KEY LEGISLATION:

REP. STALLWORTH FACES POSSIBLE CHARGES
Rep. Keith Stallworth (D-Detroit), a member of the House Appropriations.
Committee, is under scrutiny from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The
office has recommended that charges be issued against Stallworth for filing
a false certification of a motor vehicle and a false affidavit with the
Secretary of State. Both charges are felonies that carry maximum penalties
of up to five years in prison.

It is alleged that Stallworth made a false application to obtain a second
Michigan driver's license under a fraudulent name. The prosecutor's office
also alleges that a second application was made using the same picture as
his legitimate license, but with a different address. The latter charge
carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Because
Stallworth is a legislator, his job could also be in jeopardy. The Michigan
Constitution bars persons "convicted of a felony involving a breach of the
public trust" from serving in the legislature.

The unofficial rule in the Legislature holds that any legislator convicted
of a felony resigns. The most recent incident involved Sen. Henry Stallings
(D-Detroit), who resigned in 1998 when it appeared certain that his
colleagues would expel him. There has been no comment from Stallworth, and
both Speaker of the House Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy) and House Minority Leader
Kwame Kilpatrick (D-Detroit) have said they would look further into the
facts before rendering an opinion.

Meanwhile, two state senators have been sidelined by health problems. Sen.
Harry Gast (R-St. Joseph), the oldest lawmaker in the legislature and chair
of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was taken to the hospital Tuesday
apparently suffering from dehydration caused by the flu. Sen. Jackie Vaughn
III (D-Detroit) has been out since suffering a stroke last summer.

BUDGET RECOMMENDS PHARMACY FEE REDUCTION
The recently released Department of Community Health (DCH) budget -
HB 4254 - recommends a reduction in the Medicaid pharmacy dispensing fee.
For the past several years, an attempt has been made to either reduce the fee or
completely remove the mention of it in budget boilerplate. This year's
recommendations include a dispensing fee $.50 lower than fiscal year 2001.

The pharmacy community has been an easy target for reductions - as
pharmaceutical prices continue to rise, pharmacy has become one of the
largest line items in the DCH budget. What some department officials don't
want to discuss, however, is that profit margins for pharmacies are actually
falling while margins for drug manufacturers are skyrocketing. MRA is
gearing up for another battle to reinstate the fee, while also working to
eliminate the current tiered-reimbursement formula that decreases
compensation to chain drug stores.

MICHIGAN'S JOBLESS FUND IN GOOD SHAPE
Even though the economy has slowed, Michigan employers should not worry.
about increased unemployment taxes. According to the state Unemployment
Agency, the unemployment trust fund stands at a record $3.1 billion and has
adequate reserves to cover nearly three and a half years of jobless benefits.

Reserves have grown despite across-the-board unemployment tax cuts of 10
percent each year since 1996. Cognizant of the reserves, the Michigan
AFL-CIO has called for removing the $300 per-week cap on maximum
unemployment benefits that has been in place since 1995. The union has
proposed using the system to pay medical and family leave benefits. Business
groups oppose any move to increase benefits to workers from the
employer-supported system unless other savings measures are included.

KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:

HB 4059, 4068 and 4109, sponsored by Reps. Paul Wojno (R-Royal Oak),
Gene DeRossett (R-Manchester) and Charles LaSata (R-St. Joseph), to provide
single business tax credit for purchase and installation costs for equipment
to process recyclable material.

HB 4188, sponsored by Rep. Rose Bogardus (D-Davison), to revise the
Employment Security Act by redefining the credit week, providing changes to
weekly benefit rates and eliminating certain provisions concerning seasonal
employees.

HB 4198, sponsored by Rep. Gloria Schermesser (D-Lincoln Park), to prohibit
the disclosure of personal information about persons involved in a credit
transaction, unless written consent is provided.

HB 4200, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), to revise the penalty
for minors who purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol.

HB 4209, sponsored by Rep. Vear, to provide a Single Business Tax credit for
taxpayers equal to the amount they paid to the U.S. Small Business
Administration.

HB 4210, sponsored by Rep. Vear, to repeal the Single Business Tax Act when
rate equals zero.

HB 4212, sponsored by Rep. Vear, to provide for the deduction of
self-employment taxes from overall income tax.

HB 4230, sponsored by Rep. Ken Bradstreet (R-Gaylord), to increase personal
exemption in income tax.

HB 4236, sponsored by Rep. Susan Tabor (R-Delta Twp.), to modify provisions
in the Minimum Wage Law regarding compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay.

HB 4239, sponsored by Rep. Bob Brown (D-Dearborn Heights), to allow
consumers to add information to their credit reports; to require consumer
reporting agencies to maintain a toll-free number.

HB 4243, sponsored by Rep. Gary Woronchak (R-Dearborn), to allow law
enforcement officer or spouse to be a member of an establishment with a
Class C liquor license.

HB 4249, sponsored by Rep. Kowall, to require itemization of total cost of
prescription printed on customer's receipt including discounts and amount
paid by third party payer.

HB 4250, sponsored by Rep. Kowall, to establish code of conduct for
telemarketing home sales.

HB 4251, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi), to exempt the first
$10,000 of personal property from taxation.

SB 219, sponsored by Sen. Bev Hammerstrom (R-Temperance), to provide a sales
tax exemption for vendors whose consideration paid is 50 cents or less.

For back issues of Capitol F@cts on-line visit MRA's web site at http://www.retailers.com/capfax/capfax.html.

Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to:
Eric R. Rule, Director of Governmental Affairs at errule@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517.372.5656
Toll Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
govt_affairs@retailers.com
http://www.retailers.com
http://www.mallofmichigan.com

Click here to find more information about any of the bills referenced above.