KEY LEGISLATION:

LEGISLATURE BREAKS FOR SPRING

The legislature adjourned Thursday for its annual spring break. Both
chambers return for regular sessions on Tuesday, April 17.
The next break is tentatively scheduled for late June and will cover most of
the summer, as lawmakers will likely not get back into session until
September. Plans call for work to be completed on the 2001-02 budget before
breaking for summer.

GARCIA RECEIVES COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

After winning his special election last week, new Senator Valde Garcia will
be sworn in on Monday. He has already received committee assignments.
Garcia will chair the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee
and sit on the Finance, Financial Services, and Senior Citizens & Veterans
Affairs committees. Both the Finance and Financial Services committees are
important to retail, as they are where most items related to tax policy,
commerce and insurance are debated.

Garcia won MRA’s support in his recent campaign, having been an ally of
retailers on issues such as last year’s legislation designed to stop sales
of stolen and outdated goods at flea markets.

GRANHOLM ANNOUNCES RUN FOR GOVERNOR

In a two-day, eight-city tour, Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm
announced her intention to run for the state’s highest office. Michigan, she
said, would be more open and have less political divisiveness under her
administration.

Until recently Granholm has indicated a desire to stay in her position as
A.G. But Granholm has changed her tune, citing problems such as school
shootings, high school drug use and racial profiling among her reasons to
run for governor. While saying she would focus on investing more in
children, she also criticized the state’s low ranking among states on
technological issues. She added that cutting taxes on businesses is a good
idea but stressed that there are "other ways to skin a cat." She indicated
that her ideas would not necessarily mean more government and would not
disturb the scheduled cuts to income taxes and the single business tax over
the next several years.

The early formal announcement—nearly 20 months prior to the general
election—will result in one of the longest gubernatorial campaigns in
Michigan history. Granholm becomes the fifth official or unofficial
Democratic candidate for governor. Joining her are Congressman David Bonior,
former Gov. James Blanchard and state Sens. Alma Wheeler Smith and Gary
Peters.

ROBERTS RETURNS AS MICHIGAN’S TREASURER

Governor John Engler named Doug Roberts as the state’s new treasurer.
Roberts, who was treasurer from 1991 to 1998, begins his familiar role May
1. Outgoing Treasurer Mark Murray was recently named president of Grand
Valley State University.

Never one to miss an opportunity to praise the progress of his
administration, Engler noted that Michigan has achieved the highest possible
rating from the two principal New York rating agencies for the first time
ever. He attributed this to the excellent direction set by Murray and
emphasized his confidence in Roberts to continue Michigan’s recent success.

PARTISAN TENSIONS FINALLY EMERGE

At the beginning of nearly every legislative session, both sides of the
aisle give lip service to setting a tone of bipartisanship. After last
year’s vitriolic relationship between Speaker of the House Chuck Perricone
(R-Kalamazoo) and Minority Leader Mike Hanley (D-Flint), the new House
leaders were a welcome relief, as they seemed to actually like and respect
one another. Speaker of the House Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy) and Minority Leader
Kwame Kilpatrick (D-Detroit) have so far worked well together, albeit
without many difficult legislative hurdles cleared.

Budget season and looming vacation schedules, however, fueled tensions in
the House this week as lawmakers battled over the $1.8 billion budget for
the state’s 15 public universities. Rep. A.T. Frank (D-Saginaw Township) and
his Democratic colleagues blasted what they said was a rush to approve the
massive budget. Frank, at times, was shouting on the floor, alleging that
the budget moves by the Republicans hearkened back to the days when former
Speaker Perricone was "an insult to the chamber." Frank’s heated comments
drew boos from the GOP side of the aisle, and Frank later apologized for his
comments.

While neither Speaker Johnson nor Minority Leader Kilpatrick were directly
involved, the fracas demonstrated that partisan politics still do exist in
Lansing and may signal a departure from the politeness of the legislative
session up until now.

KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:

SB 357, sponsored by Sen. George McManus, JR. (R-Traverse City), to allow
liquor licensure of gas station convenience store owners who maintain a
retail building of no less than 900 square feet of gross leasable retail
space.

SB 372, sponsored by Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith, (D-Salem Twp), to revise the
Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by defining the failure to provide equal
compensation for comparable work as a violation.

HB 4548, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi), to amend the Neighborhood
Enterprise Zone Act by revising the collection of the first year tax
assessment on certain property for the enterprise zone tax.

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.