Page 2 The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 31, 1986 Drive seeks By AMY D. GOLDSTEIN * Provide for A Brighton-based group pushing for to meet in emerj the establishment of a part-time state " Provide for legislature will be collecting policy between signatures in the Fishbowl today. employer; University adminstrators say they * Decrease sa are opposed to the idea, and local " Eliminate 1 politicians say they don't expect the legislators not c group led bybusinessman Dick SUPPORTE Chrysler to gather much support lgSlUPPRER here legislature say. CAMPUS representative for the 'allow the Spe Michigan Part-Time Legislature the Majority L Petition Drive, LSA freshman Debbie concurrently ca Buchholtz, said 44 other states curren- special session, tly have a part-time legislature. nor." Buchholtz said she hopes to collect Tom Green, t at least 1,000 signatures, but she does said the propos expect to encounter difficulties. "The state's Consti problem here is that people are Michigan taxpa unregistered or from out of state," st year and $3 t she said. Signatories need to be secutive year. registered Michigan voters. Green admitt The group's proposal would: an uphill battlei " Limit sessions from mid-January the proposal froi to mid-May; "There are a k part 15 special session days gencies, if they arise; a leave of absence a legislator and an laries and expenses; benefit packages for urrently eligible. RS of the part time they are proposing to aker of the House and. eader of the Senate to all the legislature into as well as the gover- he drive's spokesman, ed amendment of the itution would save yers $7 million the fir- o $4 million each con- ed that the group faces in seeking approval of m legislators. lot of people who don't. -time legislature like it," he said. At least 33 percent of th legislators despise it, 33 percent like it, and 33 percent are am- bivalent." University Vice President for State Relations Richard Kennedy, however, said he fears a part-time legislature would mean a decline in the quality of legislators elected to office. "I don't think we'd get a person who would spend as much time under- standning higher education," Ken- nedy said. "I'm not sure we'd get the caliber of legislator we've got now." STATE Sen. Lana Pollack (D-Ann Arbor) said she doesn't expect the proposal to do well in this area because, "Most people in Ann Arbor understand the complexities of government. They understand that you can't have easy solutions to com- plex problems." Pollack and numerous other state legislators say they oppose the proposal because, among many things, it forces legislators to rely heavily on lobbyists for their income. This would breed corruption, they say. "It (the part-time legislature) makes legislators dependent on anotheresourceoftincome that deter- mines their votes," said Pollack. "There are tremendous problems with conflict of interest in the part- time legislature." HOWEVER, Chrysler, Chairman of the Part-Time Legislature Petition Drive, said the Michigan legislature is no stranger to corruption in voting. "Right now, legislators are put into office by special groups like the I I\oI I when you're eating a t ;Or 11. I V cookie with hot chocolate.1 I COOKIE & HOT CHOCOLATE 99* I WITH THIS COUPON I 1 O P EN D A ILY V ' O FFER EX PIR ES T L 1 : 0 P A C ,1 8 I I ------- --- -- ---- - - - ----- - -..- United Auto Workers and the AFL- CIO, and they vote for those unions," Chrysler said. The controversy over the proposal also centers on a legislator's role. The proposal states that "The legislature's most important task is to review and vote on the state budget each year." LEGISLATORS say their key responsibility is to serve their con- stituents. Gov. James Blanchard, according to Deputy Press Secretary Tom Scott, "Thinks that legislators who are ser- ving their constituents full-time are better for the state." Said Pollack: "A lot of people here work 60 to 70 hours a week. The con- stituents expect and demand it. Most of the work, of course, does not get done on the floor. That's like saying you can go to college and only take exams." SOME opponents of the proposal say their main objection to it is that it disrupts the state Constitutional system of checks and balances. "If you only have a legislature for four months a year, then you leave everything to the bureaucracy