LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder has chosen a former top state lawmaker to be Michigan's next budget director.
Al Pscholka chaired the House Appropriations Committee in 2015 and 2016 but left office under term limits. He will take over the budget office in mid-February when John Roberts leaves for a job with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Pscholka, a Republican from Stevensville in southwestern Michigan, will be Snyder's third budget director.
The Republican governor said Tuesday Pscholka's "experience and commitment to continuing to build upon the strong fiscal foundation we have laid make him an excellent choice" as budget director.
Pscholka, a former township trustee, was U.S. Rep. Fred Upton's district director from 2003 to 2010. He previously handled marketing and communications for Cornerstone Alliance, a private, nonprofit economic development group.
The liberal advocacy group Progress Michigan said Pscholka is a bad choice for the job because he wrote Michigan's controversial 2011 emergency manager law. Voters repealed Public Act 4 in 2012 but Pscholka introduced the new, current version.
"Hiring Al Pscholka to such a high-level position despite his past failings is akin to hiring the builder of the Hindenburg to run an airline," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, in a written statement.
