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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Governor <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Rick Snyder to revise reorganization of
services to blind</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">12:48 PM, April 23, 2012<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>|</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Paul Egan</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">By</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Paul Egan</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Detroit Free Press Lansing
Bureau</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder is
soon expected to issue a revised executive order to reorganize services for
Michigan’s blind residents after an earlier version</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">drew protests from advocates for
the blind and a threatened lawsuit.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Snyder officials earlier said the
executive order he issued Feb. 24 would be revised before it takes effect
Tuesday, at the end of a 60-day notice period.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The new order could come
today.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The original order, which
abolished the Commission for the Blind and replaced it with an advisory
committee, was criticized by advocates who said it was</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">developed and released without
consulting blind people in Michigan.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There were also concerns that
Snyder’s plan to move a small business program for the blind from the Department
of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to the</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Department of Technology,
Management and Budget would result in lost federal funding.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Richard Bernstein, a blind
Farmington Hills attorney who specializes in disability cases, said in March he
was researching a possible lawsuit against the</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">state over the executive
order.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Snyder said the reorganization –
which would move most vocational rehabilitation services for the blind from
Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to the Department</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">of Human Services – was intended
to improve efficiencies and services.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Commission for the Blind,
established in 1978, served 2,750 residents during the 2010 fiscal year.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660
or</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">pegan@freepress.com</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>