Legislative Report
March 2009
The actions of both the executive and the legislative branches of state government are impacted by a high degree of uncertainty as the result of the economic crisis facing the nation and the state. The legislature now has the governor’s 2009-10 budget proposal which was developed in an atmosphere of economic uncertainty and is being considered by the legislature with that same uncertainty.
The questions facing politicians in Michigan and elsewhere is has the recession peaked, if not, how long will it last and how bad will it get? What interim and what permanent measures must be taken to survive the crisis. How will the federal stimulus funds help in the state’s financial recovery? What is the best and highest use of any stimulus funds Michigan will get from the federal government both in terms of the state’s economic recovery and helping to balance the budget? These are difficult and important questions which may be made more difficult by partisan considerations.
Governor Granholm’s budget is based on $28 million in concessions from state employee unions and reflects major structural changes in state government through the combining of state departments and the elimination or reduction in programs to an unprecedented level in state government. This year promises to be an interesting year as policy makers try to reach a delicate balance in the provision of traditional state services and the state’s financial survival. We, as retirees, must be vigilant in protecting those programs and services that are important to our well being!
To a degree, the legislature is still an organizational mode. Bills which failed to be passed last session are being reintroduced along with new bills addressing issues related to the economic crisis. We will wait for more legislative action on the various bills before highlighting them in this column. There are, however, several bills which I have chosen to highlight as a sampling of the legislative activity for the month of February. These bills are as follows:
Transfer of responsibility for state retiree health care plan design and administration: HB 4072 would move the responsibility for state retiree health care plan design and administration from Civil Service, Office of Employee Benefits, to the Office of Retirement Systems. This bill is the same as last year’s HB 5545 which failed to become law. SERA opposes HB 4072 for a number of reasons which are contained in documents sent to each chapter president. We strongly encourage SERA members and their friends and families to write their legislators expressing their opposition to HB 4072 which was recently reported out of the Judiciary Committee and is on the House floor for consideration.
Establishment of Retirement System Trust Account: HB 4073 would create an irrevocable trust, under Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code, for each of the retirement acts under the control of the Office of Retirement Systems. The trust funds created would eventually become the vehicles to fund retiree health care. An interesting feature of this legislation is that it would require retirement benefit obligations under each retirement system to be construed as defining or otherwise granting a contractual right or privilege to health care benefits or other post- employment benefits which might be established under the acts. Of course, this provision is of great advantage and benefit to retirees. This is a very controversial feature of the bill and one which caused the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to withhold their votes as it was passed out of Committee recently. They believed it was unwise to guarantee a benefit that is currently unfunded. The bill is on the House floor for consideration.
Establishment of waiting period before state officers and legislators can become lobbyists: HB 4378 would prevent the governor, Lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general along with legislators from becoming lobbyists for two years after they leave office. It would also impose a one year prohibition against lobbying on those vacating non-elective positions as heads of a principle department within the executive branch of government. This bill was reported out of the Ethics and Elections Committee and is on the House floor for consideration.
Docking of legislator’s pay: House Joint Resolution N would require a reduction in salary for any legislator who does not attend a session and who does not receive an excused absence for not attending. The salary reduction amounts would be deposited in the General Fund, and the legislature is required to implement the resolution by enacting appropriate legislation. In order for any of this to happen, the issue would have to be put before the voters of the state as a Constitutional amendment at the next general election in November, 2010. The resolution has been reported out of the Elections and Ethics Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. It then has to be passed by the Senate in order to go on the ballot.
Tax credit for purchase of hearing aid: HB 4240 would allow a taxpayer to claim as a credit an amount equal to the amount paid in the tax year to purchase a hearing aid for the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. If the amount of the credit claimed under this proposed legislation were to exceed the tax liability of the taxpayer for the tax year, the portion of the credit that exceeds the tax liability would be refunded. If passed, the law would become effective after December 31, 2008. The bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
Allowing public employers to participate in state health plan: HB 4181 would mandate the Civil Service Commission create and operate a program to allow all public employers in the state to participate in the state health plan by purchasing the state health plan benefits for its employees. Under the bill, the public employers shall pay the full cost to the state for the state health plan coverage. The recently introduced bill was referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
Miscellany
Secretary of State initiates medical standards for drivers: Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has named a Medical Advisory Board to establish medical standards for drivers. The tasks of the Board include recommending physical, mental and vision standards. In addition, the Board will review training for Secretary of State staff and the assessments they use for drivers including use of medication. The nine member board, consisting of multi-disciplined group of specialist including a gerontologist, will review unique medical cases that could affect individual drivers.
