KEY LEGISLATION:

LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO BAN
LIVING WAGE ORDINANCES
Efforts are underway again to ban living wage laws in Michigan communities..
Two proposals have been introduced by Sen. David Jaye (R-Washington Twp.)
and Rep. Andrew Richner (R-Grosse Pointe Park) to prohibit such laws.

Five communities currently have living wage laws: Detroit, Ypsilanti,
Ypsilanti Township, Warren and Ferndale. Ann Arbor may be the next community
to pass such an ordinance, with a vote coming as early as next Tuesday.
Detroit’s law requires any business with city contracts of $50,000 or more a
year to pay workers at least $8.35 an hour with medical coverage or $10.44
an hour without medical coverage.

Supporters of the living wage ban claim living wage laws hinder business
development and job growth in the state. They say such laws discourage
businesses from locating in Michigan and prompt companies to hire more
highly skilled workers instead of lower-skilled workers in order to maximize
their investment.

Testimony on SB 122 was taken on Wednesday in the Senate Human Resources
and Labor Committee. Last session’s efforts fell short when time ran out at the
end of the legislative session. The business community is rallying this
session to put an end to local living wage ordinances once and for all.

PHARMACY DISPENSING FEE BATTLE LOOMS
In what has become a yearly occurrence, state budget recommendations call.
for a reduction in the Medicaid pharmacy dispensing fee. It is unclear,
however, exactly how large a cut the state is advocating. Rather than
stating an amount for the fee in the statutory language, the budget
recommends allowing the Department of Community Health to make changes to
the dispensing fee. The word among legislators and staffers involved in
budget negotiations pegs the reduction at anywhere from $.50 to $1.00 off
the current $3.77 level.

Discussions are already underway with key appropriations members to remove
the language granting such broad discretionary power to the department. MRA
emphasized that the dispensing fee has been set in statute for many years
and should not be set arbitrarily by the department.

Rep. Mickey Mortimer (R-Horton) chairs the subcommittee currently presiding
over the issue. He has been alerted that while the department promised a
study of savings realized from online claims adjudication prior to
recommending any changes to the fee, no such study has yet been produced.
His initial response was dismay that the department went ahead with the
change anyway.

STATE TREASURER MAY BE CONSIDERED
FOR NEW POSITION
State Treasurer Mark Murray is reportedly among the top three candidates for.
president of Grand Valley State University. GVSU will begin public
interviews for the position in a few weeks. So far no names have been
discussed as possible successors to Mr. Murray if he is chosen and accepts
the position.

Murray has been treasurer since 1999 and has impressed observers with his
straightforward approach to issues and ability to solve problems. MRA has
worked well with Murray in the past and is currently in the midst of
discussions regarding simplifying the collection of state sales tax.

LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION
UNVEILS E-COMMERCE SERVICES
In an effort to save time for businesses and customers, the Michigan Liquor.
Control Commission has added new e-commerce services to its website.
Included among the new services are UPC codes for customer use, a searchable
electronic version of the entire Liquor Price List, and a searchable
database of more than 4,000 products by name, part of name, type of liquor
or product number.

Instructions on how to download and use the services are available on the
website at www.cis.state.mi.us/lcc.

KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:

SB 223, sponsored by Sen. Burton Leland (D-Detroit), a bottle deposit on
containers that contain fruit juice.

SB 253, sponsored by Sen. Bill Bullard (R-Highland Twp.), exempts the
deduction for a depreciation of leased motor vehicles when calculating
federal taxable income.

SR 16, sponsored by Sen. Shirley Johnson (R-Royal Oak), to urge Congress to
amend the immigration law to eliminate gender bias in determinations of
citizenship for foreign-born children of citizens.

HB 4289, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Jamnick (D-Ypsilanti), to provide that a
contingent sales agreement is not sufficient basis for a judicial appeal of
township zoning decisions.

HB 4290, sponsored by Rep. Jamnick, to provide that a contingent sales
agreement is not sufficient basis for a judicial appeal of county zoning
decisions.

HB 4291, sponsored by Rep. Jamnick, to provide that a contingent sales
agreement is not sufficient basis for a judicial appeal of county zoning
decisions.

HB 4299, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Lockwood (D-Fenton), to provide income
tax deductions for certain charity and business travel.

HB 4306, sponsored by Rep. Robert Gosselin (R-Troy), to eliminate the use
tax for out-of-state purchases.

HB 4309, sponsored by Rep. Michael Switalski (D-Roseville), to eliminate the
sales tax exemption for food sold at state parks.

HB 4328, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Richner (R-Grosse Point Park), prohibits
local units of government from enforcing a minimum wage that is greater than
that set by the state.

HB 4336, sponsored by Rep. Judson Gilbert (R-Algonac), decreases the
household income threshold for receiving property tax credits against
income tax.

HB 4337, sponsored by Rep. Gilbert, provides for income tax deduction on
health care premiums.

HB 4339, sponsored by Rep. Gilbert, expands the sales tax exemption for
non-profit organizations by increasing the allowable aggregate of retail
sales.

HR 33, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi), to urge Congress to enact
President Bush’s tax plan relief plan.

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.