Governor Granholm's Entire Reform Agenda: Changes to Retirement

Attacking the State’s Structural Deficit

The massive restructuring of the auto industry, which began in 2001, has dramatically and permanently
changed the economic landscape in Michigan. The resulting impact is a state budget with a structural
deficit.

During her tenure, the governor has aggressively attacked this structural deficit. She has issued 47
executive directives limiting state spending, saved more than $1.5 billion by requiring renegotiation and
competitive bidding of contracts and other cost-saving measures, and reduced energy usage in state
facilities by 23 percent. The governor has eliminated five state departments and nearly 300 obsolete
boards and commissions. State government has 10,900 fewer employees than when the decade began; the
smallest size it’s been since the early 1970s.

State employees have done their part, too. They’ve agreed to more than $650 million in concessions over
the past seven years, including unpaid furlough days, banked leave time, and paying a larger portion of
their health-care costs.

The governor is proposing to further address the structural deficit by: