LANSING - Today Senate Democrats voted to cut legislators’ salary 10 percent and challenged Republicans to reduce Majority Senate office budgets by the same level. Democrats pointed out that by reducing the Majority office budgets down to the same amount that is allotted for their Democratic counterparts, the Senate Republicans could save nearly twice as much as the legislator pay cut, it could occur immediately for instant savings, and it would not need any further approval by other chambers, the Governor, or commissions.

“Today’s vote was important, but we should not pat ourselves on the back and consider our job done,” said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, sponsor of the Senate measure to reduce budgets. “If Republicans really want to put their money where their mouths are, they will provide greater, more immediate savings by reducing their own office budgets now.”

Under SR 15, all Senate offices, in the Majority or Minority, Democrat or Republican, will receive equal compensation and expense amounts. Each individual member’s office shall have the same number of benefit packages, and both caucus staffs should have the same level of overall compensation. Additionally, all information regarding the Senate’s compensation and expenses shall be made available to the public on the Senate’s website.

“As our families back in the district continue to make sacrifices, there is even more we can be doing to help reduce spending and increase transparency,” said Sen. Glenn S. Anderson. “But we need to go beyond reducing salaries and also look at the disparities in our office budgets, and what that extra money is really going toward. We all represent roughly the same amount of people regardless of what side of the aisle we’re on, and every single constituent in Michigan deserves to be represented equally, and the offices that serve them should have balanced funding as well.”

Currently, individual Senate Republican office budgets are almost $100,000 more than those of Senate Democrats. This proposal would take the $3 million that the Senate Majority currently has in excess of the Minority and put it in the State’s General Fund. This would represent a savings of approximately 10 percent of the Senate budget, almost double the estimated $1.2 million per year the reduction in the legislators’ salary represents. SR 15 was introduced with all Democratic Senators cosponsoring over a month ago, and has yet to have a hearing or a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.

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