[nfbmi-talk] Plan would allow more gubernatorial appointments

[joe harcz Comcast]

I wonder allowed if this Senator would think this might overturn legislative 
requirements? It certainly wouldn't in my mind negate PA 260 and the 
requirement for board approval of the Director of MCB, unless of course, PA 
260 was legislatively reversed, which is something that does crop up from 
time to time.

One reason though for this proposal is that even ur legislators, especially 
since term limits simply don't have the balance of power they used to 
relative to entrenched bureaucrats in virtually all agencies.

In fact they often get the same abuse of FOIA and other lack of transparency 
albeit with more respect than I do.

Personally, I'm not certain this is the appropriate fix for the problem, but 
I do understand and sympathized with the frustration in dealing with 
entrenched bureaucrats who think they are above the law and act in arbitrary 
and capricious manners.

By the way the comment is not in the least aimed at the average frontline 
state worker or even middle management, but rather at this elitist class of 
upper management that is just below these "deputy" level administrators.

By the way this isn't a partisan issue as the article points out for this 
legislator tried this during the last administration too.

Anyway again there are layers in the state apparatchik who think the 
agencies or the state government is all about them. While we know that 
intimately within MCB, it also exists in other entities.

Frankly, my solutions would be more geared to altering term limits which 
would restore more balance between branches of state government and give the 
people more power right at the ballot box. And I would reform our civil 
service mechanisms so that they act by the rule of law rather than whim and 
re-create a meritocracy which the civil service was supposed to do.

In addition I would if governor institute independent and politically 
insulated inspector general's like DHS has throughout. I think that can be 
done through executive order.

Again putting in more political appointees in a state riddled by politics 
within various branches is not the solution in my mind.

Just some thoughts and they do go to blindness in my opinion for we who are 
blind do not give up our over all citizenship and ideas on these matters 
just because we happen to be blind.

Peace with Justice,

Joe


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 3:50 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Plan would allow more gubernatorial appointments


> From the Associated Press:
>
> Plan would allow more gubernatorial appointments
> Posted: Oct 12, 2011 12:35 PM EDT
> Updated: Oct 12, 2011 12:35 PM EDT
> LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A proposal has been introduced in the Michigan 
> Legislature
> that would allow the governor to appoint more state government employees.
> A measure introduced Wednesday in the Senate would allow the governor to 
> appoint
> up to 1% of all employees in each state department. That would translate 
> to roughly
> 450 to 500 people.
> The governor currently can appoint roughly 120 people within state 
> departments.
> The plan introduced in the Republican-led Legislature would give current 
> Republican
> Gov. Rick Snyder more power to influence state departments. But it would 
> require
> a change in the state constitution and would continue to apply to future 
> governors
> regardless of political party if it were approved.
> The measure's sponsor, Republican Sen. David Robertson of Grand Blanc, 
> sponsored
> a similar measure when Democrat Jennifer Granholm was governor.
>
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