How to Pass a Detroit Bailout the Majority Party Opposes

How to Pass a Detroit Bailout the Majority Party Opposes [Mackinac Center]
Republicans hold majorities of 59 to 51 in the House and 26 to 12 in the Senate, yet none of them represent Detroit.
Given these obstacles, Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal earmarking $350 million in state money to Detroit over 20 years must be “dead on arrival,” right?
Not hardly.
In fact, even though it won’t solve Detroit’s fiscal or infrastructure problems, and diverts money that could be used for critical needs elsewhere, (like filling potholes; MDOT estimates it costs $20 to fix a pothole, so that $350 million could fix 17.5 million potholes statewide), the bailout has a good chance of being approved thanks to a tactic I’ll call the “budget shuffle.”
Here’s how it works:
Every year the Michigan Legislature passes an annual budget authorizing billions of dollars of spending.
Total spending this year is around $51.3 billion, and the governor has proposed $52 billion in the next fiscal year (which begins Oct. 1).
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