to run the state, rather than the people they elect," said Rep. John Pridnia (R- Harrisville). "We are larger in size, more in- dustrial, and our size and complexity means that we need a full-time legislature," he added. REP. TOM Hickner (D-Bay City) agreed with Pridnia. A part-time legislature,he said, "would increase the power of the governor and executive branch inordinately. The legislature serves as a check against bureaucracy. That responsibility is a full-time, year-round job." "cIt gives the execxutive almost complete power," said Rep. Maxine Berman (D-Southfield). "Those (executive) departments can do an awful lot of things in and of them- selves." Pridnia noted that the state had a part-time legislature until 1969, but switched to the full-time system as the state's population grew along with the complexity of issues. "The recession period of the mid- 1960s led to an eventual move to full- time legislatures in the late 1960s," he explained. "At that period, the size, complexity, and magnitude of the problems caused them to sit down on a full-time basis.' RENT A REFRIGERATOR Phone: 1-815-895-2443 or 1-800-255-2255 ext. 7368 free phone call FREE DELIVERY T-SHIRT PRINTING TEAM AND ORGANIZATION SIRTS RUSH JOBS WELCOME MULTI-COLOR OUR SPECIALTY SURPLUS AND "OOPS" SHIRTS 3/$5.50 SUPERIOR QUALITY SINCE 1973 206 S. FIRST 994-1367 PASSA IT AROUNDI IN BRIEF COMPILED FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS One in three U.S. children received government aid WASHINGTON - About one American child in three lives in a household receiving some form of government assistance, ranging from food stamps to Medicaid, the Census Bureau reports. Overall, about 19.5 million children, or about 1 in 3, were members of a household that received benefits based on family income, during the four- th quarter of 1984," the bureau said. There were 60.9 million children under age 18 at the time of the study, published as part of the bureau's quarterly Survey of Income and Program Participation. This means those taking part in government programs constituted about 38 percent of the total. Free and reduced-price school lunches were by far the most common type of means-tested benefit received, with 13.8 million children, or 23 percent of all American youngsters, participating. Means-tested benefits are those distributed based on the income of the household getting the money. Reagan seeks to aid Angola WASHINGTON - President Reagan assured guerrilla chieftan Jonas Savimbi yesterday he wants to be "very helpful" to his campaign to oust the Cuban-backed government in Angola, and the administration suggested it wants to give aid secretly rather than openly. Savimbi, leaving the White House, pronounced himself satisfied. "He wants to be very helpful to what Dr. Savimbi and his people are trying to do, and what we're trying to arrive at is the best way to do that, Reagan said. The administration reportedly is seeking up to $15 million in aid for Savimbi, who was trained as a guerrilla fighter by Mao Tse-tung and other leaders of the Chinese revolution before forming the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Savimbi's forces control one-third of Angola's territory and exercise political influence over about 60 percent of the country's 7 million people. On the other side is a Marxist government backed by 35,000 Cuban troops and Soviet aid totaling more than $2 billion in recent years, accor- ding to administration estimates. Until congressional repeal of the so-called Clark Amendment last year, the United States had been banned from providing aid in Angola. Sailor may face death penalty NEWPORT, R.I.-- A military jury yesterday began deliberating the fate of a black sailor the Navy says carefully plotted the death at sea of a white lieutenant in a case that could result in the Navy's first use of the death sentence in 136 years. In closing arguments, Navy prosecutor Lt. Daniel O'Toole said eviden- ce "shrieks out" that Petty Officer Mitchell Garraway planned the stab- bing death and then tried to hide his plans. But the civilian defense lawyer, Trevor Brooks, said the murder was committed in a spontaneous fit of rage directed more toward authority figures than the specific victim. Garraway, 21, pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder in the June 16, 1985 slaying of Lt. James