Granholm Appoints Emergency Financial Advisory Panel

LANSING -- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm is asking a bipartisan Emergency Financial Advisory Panel to review the state’s current financial crisis and offer recommendations on how best to avoid similar crises in the years ahead.

Co-chaired by former governors William G. Milliken and James J. Blanchard, the advisory panel will report back to the Governor with its recommendations by the end of January.
“As I said in my Inaugural Address just days ago, we have an economic plan that will transform Michigan from a great 20th century state to an even greater state in the 21st century,” Granholm said. “However, full economic transformation is the most pressing problem we face, and how we solve the state’s fiscal crisis is a critical part of our ability to transform our economy. I am pleased to draw upon the expertise of Michigan’s most experienced and respected leaders to offer insight on how to solve this crisis.”
Granholm is seeking the counsel of some of Michigan’s most distinguished leaders as she prepares to deliver the 2007 State of State Address and submit her proposed 2008 state budget. Her budget recommendation will be based on revenue projections coming from the Revenue Estimating Conference scheduled for January 18. That conference is expected to identify a shortfall as high as $1 billion for the current and upcoming fiscal years. That shortfall is in addition to the loss of $2 billion in 2008 as a result of lawmakers’ decision to eliminate the Single Business Tax without replacing it.
The panel was selected based on the varied backgrounds and views of the members, along with their depth and breath of knowledge about state government.

In addition to former Governors Milliken and Blanchard, the advisory panel includes former legislative leaders, one of whom also served as state budget director. They include:
Dr. John Porter, former president of Eastern Michigan University and former state superintendent for public instruction
Paul Hillegonds, senior vice president of DTE Energy and former co-speaker of the state House of Representatives
Dan DeGrow, superintendent of St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency and former Republican state Senate majority leader
Sr. Monica Kostielney, president & CEO of the Michigan Catholic Conference
Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon, president of Michigan State University
Frank Kelley, former Michigan attorney general
S. Martin Taylor, University of Michigan regent
John “Joe” Schwarz, M.D., former U.S. Congressman and former chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee
Don Gilmer, Kalamazoo County administrator and former state budget director
Doug Roberts, former state treasurer
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