Democrats, out of power for decades, passing bills in record time in Lansing
The cash advantageDemocrats are coming in with an advantage unprecedented in Michigan history: billions of dollars in surplus cash in state coffers at their disposal.The expected $9.2 billion in revenue surplus is a combination of federal aid and unique pandemic circumstances. It's also one-time funding, meaning that lawmakers can't rely upon it forever, and fiscal analysts recently predicted the state is heading into a 'mild' recession.In the interim, though, it frees Democrats from needing to make painful budget cuts or ask for tax hikes, leaving more room to push forward other policies they haven't had the last word for years, said John Lindstrom, a former publisher of Gongwer News Service who has followed Michigan politics for nearly 50 years. The last time Democrats took control in 1982, Michigan was in…