The Only Question This Week): Overlooked until last week was Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s proposal to cut the budget of the state’s Auditor General by 28%. Whitmer wants to slash spending in support of her state’s Office of the Auditor General, which is a non-partisan ‘watchdog’ agency, by $8.3 million.
Whitmer’s budget proposal for the 2024-’25 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, would increase general fund appropriations for the auditor’s office by $1 million but would also eliminate 23 interdepartmental grants and 13 appropriations from special revenue funds totaling $9.3 million.
This would gut the watchdog agency’s resources and staffing. In a letter to the four top legislative leaders, Auditor General Douglas Ringler said he had not received any advance notice about the budget cuts. Ringler warned that the cuts would have “legal, constitutional, and financial risks.”
Why would a state’s chief executive want to gut the office of this watchdog? Is it a way to insulate her administration from scrutiny?
For example, the Auditor General recently reported the Whitmer Adminstration’s failure to perform background checks and fingerprinting on employees, huge delays in disciplinary actions involving licensee violations at the Cannabis Regulatory Agency, and negligence in the inspection of critical hospital infrastructure. Also, a million dollars worth of booze has gone missing from the Liquor Control Commission.
So, is it a mere coincidence that Whitmer wants to defund a department that is pushing for more accountability regarding what the Whitmer administration is doing with all the money the Legislature has given it?
Is the governor cutting corners elsewhere? No.
Her overall budget proposal for FY 2024-25 is a whopping $80.7 billion and includes free preschool for K-12 education, free community college for all and rebates on new battery electric or hybrid vehicle purchases, according to the Detroit Free Press.
House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo area) blasted Whitmer’s proposal to cut the Auditor General budget. Hall charged that “Whitmer’s administration has received failing grades from this investigative office throughout her tenure, and to keep her future aspirations intact, she wants to make sure no one is checking her homework … In a budget proposal spending more than $80 billion, this cut appears to be a calculated and intentional attack on the only remaining nonpartisan oversight body. The Legislature must reject the governor’s cuts and fully fund the auditor general’s vital work — shedding sunshine on state government and helping the people of Michigan and their elected representatives know what works and what’s broken.”
So, what about this? Is this simply a ‘message’ from the governor indicating she thinks the A.G. has been getting a lot of taxpayers’ money it doesn’t really need and should be reined in a little? After all, the governor proposes, but the Legislature disposes of what the governor recommends, one way or the other. The Legislature controls the purse strings of state government, and in this case the Legislature, not the governor, under the Michigan constitution actually APPOINTS the Auditor General to a fixed term of eight years. Can’t the Legislature simply plug in the dollar amount it believes the Auditor General’s office should have and send it to the governor, daring her to veto it? And if she does veto it, they can override that veto by a 2/3 vote in each chamber. If majority Democrats are willing to stand up to this Democratic governor, they could surely count on Republican votes to reach the 2/3 threshold required to supersede Whitmer’s veto, thereby funding the Auditor General’s office at the level lawmakers believe it should have (Go to https://video.wkar.org/video/mar-22-2024-john-cherry-off-the-record-7el4ij/).
Answer): How far hath the mighty fallen! Michigan’s Auditor General was at one time a statewide elected office (under the 1908 Constitution, for instance), and it still is in some other states. But delegates to the 1961-62 state Constitutional Convention aka “Con-Con” removed it as an elected office, as well as the state Highway Commissioner, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and state Treasurer, all of which are now appointed. Instead, they made the Auditor General a fixed-term appointment by the state Legislature, on the grounds that the “appropriators” needed to have a ‘watchdog’ to check up on how the executive branch was spending the money given to it. There have been only four Auditors General under Article 4, Section 53 of the current Constitution (not counting a couple of “acting A.Gs”) — Albert Lee, Franklin C. Pinkelman, Thomas H. McTavish, and Ringler. Whitmer may not like it that the current auditor, Ringler, was appointed in 2014 by a Republican-controlled Legislature (influenced by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, who was himself a C.P.A.), and she can’t get rid of him even though Ringler got no opposition from Democratic legislators at the time he was named. Nevertheless, Whitmer dislikes opposition from anyone is state government she can’t control, and she can’t control Ringler. The question is, how do the Democratic majorities in the state House of Representatives and Senate feel about Ringler? And does it even matter if they’re satisfied that he’s doing his job the ‘right way’ and doesn’t deserve this treatment from Whitmer? Rather, the question is, if Whitmer doesn’t like him, do they dare stand up to her? If they’re willing to confront the governor, they can certainly count on Republican support to get the 2/3 majority in both chambers they would need in order to prevail over the governor’s opposition. Most of the present-day news media is completely asleep on this issue, but it certainly bears watching.
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Tim Sullivan says
Nice article, Bill. And timely. For those unfamiliar with how State of Michigan departments operate, as a retired state employee of 4+ decades and a chief steward for 3+ decades, the Auditor General is the one department head whose word you can reliably take as true. But are we really surprised at this? I mean just look at what the legislature did for recent sunshine legislation mandated by the recently passed Proposition 1. Sadly, this is not likely to be the last we see of the evisceration of ANY oversight of state government.
Make no mistake, the 28% budget cut proposed by the governor is intent on being a death sentence on the Auditor General in terms of them doing their job. Think the fines laid upon Trump by various New York judges (federal and state) is a death sentence? No, they’re not. This is. Imagine any governmental institution getting a 28% budget cut and being expected to do the same level of work. Could your local schools handle such a cut? We know the answer to that is NO. Ann Arbor and Wayne-Westland Schools are looking at deficits significantly less than 28%. And look at the extent of cuts those two school districts are planning. How about the cops? Could your local police force lose 28% of its budget and still provide the same level of service? Firefighters? EMS services? State or city parks? The Department of Health and Human Services? The Department of Corrections? Medicaid payments and the hospitals, clinics and medical professionals who rely on those payments? Colleges and universities? Your own household? The answer is most likely not. Yet this is what the Auditor General is facing.
