The state House GOP leader has called for an amendment to the Michigan Constitution. House Speaker Kevin Cotter wants to make it easier to fire state civil service employees.
Kevin Cotter says the amendment was not created specifically with the Flint water crisis in mind – although that’s the sort of situation it’s supposed to address.
“The package that we’ve introduced is all about smarter government, and how we can make state government work better for the people.”
Democrats say, if Cotter cares about accountability in situations like Flint, he should look to changing the state’s emergency manager law.
Big changes to the civil service would require an amendment to the state constitution and voter approval. Republicans don’t have a two-thirds majority in the House to get something in the ballot without votes from Democrats.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
