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HB 6149

Public employees and officers: state; salary recommendations for the heads of the principal departments in the executive branch; provide for. Amends 1986 PA 268 (MCL 4.1101 - 4.1901) by adding sec. 751.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Ken Borton and 6 co-sponsors

Establishes an annual panel ratings-based process to recommend department heads’ salaries, tied to performance, cost efficiency, and the governor’s pay.

bill electronically reproduced 06/30/2026
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Bill Summary · HB 6149

Overview

House Bill 6149 (2025-2026, Michigan) would establish a new, annual process to determine and publish recommended salaries for the heads of the executive branch’s principal departments. The mechanism creates a department head salary panel, requires reporting and calculations by the House Fiscal Agency, and directs transmission of salary recommendations to key legislative and executive offices. It amends the 1986 Public Acts related to the Legislative Council (PA 268) by adding a new Section 751.

Purpose and intent

  • Create an independent, annual process to rate the performance of the heads of the principal executive departments and to derive salary recommendations for these department heads based on a formula tied to performance and the governor’s salary.
  • Provide a transparent, legislatively coordinated method for setting executive salaries, separate from existing constitutional or statutory pay provisions.

Key provisions and changes

  1. Department head salary panelists (Section 751(1))

    • Before February 1 each year, the majority and minority parties in both chambers must appoint one panelist to serve for the following fiscal year.
    • Ineligibility: panelists may not hold or run for elective state office during or after appointment through the end of the fiscal year.
    • Vacancies filled by the same appointing method; new panelists serve the remainder of the original term.
    • Compensation: panelists serve without pay but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses.

  2. Panel duties (Section 751(2))

    • Panelists rate the head of each principal executive department (except those whose salaries are governed by another constitutional provision, specifically Section 12 of Article IV of the 1963 Michigan Constitution).
    • Panelists prepare a report explaining their ratings.
    • Reports must be transmitted to the House Fiscal Agency by December 31 of the appointment year.

  3. Rating scale (Section 751(3))

    • Each panelist evaluates two dimensions on a 1–100 scale:
      • (a) Quality of work of the department.
      • (b) Cost effectiveness of the department.
    • A 50 rating represents average performance.

  4. Salary calculation by the House Fiscal Agency (Section 751(4))

    • The agency computes a recommended salary for each principal department head using a specified formula:
      • Step (i): Sum all panelists’ ratings from subsection (3)(a).
      • Step (ii): Add the sum from (i) to the sum of all panelists’ ratings from subsection (3)(b).
      • Step (iii): Divide the total by 100.
      • Step (iv): Multiply the quotient by 0.2 (i.e., 20% of the quotient). Step (v): Multiply the result by 75% of the governor’s current salary. Step (vi): Add 25% of the governor’s current salary to the product in (v) to obtain the final recommended salary.
    • (Note: The formula ties department head salaries to both performance ratings and the governor’s salary.)

  5. Notification and dissemination (Section 751(4)(b))

    • The calculated salary recommendations must be transmitted to:
      • The Speaker of the House
      • The Senate Majority Leader
      • The Governor
      • The Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
      • The Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Who/what is affected

  • Heads of the principal executive departments in Michigan.
  • The Governor’s salary, as a reference point in the calculation.
  • Members of the majority and minority parties in both chambers (through appointment of panelists).
  • The House Fiscal Agency (responsible for performing the calculation and issuing the salary recommendation).
  • Legislative leadership and appropriations chairs (receivers of the calculated recommendations).

Procedural/timeline aspects

  • Appointments: Each party in both chambers must appoint one panelist by February 1 each year for the next fiscal year.
  • Panelist term and eligibility: Panelists serve for the upcoming fiscal year; serving and candidate-for-elective-office restrictions apply during the term.
  • Reporting deadline: Panelists must prepare ratings and a report, transmitted to the House Fiscal Agency by December 31 of the appointment year.
  • Calculation and transmission: The House Fiscal Agency calculates the salary recommendations and transmits them to specified legislative and executive recipients (see above).
  • Status of constitutional-salary-exempt positions: The bill explicitly excludes heads whose salaries are determined under a separate constitutional provision (Section 12, Article IV, 1963 Constitution) from panel ratings.

Potential implications and considerations

  • Establishes a formal, annual external review process for executive salaries, potentially increasing transparency and linking compensation to measurable performance and cost-effectiveness.
  • The calculation method ties salaries to the governor’s salary with a specific formula, which may produce results that scale with executive pay levels.
  • The process does not automatically set salaries; it provides recommendations to legislators and the governor, who retain final authority over appropriations and salary decisions.
  • The bill would require coordination with current constitutional salary provisions to ensure compatibility with any positions exempt from this process.

If you’d like, I can add a brief comparison to existing Michigan salary-setting mechanisms or map the process to a timeline diagram.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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