http://www.crcmich.org en-us elupher@crcmich.org (Eric Lupher) http://crcmich.org/rss/sbn2010-01.html The Citizens Research Council (CRC) of Michigan has released a paper, *The FY2011 Executive Budget: 'Déjà Vu All Over Again'*, examining the Governor’s FY2011 executive budget, with special attention to those aspects intended to address the long-term structural imbalance plaguing the General and School Aid Fund budgets. Tue, 9 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/concon022010.html The second in the Citizens Research Council of Michigan's series of papers about state constitutional issues focuses on Michigan's constitutional history. The people of Michigan have adopted four constitutions (1835, 1850, 1908 and 1963), have rejected two (1867 and 1873) and failed to approve the calling of a convention on 11 occasions (most recently in 1994). *A Brief Michigan Constitutional History* describes the successful and unsuccessful votes to convene constitutional conventions and approve revised constitutions. It also compares the issues that led to a successful convening and revision of the constitution in the early 1960s to the issues voters are likely to consider in deciding this year's question. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/concon012010.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has released the first of a series of papers analyzing issues that voters may use to decide their vote on Proposal 1 on the November 2, 2010 ballot. Proposal 1 will ask Michigan voters whether a constitutional convention should be convened for the purpose of a general revision of the state Constitution. The 1963 Michigan Constitution provides in Article XII, Section 3, that in 1978 and every 16 years thereafter the question of a general revision of the constitution shall be submitted to the electors of the state. CRC plans to release analysis of the con-con question in a series of papers to be released on roughly a bi-weekly schedule. Tue, 9 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/edgovernance2010.html A new report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan analyzes how public education is structured and governed in Michigan. The report finds education governance to be complex with multiple government officials and agencies from all levels of government involved in education governance and policymaking. The report discusses the roles of the federal government, state government, intermediate school districts, local school districts, and public school academies (i.e., charter schools) in Michigan's education governance system. It used to be that public education in Michigan was the responsibility of local government officials, but now it is considered a high priority by officials at all levels of government mirroring a nation-wide trend toward more centralized education funding and governance. Beyond the formal education governance structure, other groups and actors have influence over education governance and policy, including federal and state courts, unions, state and local education associations, and community interest groups. Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/housingtrust2009.html Federal, state, and local governments have all implemented various programs aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing for low income residents. The loss of high wage, low skill jobs; the foreclosure crisis; tight credit; the national recession; and continuing problems in balancing the state budget have contributed to the need for new approaches to meet the challenge of affordable housing. While some communities are overwhelmed with vacant, foreclosed properties and dispossessed families, others are concerned with providing housing for low wage service workers, seniors, or special needs populations. The differences in regional economies within the state has resulted in a need for funding structures that can be adapted to meet particular low income housing needs. The report, *Housing Trust Funds: Barriers and Opportunities*, also explores income metrics, federal low income housing programs, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, state constitutional issues, land trusts, and land banks. Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/govtempl2009.html Michigan has been shedding jobs continuously since June 2000, and Michigan employment is now more than 20 percent below the June 2000 peak. In its most recent publication, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, focuses on the job losses in the public sector over this time period, comparing public sector outcomes with what has occurred in the private sector. *Michigan Private and Public Sector Levels over the Business Cycle* finds that the changes in public sector employment have been multifaceted, with the public sector employment changes dependent on a number of factors. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/propsdands2009.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has analyzed two issues scheduled to appear on the Detroit general election ballot on November 3, 2009. Proposal D proposes an amendment to the Detroit City Charter to change from the current at-large system of electing city council members to a hybrid system in which some members are elected from districts and others are elected at large. Proposal S would allow Detroit Public Schools to borrow $500.5 million for the construction and renovation of school facilities. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:45:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/kent.html A new report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan analyzes existing collaboration, identifies statutory and charter impediments to the expansion of collaboration among metropolitan Grand Rapids cities, and suggests services for which the communities might benefit by collaborating for their provision. The report, entitled Streamlining Functions and Services of Kent County and Metropolitan Grand Rapids Cities, was conducted at the request of the communities. Thu, 1 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/guilfoyle.html Jeffrey P. Guilfoyle, 39, will become the sixth president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan at the 93rd Annual Meeting of CRC on September 11. He is currently Director of the Office of Revenue and Tax Analysis (ORTA), Michigan Department of Treasury, a post he has held since 2007. He succeeds Earl M. Ryan, 66, who has held the position since 1994 and who will retire from CRC at the end of October. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:15:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/latebudgets.html Late adoption of State of Michigan appropriations in recent years has created significant problems, particularly for substate governments, but a deadline earlier than the end of the fiscal year probably would have little effect in alleviating the problem. That is the conclusion of a new Citizens Research Council of Michigan Memorandum, Late Budgets in Michigan: Causes, Effects, and Implications. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2009-GRA-award.html On July 28, 2009, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan was awarded the Most Distinguished Research award for 2009 at the 96th Annual Conference of the Governmental Research Association in Washington, DC. The winning report, Approaches to Consolidating Local Government Services, explores the means available in Michigan for interlocal provision of services, based on the nature of the services involved. CRC also received a Certificate of Merit for Most Effective Education for its analysis of Proposal 2 on the 2008 statewide Michigan ballot, the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research amendment to the Michigan Constitution. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/budgetcliff.html Today CRC is releasing its latest report, Michigan State and Local Government Retirement Systems, which describes the 138 state and local pension systems in aggregate, explores the financial and managerial state of the public retirement systems, provides details for several of the major state and local public pension systems, compares key metrics to national averages, and explores the possible ramifications of the current economic situation on public defined benefit plans and on state and local governments. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/mandates.html Today the Citizens Research Council of Michigan issued its report to the Legislative Commission on Statutory Mandates, a body created by Public Act 98 of 2007, that was created as one of two legislative commissions as part of the 2008 state budget agreement. The Commission is reviewing and investigating the extent to which unfunded mandates have been imposed on local governments, and is to recommend process reforms to the legislature so that laws that require local governments to provide new activities or services can be properly addressed in the future. The Commission engaged CRC to investigate practices in other states with similar laws. Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:15:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/budgetcliff.html The Federal Recovery program, ARRA, which is aimed at the cyclical downturn, will provide significant new funding for Michigan, but it will not be sufficient to prevent spending cuts; will mask the size of the cuts necessary to deal with the structural deficit; will not be available long enough see the state through the entire period of reduced revenues caused by the recession; and will cause a revenue "cliff" when the additional federal funding expires Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:30:00 EST