Several things we need to keep in mind here. Auditor General Ringler received NO notice of any cut. One would think that with all the added state spending – as noted in this week’s TBR – the need for a healthy Auditor General budget is needed more than ever.
As Bill has pointed out this week, the Auditor General recently reported the Whitmer Administration’s failure to perform background checks and fingerprinting on employees. No background checks or fingerprinting on workers or new hires, I mean what could go wrong? Hire a pedophile or pederast?
Huge delays in disciplinary actions involving licensee violations at the Cannabis Regulatory Agency. I mean, what could go wrong here. It’s not that that agency has any problems (please ignore former Speaker Johnson). Maybe she just wants us to take another toke. Or two. The Cheech and Chong school of financial oversight. Maybe it’s her way to make Michigan attractive to new folks.
Negligence in the inspection of critical hospital infrastructure? I mean, who needs to inspect hospitals as everyone knows we can fully trust those who run hospitals. Just ask any malpractice attorney on how much we should trust everything a hospital – or doctor – says.
And most annoyingly, Bill points out that the Liquor Control Commission (LCC) has managed to allow about $1,000,000 worth of booze to go missing (and no, they did not send any my way, even for St. Patrick’s Day). That’s a lot of booze. The question of whether it is misplaced, lost, “misrouted”, stolen or hijacked if less likely to be known with an eviscerated Auditor General. Eviscerating the Auditor General is one way to keep the public – and the Liquor Control Commission – to find out what happened. And prevent it from happening again.
I am not sure if making this an elected position again would fix it. Just look at some of the folks recently elected to statewide office. Having the legislature – regardless of party – find something that resembles a spine is one way to do it. And it will tell her that we (the legislature) are supposed to be partners and not lapdogs or corporeal Charley McCarthys and Mortimer Snerds. One way to fix it though, would require giving the Auditor General a constitutionally mandated budget in the manner of the Civil Service Commission (Article 5, section 11). At least a pissed off – or imperious – governor could not eviscerate the Auditor General.
You’re right on the MSM being asleep at the switch. You mentioned it on the last Off The Record, but outside of that, you would have had to read Axios Detroit or have picked it up from The Western Journal on an MSN feed. I am also told that the Michigan Capitol Confidential – an organ of the Mackinac Center – has reported on this. The fact that we haven’t seen it in the Freep, the Detroit News, or seen on Detroit area TV, is journalistic malpractice of the highest order. Time to write our legislators!
Tim Sullivan says
A short oops here. The Center Square has also reported on this. Mea culpa. Need to re-read two or three times before hitting send.
Patrick Laughlin says
Very astute observations Mr. Sullivan, thank-you !
Tim Sullivan says
You’re welcome.
Ed Haynor says
Well, Michigan citizens must press for government accountability/transparency, regardless of what political party is in office. For how else are they to know?
What readers REALLY want to know from Brother Bill Ballenger is, what is his opinion of MSU Trustee Dennis Denno, his former opinion partner?
Royal says
Bill, thanks for the timely article,
The dems have shown there is no such thing as non-partisan, The Auditor General post is toast if everybody ignores them. Eliminate it and throw a big dem fundraiser for the election season. The repubs will figure this out some day . . . not today.
Repubs should focus on winning hearts and minds of voters (hint: its not by caving in and looking like dem-lites . . .). Election wins will follow. And hang together for they are surely hanging separately, one by one . . .
LaRea says
Appreciate this being brought to the attention of Michigan residents. Important checks and balances are at stake. This is the inside kind of actions that make for a corrupt government. Control is good and needed in certain circumstances, but if things are done for the good of the people then watchdogs and audits should work for the good of the majority.
Leanne says
Preventing needed funding for an oversight agency is the best way of preventing unwanted scrutiny.
For years the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission had its funding capped at $1 million per annum.
This low funding ensured that only the most egregiously unethical judges got disciplinary action against them.
“Sunshine is the best disinfectant.” – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
John C Stewart says
Tim Sullivan and Ed Hanner have analytically nailed this issue
A 28% cut by Governor Whitmer to the auditor generals budget. Most assuredly this was done to severely restrict the oversight and accountability of the Whitmer administrations mismanagement. How terribly sad.
“Whitmer dislikes opposition from anyone in state government she can’t control and she can’t control the auditor general“
10x25mm says
Governor Whitmer is providing us with an advanced notice that she is going to cook Michigan’s financial books. This has become necessary due to the withdrawal of Federal government COVID subsidies.
Patrick Laughlin says
Thanks Bill, this is much more significant than the capitol media realizes!
Robert Nelson says
You miss the reason for the budget cut-
The Auditor General has been used for partisan attacks on Whitmer. It was never this way under previous Auditor Generals. Ringler has become the “go to” guy for any Republican who wants to raise a partisan issue with the Guv.
Leanne says
So you seem to agree that Whitmer’s administration had some retaliatory motives in slicing funding?
If GOP legislators have a legitimate gripe with Whitmer they should be enlisting help from the Auditor General.
Leanne says
Also, the plural of “auditor general” is “auditors general”.
John C Stewart says
Thank you Leanne. You are correct “auditors general” and on so many other issues. Stop by 1142 S. Main, Plymouth, 48170.My wife calls my Law Office “My Michigan Museum”