KEY LEGISLATION:
Credit Card Truncation Bill Passes Committee
Legislation requiring credit card machines to truncate
all but the last four
digits of account numbers on credit card receipts passed from the Senate
Economic Development, Small Business and Regulatory Reform Committee
with
MRA’s support. MRA supported SB 220, sponsored by Sen. Valde Garcia
(R-Howell), after securing key amendments from the sponsor the morning
of
the hearing.
The key amendments were an exemption for manual imprinters
and a phase-in
period to mirror that of the recently passed Visa/MasterCard rules.
The
bills were initially drafted—and were poised to pass—without
these key
exemptions. Had MRA not intervened, Michigan retailers would have been
forced to comply with legislation stricter than the Visa/MasterCard
agreement, and many members would have had to comply with the statute
30
days after the bill takes effect.
With the amendments, retailers will have 60 days to
comply for equipment
purchased after the bill takes effect, and until July 1, 2006, for those
machines (except for manual imprinters) purchased prior to the bill
taking effect.
Identity Theft Bills on Fast Track
The identity theft package being pushed by the Senate
GOP cleared the Senate
Judiciary Committee and is expected to pass in the Senate before Christmas.
Several amendments being pushed by MRA were successfully added.
Due to the large number of bills in the package, however,
and the numerous
amendments that need to be made, committee chair Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt)
decided that remaining amendments would be agreed to during the legislative
break and dealt with on the floor. A few issues remain that MRA wants
either
changed or clarified to satisfy the needs of members.
A more in-depth analysis of this package and its amendments
will be compiled
next week and sent to those interested parties already identified, as
well
as others who request it. To add your name to this list, please contact
Kathy Wilson at kawilson@retailers.com or 800.366.3699.
State Budget Review
As a result of the governor issuing a 2.9 percent funding
cut to school
districts, legislative analysts reduced the projected budget hole to
$580
million. The question now is whether the legislature will be able to
make up
the rest of the hole without freezing the scheduled 0.1 percent income
tax
rollback. Those close to the appropriations process appear to think
so.
About one third of the remaining money will likely come
from revenue sharing
cuts to local governments. The remaining two thirds will come from painful
cuts and creative maneuvers. $30 million of the creative measures may
come
from the Tobacco Equity bills that passed the House. In addition, the
Michigan Education Association and others are putting forth a proposal
to
spend down some of the reserves in school districts’ Rainy Day
Funds.
The governor and legislative leaders will make many
of these difficult
decisions over the next two weeks while on Thanksgiving break.Session
Update
The House and Senate have adjourned until December 2, 2003, in order
to
allow members to partake in deer hunting and Thanksgiving travel and
celebrations. When lawmakers return, the action will be fast and furious
as
they race to finish key legislative items before the impending Christmas
break.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
No bills to report at this time.
To view the content and current status of retail-related
bills, visit BillTrack,
MRA's legislative tracking database exclusively for members, at
www.retailbilltrack.com
If you are currently receiving Capitol F@cts by fax
and would like to receive
it via e-mail, please contact Kathleen Wilson at 517.372.5656 or
kawilson@retailers.com.
For back issues of online Capitol F@cts, visit MRA's main Capitol F@cts page.
Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin
should be directed to:
Kathleen Wilson, Administrative Assistant to the Governmental Affairs
Office at
kawilson@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
517.372.5656
Toll-Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
govt_affairs@retailers.com
www.retailers.com
www.mallofmichigan.com
