LANSING – In a move to help resolve the state's unprecedented fiscal crisis, State Representative Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) today voted in support of several bills as part of a comprehensive plan to move Michigan forward by decreasing lawmaker salaries by 5 percent and ending "double-dipping," freezing worker pensions if they come back to work for the state to avoid being paid twice for the same job.
"Michigan is facing an unprecedented fiscal and jobs crisis, and the first step our elected officials must make is leading by example," Dean said. "Our residents are making sacrifices to move this state forward, and it's only fair that our lawmakers make those same sacrifices. If it will help get Michigan back on track, I will take a pay cut."
House Democrats introduced a resolution calling on the State Officers Compensation Commission, the body in charge of determining legislator salaries, asking for a decrease in lawmaker's salaries by 5 percent beginning with the 2009-10 legislative year, the earliest allowed under the constitution.
In addition, House Democrats also passed a bipartisan plan that eliminates "double-dipping" for retired state employees by requiring them to freeze their pensions if they come back to work for the state to avoid being paid twice for the same job.
"Today, the House passed a series of reforms that will help get Michigan's economy back on track," Dean said. "We have gone through the budget with a fine-tooth comb, and we've said from the beginning that cuts and reforms would be the first priority when balancing the budget."