Hopeful Signs?

Is there reason to hope that Republicans in the Legislature are willing to play nice with Gov. Jennifer Granholm this legislative session?

Gongwer News Service reports Thursday (January 24, 2008) that Granholm plans to stress bipartisanship in her State of the State message January 29.

This follows a private dinner, reported recently by the Detroit Free Press, at which Granholm, House Speaker Andy Dillon, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop sat down with their spouses to get to know each other in a non-political setting.

Lack of trust has been cited as one of the factors in the inability to reach a budget deal during the 2007 legislative session without having to first briefly shut down the government.

Meanwhile, Gongwer News Service (a subscription-only service) also has a note about a House Appropriations Committee meeting in which Richard McLellan, special counsel to the committee, suggested the Legislature "reassert some of its power by initiating changes to what he described as a dysfunctional government."

One thing the House could do is adopt a set of joint rules with the Senate that require action on the budget to be completed by July 1 -- rules that would require a two-thirds vote to be suspended.

At the very least, it would cut down the amount of time for game-playing.