Part-time legislature advocates need no more signatures ? just yes votes for a State Constitution Convention.
The Michigan Constitution requires a vote of the public every 16 years, starting in 1978, as to whether or not to convene a state constitutional convention. The last one was in 1994 and the next could be in 2010.
Henry Woloson, advocate for getting signatures and informing people about making the state legislature part time, said getting 400,000 signatures was a ‘huge undertaking.?
‘I think we did a fantastic job,? Woloson said. ‘With a presidential year and everything else, we just couldn’t turn that interest into 400,000 signatures. The next best option is now that people have a great awareness of the issue.?
State Sen. Mike Bishop also announced his support for the constitutional convention.
‘Don’t you think it’s time the people took the power back into their own hands and started from scratch to build a new Michigan,? said Bishop, through his chief of staff Matt Miner.
‘That’s the way to enact long term solutions to our problems. That’s how we pursue common sense policies that make Michigan more competitive. That’s how we make government smaller, more effective and more accountable.?
To get a ‘head start? on the Constitutional Convention, Bishop wants the Michigan Legislature to create a Joint Committee on Revising Michigan’s Constitution.
‘Obviously when you open up the discussion of the constitution there are a whole lot of things that are opened up. Part-time legislature would be a perfect idea to be addressed,? said Dan Kelly, running for state representative. ‘I could think of a lot of things that we could address…We could also address lobbyist reform and some other things that I think are wrong with Lansing.?
The convention allows anyone to run for a delegate seat, noted Woloson.
A State Constitutional Convention doesn’t automatically mean a win, but it does allow for discussion, he said.
‘That’s the whole concept of a constitutional convention, you run for a job and your neighbors decide, do you feel if this is the best person to represent your interest.Than away we go and we get into Lansing, we hash out compromise, come up with a proposal, and put it out to the voters, he said.
? If they agree with us than they vote it in. If they say the existing constitution is better than the one we proposed, then we had our say, we had our opportunity and we had our day in court.?
For more information, check www.ReformMichiganGovernment.com.