[#1]

Turned in nearly 500k signatures...

The grab bag of reforms would:
• Slash the Senate from 38 to 28 members, the House from 110 to 82 members, the Supreme Court from seven to five justices and the state appeals court from 28 to 21 judges; add 10 judges to lower courts.
• Cut state government from 20 to 18 departments.
• Set up a nine-member commission for legislative redistricting, four from each party with a nonpartisan leader. Now, the party in power controls the process.
• Allow anyone to vote absentee. Now, you have to be sick, elderly or otherwise unable to get to the polls.
• Allow people to vote in primaries without declaring a party affiliation.
• Strengthen a ban against voting by illegal immigrants.
• Cut the salaries of lawmakers, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state 25 percent, and Supreme Court justices and judges 15 percent.
• Limit retirement benefits for all state elected officials to no more than what retired state employees get.
• Require legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and justices and judges each year to report their incomes and assets, as well as those of their spouses.
• Ban lawmakers and top government officials from lobbying for two years after they leave office.

The reform proposal, which has been under the political radar and caught most elected officials by surprise, will face strong opposition from the likes of the Michigan Republican Party, Michigan Chamber of Commerce and many lawmakers, some of whom could lose their jobs under the far-reaching plan. It has the support of organized labor and the Michigan Democratic Party, which sources say were instrumental in its drafting.