Hearing to be held by Office of Services to the Aging (OSA): OSA has announced five public hearings to be held throughout the state over the next several months dealing with senior citizen issues. The 1:30 p.m. hearings will be held on the following dates at the location indicated:
- March 20: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, 600 E. Lafayette, Detroit
- April 17: Office of Services to the Aging, 3rd Floor, Chandler Plaza, 300 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing
- May 15: Region VII AAA, 1615 S. Euclid Ave., Bay City
- June 19: Crystal Lake Senior Center, 700 Crystal Lake Blvd., Iron Mountain
- October 16: Senior Services Inc., 918 Jasper Street, Kalamazoo
New legislative caucus in the House: The 46 freshman House members have created a Freshman Caucus. The Caucus which will be bipartisan will be chaired by Lesia Liss, a Democrat from Warren and Bill Rogers, a Republican from Brighton. The purpose of the Caucus is to establish civility, unity and camaraderie among its members.
19th Senatorial District special election: Governor Granholm has announced the date for the special election in the 19th senatorial district to fill the seat of former Senator Mark Schauer who resigned after being elected to the U.S. Congress. The date of the election to fill the Battle Creek area seat will be November 3. If a primary election is necessary, it will be held on August 4. Republicans have criticized the Governor for the delay in establishing the special election date. Her response is that cost considerations led her to choose dates coinciding with other elections.
Casino compact approved: The way for the Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians to build and open a casino in Calhoun County has been cleared with the approval of a Compact by the state Senate. The C ompact was negotiated by Governor Granholm and approved by the House in 2007. After much controversy, the federal government approved the land for the casino being put in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band, the tribe’s official name. The last hurdle was approval of the Compact by the state Senate.
Governor declares financial emergency in City of Pontiac: Governor Granholm has declared that a financial emergency exists in Pontiac which allows her to appoint a financial manager to run the City. Pontiac joins the cities of Three Oaks and Highland Park as cities currently having gubernatorial appointed financial managers. Previously, the cities of Hamtramck and Flint have had financial managers. Their problems were resolved.
City of Detroit vetoes Cobo Center regional authority plan: The Detroit City Council rejected a plan recently authorized through legislation which would have placed Cobo Center under a regional authority (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb counties and state representation). The Detroit mayor was involved in the negotiations which led to the legislation and the City Council felt it was slighted by not being at the table. Since the City owns the facility, the Council had to agree to turn it over to the newly created authority. Cobo Center is in need of some $300 million in repairs which the authority was going to finance. Without the repairs, the Detroit Auto Show is put in jeopardy.
People in the News
John Dingell, a Dearborn area congressman, recently became the longest serving U.S. Representative in history. He was elected to Congress succeed to his father in 1956. He was honored within the state and nationally for this achievement.
Steve Jenkins, Manager of the Michigan State Fair, resigned that position in protest of the Governor eliminating the State Fair from her budget beginning in 2010. Mr. Jenkins will work to keep that from happening. Governor Granholm appointed Ferndale Mayor Robert Porter to replace Mr. Jenkins.
Kevin Scott, of Grosse Pointe Park, resigned his position of Chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to accept the Commission’s appointment as Director of the Department of Civil Rights.
Cameron Brown, a term-limited Republican state senator from Fawn River Township, has announced his candidacy for Secretary of State. He joins Senator Michelle McManus, a Republican from Lake Leelanau, and Democratic Calhoun County Clerk Anne Norlander as announced candidates.
Don Williamson, controversial five year mayor of Flint, announced he is resigning for “health reasons.” He was to face a recall election on February 24. The multi-millionaire Mayor had indicated he would run for governor.
Editor’s note: Alvin Whitfield is former President of the Lansing SERA Chapter and former Chairperson of the Michigan SERA Council and current Legislative Representative for both the Council and the Lansing Chapter. He may be contacted at 1241 Runaway Bay Drive, C-3, Lansing, Michigan 48917; phone 517/703-9666; e-mail: alwhit@worldnet.att.net.
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