September 8, 2008

The Michigan Supreme Court today rejected the appeal by the labor-packed, partisan Reform Michigan Government Now, refusing to put on the ballot the proposed state constitutional amendment to revamp all three branches of government. Detroit Free Press story:

The high-court majority -- Chief Justice Clifford Taylor and Justices Michael Cavanagh, Maura Corrigan, Stephen Markman, Elizabeth Weaver and Robert Young Jr. -- said the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal to enact three dozen constitutional changes, including pay cuts for elected officials, reductions in the size of the Legislature and appellate judiciary, and changes in redistricting rules, was too broad to be addressed by the amendment process and could not be adequately explained on the ballot in 100 words as required.

Justice Marilyn Kelly dissented, suggesting the court was leaving open to question the standards for future proposed amendments.

The AP story is here, and the Detroit News is here, with lots more detail. The initiated measure was the brainchild of some Democrats and organized labor, attempting to seize control of government in time for post-Census redistricting. (In reducing the size of the Supreme Court and appellate court, Republican appointees would have been booted.) They kept their backing silent or disguised until the Mackinac Center found a Powerpoint presentation that laid out the whole strategy.

Earlier posts here.