Paying Michigan's legislators the compensation they deserve also allows Average Joes to run for office, and reducing their pay to part-time levels would mean only retirees, trial lawyers, union bosses and those with connections to big-money special interests could serve. I doubt few would want this as the composition of Lansing.

Most importantly, the part-time initiatives out there would secretly do away with term limits, which were overwhelmingly approved by Michigan voters in 1992.

I agree that term limits have negatively impacted state government, but this is because the limitations are too short.

Instead of doing away with them completely, proponents of going part-time should refocus their efforts to extend the current limitations on service -- allowing legislators to gain the experience they need to be effective voices for the people.

The truth is there is little truth in the arguments of those who want the state Legislature to be reduced to part-time status, which is why their effort likely won't make the ballot in November.