By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: November 8, 2019 2:35 PM

Herewith a question: Which is more likely to be accomplished first, a U.S./China trade deal or a budget agreement between Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-controlled Legislature?

Candidly the odds may be better than Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping could come to some arrangement than Ms. Whitmer and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake).

For the first time in decades we have an honest-to-Pete power play underway between a governor of one party and the Legislature of another party. And there is a serious implication this could go on a long time.

Mr. Shirkey's spokesperson has flat out said the majority leader does not trust Ms. Whitmer, that a budget agreement is conditioned on her agreeing to surrender through the rest of her term, and theoretically surrender for every governor hereafter, part of her authority. One should expect Ms. Whitmer doesn't have a lot of trust for the Legislature right now, either.

You have to go back to the 1970s when the Democratic-controlled Legislature tried to force Republican Governor William Milliken to bend to its will on the issue of Medicaid-funded abortions to find anything similar to this situation. He refused, and the Legislature decided to adjourn the fight to another arena.

Mr. Shirkey is demanding Ms. Whitmer sign a bill that puts a hard dollar limit on funds she could transfer via the Administrative Board in the budget. Ms. Whitmer, of course, transferred more than $600 million of appropriated funds between programs largely because the Legislature did no serious negotiating with her when the budget was in process.

The only governor to use the Administrative Board transfer route was former Governor John Engler (and two critical members of the board at that time were Democratic Secretary of State Richard Austin and Attorney General Frank Kelley. All the top officials in the current Ad Board are Democrats). Which raises another question: If Republican Bill Schuette were now governor and transferred the same amount via the Ad Board would a Republican Legislature make the same demand of him to limit his powers?

Yeah, no.

What incentive would Ms. Whitmer have to agree to such a demand? As a trade-off could she then demand the Legislature simply accept her budget proposals unchanged? How loudly would lawmakers laugh at that demand?

The separate but equal provision is at play here, just as much as funding for a whole variety of worthy causes – many of whom doubtless Ms. Whitmer didn't relish taking the action she took against – and is equally important. All three branches of government have tested the limits of each other throughout the state's history.

Rarely, though, have we seen such a demand that one branch concede.

For now, it looks like the clock is running on the Lansing power play. It may be a more interesting faceoff than what the Red Wings have been providing fans with lately.