Sterner aboard the USS Miller while cruising off the Bermuda coast. Garraway's attack on Sterner, Brooks said, resulted from the blocked promotion, tension build up from not having shore leave in more than a year, and by his belief there were mounting racial problems aboard ship. Trade deficit at all-time high WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit, spurred by a $5.5 billion trade imbalance with Japan, reached a record $17.4 billion for December and set an all-time high of $148.5 billion for 1985, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The Commerce Department also announced that the index of leading economic indicators, a forecaster of economic change, increased 0.9 per- cent in December, matching the August increase and the best showing since last January's 1.3 percent increase. The indicators rose 5.8 percent for all 1985, compared with a 0.4 percent increase in 1984. The index increased 0.2 percent in November and 0.6 percent in Oc- tober. December's composite index was 173.6 compared with the base of 100 set in 1967. The department said last year's $148.5 billion trade deficit was $25.2 billion more than the $123.3 billion deficit in 1984. Marcos to act civil in defeat MANILA, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos yesterday pledged a "peaceful and successful transition" of power to Corazon Aquino if she defeats him in the Feb. 7 special presidential election. Asked during an open forum at a Rotar Club luncheon if he would hand over power to Aquino if she wins the election, Marcos said the idea of losing "has never entered my mind." He then added, "i assure you that whatever happens, I will perform my duty as president of the Republic of the Philippines, which includes a peaceful and successful transition." Marcos also announced the appointment of two little-known lawyers, including one who is an assistant solicitor-general in the Marcos ad- ministration, as new members of the Commission on Elections. The commission has been widely accused of being subservant to Mar- cos. U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth had said filling the two vacant seats on the nine-member commission with qualified individuals would significantly build Filipino and foreign Confidence in the fairness of the electoral process. 01 he Michigan B aitg Vol XCVI - No. 86 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Monday through Friday during the Fall and Winter terms. Subscription rates: September through April - $18.00 in Ann Arbor; $35.00 outside the city. One term - $10.00 in town; $20.00 out of town. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and Sub- scribes to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los.Angeles Times Syndicate, and College Press Service. i« 14 0 S Editor in Chief.................NEIL CHASE Opinion Page Editors...........JODY BECKER JOSEPH KRAUS Managing Editors ....... GEORGEA KOVANIS JACKIE YOUNG News Editor.............THOMAS MILLER Features Editor............LAURIE DELATER City Editor ..............ANDREW ERIKSEN Personnel Editor........... TRACEY MILLER NEWS STAFF: Eve Becker, Melissa Birks, Laura Bischoff, Rebecca Blumenstein, Joanne Cannella, Philip Chidel, Dov Cohen, Kysa Connett, Tim Daly, Nancy Driscoll, Rob Earle, Rachel Gottlieb, Stephen Gregory, Linda Holler, Mary Chris Jakelevic, Vibeke Laroi, Michael Lustig, Jerry. Markon, Eric Mattson, Amy Mindell, Kery Mura- kami, Jill Oserowsky, Joe Pigott, Christy Riedel, Michael Sherman, Jennifer Smith, Jeff Widman. Cherylt Wistrom. Associate Opinion Page Editor .. KAREN KLEIN OPINION PAGE STAFF: Gayle Kirshenbaum, David Lewis, Henry Park, Peter Mooney, Susanne Skubik Chief Photographer..............DAN HABIB PHOTO STAFF: Jae Kim, Scott Lituchy, John Munson, Matt Petrie, Dean Randazzo, Andi Schreiber, Darrian Smith. Sports Editor ................. TOM KEANEY Associate Sports Editors..........JOE EWING BARB McQUADE, ADAM MARTIN, PHIL NUSSEL, STEVE WISE SPORTS STAFF: Dave Aretha, Mark Borowsky, Debbie deFrances, Liam Flaherty, Steve Green- baum, Rachel Goldman, Jon Hartmann, Darren Jasey, Phil Johnson, Rick Kaplan, Christian Mar- tin, Scott Miller, Greg Molzon, Brad Morgan, Jerry Muth, Adam Ochlis, Chris Parker, Mike Redstone, DuaneuRoose, Jeff Rush, Scott Shaffer,. Pete Steinert, Douglas Volan. 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