LANSING – The governor is considering just about anything to fix Michigan’s budget woes – including merging or eliminating the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) – but no decisions have been made, her office said.

HAL’s $55 million sphere of influence ranges from the Michigan Council on the Arts and Cultural Affairs to Hartwick Pines Logging Museum at Grayling to the Sanilac Petroglyphs near Bad Axe to Negaunee’s Iron Industry Museum to the state archives to Fort Mackinac to almost 400 public libraries.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered department heads to look for ways to save money, said her press secretary, Liz Boyd.

“The governor has asked the directors to identify programs that could be frozen or eliminated to help with budget problems,” she said. “We are looking at ways we can reduce state spending.”

However, Boyd stressed that elimination of HAL, or any other department, is speculative at this point.

“We are just now in the process of reviewing our internal operations,” she said.

HAL employs 180 people throughout the state in libraries, museums and at historical sites such as the fort on Mackinac Island.

The department has some impact on almost everyone in Michigan, HAL Director William Anderson said.

“We touch people in so many ways,” he said. “In terms of quality, well-being and the human spirit, we are a huge part of people’s lives.”

Even if the department were eliminated, the amount saved would not cover much of this year’s $686 million state budget shortfall.

With $45 million from the state and another $10 million from the federal government, HAL operates the state library and archives, Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Historical Center and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

Nearly half of the department pays to operate the state library, supports 378 libraries and provide grants to non-profit arts organizations, Anderson said.

If the department were cut, a large portion of its budget would need to be shifted to other agencies to cover the costs of operating libraries and museums, he added.

Boyd wouldn’t say if the department is under consideration for elimination, saying only that reviews are under way.

Although no decisions have been made, some legislators believe there’s no need for 19 departments, said Anderson.

“Anything is on the table,” he added. “With the environment we are in, there are hundreds and hundreds of ideas.”

Former Gov. John Engler created the department by executive order in 2001 after seeing value in bringing together the state’s cultural agencies, Anderson said.

“When he left office, he told me he considered the department part of his legacy,” Anderson said. “He was thinking about it for some time.”

From an economics standpoint, the State Historical Preservation Office is the most important part of HAL. That’s because real estate developers qualify for a 25 percent tax credit for developing state-designated historical buildings, which can be “the deal maker for developers,” said Anderson.

“There are 25 projects in Detroit right now, but all wouldn’t be happening if they didn’t get the tax credit,” he said.

Last year, 105 such projects resulted in $115 million in investments in Michigan, Anderson said.