LSJ Blogs: Capitol Journal by Scott Davis

Total recall: 16 Republicans now facing voter wrath

This season of recall fury is officially one for the history books.

On Wednesday, state Sen. Bruce Caswell of Hillsdale became the latest Republican targeted for recall, bringing the total to 16 targeted in recent weeks, including Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

The only other time in recent history when such a large number of recalls were sought was the “great recall” of 1983, in which furious voters launched recall drives against then-Gov. James Blanchard and 14 state senators. Two Democratic senators lost their seats for supporting a tax hike, shifting the Senate's balance of power to Republicans.

Time will tell whether these recalls – fueled by outrage over pension tax hikes and business tax custs – will result in any change in the makeup of the House or Senate.

For now, Sen. Judy Emmons of Sheridan, also targeted, has a chance to catch her breath. The Montcalm County Election Commission has rejected the recall petition against her for lack of clarity.

Change in school aid funding stems from murky constitutional change

Gov. Rick Snyder’s controversial school budget has its roots in state constitutional language that is a half-century old.

Snyder’s camp has said the state constitution clearly states that the School Aid Fund is “aid to school districts/higher education,” but where did that language come from?

As researched recently by Craig Thiel of the Citizens Research Council – and reported by Derek Melot of the Center for Michigan – the constitutional Committee on Style and Drafting in 1962 changed the previous wording on the School Aid Fund from “school districts,” then to “public education” and finally to “aid to school districts/higher education.”

So was there much thought put into this change? Apparently not. Thiel told Melot that he could find no record of any in-depth discussion about the change among constitutional committee members.

For decades, school aid funding continued status quo, with the School Aid Fund going to public school districts, until last year’s state fiscal crisis.