The New & Not-Improved Emergency Financial Management bill HB 4214

Why Synder's Emergency Financial Management (EFM) plan is bad?  If a city is broke, don't we need a plan to get the finances in order?

There is already a law that allows emergency financial takeover. It was enacted by legislature during Blanchard years. It does not go to the extreme that this bill does.  There are already bankruptcy laws that cover public entities.

This bill removes ELECTED officials from decision-making entirely -- essentially firing them and canceling YOUR vote.

Remember, this bill will come AFTER his new budget has stripped considerable shared revenue funding to schools, counties, townships & cities. Essentially, he will undermine their past budgeting, during the worst economy in decades and then come in and take them over when they struggle.

The bill does not restrict the salary of the company exec they hire to take over nor restrict bringing in out-of-state management.  The GOP refuses such an amendment.

This bill does not include a requirement that would ensure public hearings where citizens would be given information about alternatives and about the Governor's hired executive or company before the take-over & press could get updates monthly. The amendment was introduced and refused by the GOP.

This bill does not include a experience or a degree in education for the executive or company taking over a school district. The amendment was introduced and refused by the GOP.

It's Union-Busting and democracy-eroding. Starting at Section 19 page 26 (link below), this bill gives the power to the Governor through a private corporate representative (or is that in reverse?) to break contracts with employee unions. These are legally bargained or arbitrated contracts! There's a big desire to break unions, lower wages and make it impossible for people to support the alternative to the GOP & Chamber of Commerce -- the Democratic Party.

 Why this law right now?

Answer A. The GOP is looking for easy answers -- trying to blame the locals because there is no money to operate, INSTEAD of spending their time attracting jobs and giving lobbyists tax breaks.

Answer B. This appears to be a nationally coordinated effort. It appears in addition to the above answer, it is also being introduced now because their corporate donors, including out-of-state and multinational corporate masters, have told them to break local governments and to break unions of workers.

Answer C. We gave them encouragement on the 2010 election. The average Republican voter did not read between the lines when they put these people in office. They failed to do the homework on where these legislators' loyalties really were, what their ultimate goals were. Democrats, liberals and moderates failed to mobilize and educate voters.

Read HB 4214.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billengrossed/House/pdf/2011-HEBS-4214.pdf 

Photo credit: Mitchell Rivard tweet of the Michigan Capitol rally 3/15/2011