SBAM has been calling on state legislators and the administration to make government reforms for most of this year. It appears that the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader agree that reform legislation should be the priority in the first few months of 2010.
Speaker Andy Dillon announced last week that his priority for the new year will be to tackle government reforms early. Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop has also called for reforms to move next year.
It remains to be seen what reforms will come up and even more importantly, which ones have the bi-partisan support that will be needed.
The state is currently facing a projected $2.8 billion dollar deficit for next year. By doing the reforms early, hopefully the legislature can alleviate some of the pressure of balancing the state budget next summer as legislators gear up for the election season.
SBAM will continue our efforts to fight for meaningful reforms and the elimination of the MBT surcharge next year.