As you all know by now, 100 Michigan State Police Troopers are facing layoffs this summer if something cannot be done about Governor Granholm's executive order axing them.

In the face of a worsening Michigan budget outlook, efforts by Democrats in the Michigan house to save those jobs seem to have stalled prompting a vote by the Troopers union to cut their pay across the board to save those jobs until the end of the fiscal year on September 30th.

All of this is happening as the debate has once again heated up in the Legislature over the Troopers new headquarters building in Lansing. The Michigan Senate voted on an ammendment to MSP's budget, proposed by Sen. Cameron S. Brown, R-Fawn River Township, that forbids tax-payer dollars going towards the new building which would cost tax-payers around $40 million dollars.

Sen. Cameron S. Brown is quoted as saying in a Lansing State Journal article that it is imprudent to move police headquarters from existing facilities in East Lansing when the state is preparing to lay off 100 troopers. "It was ill-advised and ill-conceived from the beginning," Brown said of the project. "It was crafted from the beginning without any oversight from the (full) Legislature. ... What do we say to the troopers who are being laid off?"

GCSI has their latest edition of their GCSIntel out and in it they sit down with Senate Fiscal Agency Director Gary Olson to talk about the state's budget process, timelines and the state's revenue picture.

It is an interesting read that you can get to via the link below.

In other GCSI related news, our lobbying group has been voted the "best and most effective" multi-client lobbying firm in Lansing by a wide margin.

Hit the link below for the latest GCSIntel or the "Read More" link to see GCSI's statement about their latest accolades.

Click here to download the latest GCSIntel

Reprinted from Gongwer News Service:

Buffeted by the pressures of the recent closure of the city of Detroit crime lab and budget cuts that would take away a state crime lab in Marquette, prosecutors, police and local officials said Tuesday the state faces a catastrophic situation in which will lead to criminal cases being dismissed and longer delays in analyzing evidence.

Those testifying before the House Appropriations State Police and Military Affairs Subcommittee suggested a close look at using federal stimulus funds to support crime lab operations and that other areas should be examined for cuts first - such as costs at the new State Police headquarters - before lab operations suffer.

The Detroit lab, the state's busiest, is to be replaced, likely with a State Police crime lab in the city, but plans are not yet complete and training of new technicians takes about two years. The lab was closed after disclosures of errors in analyzing firearms evidence has reopened thousands of cases in which persons may have been wrongly convicted.

Defenders of the Marquette lab, which Governor Jennifer Granholm proposed be shut down as part of the cuts in the State Police budget, said that move would have statewide implications but more importantly would impose significant burdens on the 73 law enforcement agencies across the Upper Peninsula who would have to spend long hours traveling to the next closest facility in Grayling.

It was reported early on the morning of April 30th, that Governor Granholm's administration and budget negotiators are considering a significant layoff of Michigan State Police Troopers to address a projected $1.3 billion state budget deficit. To begin with, there are 81 troopers who just graduated from their academy. The plan is to eliminate most of them. The administration is also looking at senior officers who are eligible for early retirement under the state's DROP plan by reducing the number of years it takes to be eligible for early retirement. That would help; eliminate a few layoffs.

I was in Lansing yesterday. While legislators are happy that General Motors. and Chrysler may not now go bankrupt and/or out of business, they know the loss of jobs through restructuring , plant closings, elimination of product line and dealerships, and a lower wage scale, will have an extremely negative impact on our state, not to mention the "domino effect" throughout the state.

At risk of being taken by the legislature to help address the state budget deficit are the Public Act 302 Training Monies and Public Act 416, Secondary Road Patrol Monies. DSAM and our lobby firm are currently meeting with key legislators to address and educate them on how important these two funds are to Michigan Sheriff Department employees.

by Larry Orlowski
DSAM Executive Director

Click the "Read More" link for more budget information from your DSAM lobbying agency GCSI