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.
$3 Tipping Fee Causes Concern in Recycling Bills
A legislative package was introduced last week and debated
in committee that
seeks to create and fund a statewide comprehensive recycling program
in
Michigan. A laudable goal to be sure, but as structured, one that also
relies on a funding source derived from instituting a $3 per ton tipping
fee
for all solid waste delivered to a landfill. It is predicted that the
fee
will raise $50 million per year to be redistributed to the counties
by the state.
The tipping fee would be charged by the landfill to
the waste hauler with
the intention of the hauler passing the charge on to the business and
resident through their bill for services. Language in the legislation
would
allow the haulers to do this. This fact has drawn the ire of several
business groups, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
This proposal has the potential to split the business
community, as an
agreement was negotiated between state environmental groups and grocers
and
the soft drink and beverage industry. The agreement in essence says
that the
environmental groups would not undertake a ballot initiative to expand
the
items requiring a bottle deposit under Michigan’s Bottle Deposit
Law if a
comprehensive recycling program was funded in Michigan. A coalition
of
businesses strenuously opposed to expansion negotiated the deal and
decided
to fund the program not through such possibilities as an Advanced Recycling
Fee (ARF) which is charged to the consumer at the point of sale for
various
items such as those desired to include a deposit, but instead through
a
tipping fee which is charged to businesses and residents on their waste
hauling bills.
The Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
Committee heard
testimony only on the bills on Tuesday, and the package is tentatively
scheduled for passage from that committee early next week. Senate Majority
Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) is a staunch supporter of the legislation,
and he will reportedly be orchestrating the bill’s passage through
committee
and on the Senate floor. The package faces a difficult time in the House
however, as Speaker of the House Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy) may be less
enthusiastic about the tipping fee. There certainly is the potential
for a
trade during end of the year negotiations between the House and Senate,
and
Sikkema is currently holding up Johnson’s racinos package in the
Senate.
Billboard Ban Legislation Announced
Thursday Sen. Tom George held a news conference with
former Atty. Gen. Frank
Kelly and former Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus to introduce four bills to
further
regulate billboards. At least one of the bills appears to be a direct
first
step toward banning future billboards. However, the four bills are
different, certainly, than the proposed content of three bills Sen.
George
had been shopping earlier in the year. Nonetheless, some of the bills
appear
to be potentially quite harmful to businesses that rely on billboards.
The Senator has described his bills as follows:
• Create a new category/logo for the state's TODS.
The new logo would be
available to "tourism destinations," however that might be
defined.
• Create a Billboard Advisory Committee in state government.
• Impose a moratorium on issuing additional state
billboard permits. Sen.
George said the moratorium would not affect the 14,000 or so standing
billboard faces or the 2,000 or so permits that have been issued but
not yet
built. The state would not be able to issue any additional permits,
he said.
• Create a fund for taking down abandoned billboards.
Its revenues would
come from an increase in the billboard permit renewal fees.
While this legislation is not considered at this point
to be on the Senate
Republican’s "to-do-list," Sen. George expressed that
there is support
within his caucus to move this or something similar to it. It should
be
noted that a coalition opposing this has been formed of some 220
association, business and charities, of which MRA is a member.
Executive Order
to be Unveiled Dec. 10th—
May not Include Dispensing Fee Cuts
Governor Granholm was originally expected to unveil
her most recent
Executive Order last Thursday, Dec. 4th, but postponed the event in
order to
allow legislative leaders in the House and Senate Republican caucus’
more
time to come to terms with the administration on budget negotiations.
The executive order is now expected to be made available
on Dec. 10th.
Although concerns have recently arisen within the pharmacy community
that
severe cuts to the dispensing fee would be part of the upcoming executive
order, the most recent word is that they will not as the governor believed
there is not support for them within the legislature.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
HB 5221, sponsored by Rep. Lorence Wenke (R-Richland),
to provide
requirements for nonparticipating tobacco manufactures to pay assessment.
HB 5222, sponsored by Rep. William O’Neil
( D-Allen Park), to provide
amendments to the tobacco model master settlement agreement legislation.
HB 5239, sponsored by Rep. Shelly Taub (R-Bloomfield
Hills), to prohibit
issuance of driver license to certain persons not lawfully in the United
States.
HB 5256, sponsored by Rep. Steven Tobocman (D-Detroit),
to revise definition
of commission of a crime in eligibility provisions.
HB 5471, sponsored by Rep. Edward Gaffney (R-Grosse
Pointe Farms), to revise
provisions concerning the number of judges in the third judicial circuit.
HB 5276, sponsored by Rep. John Gleason (D-Flushing),
to allow conscientious
objection to providing or participating in certain health care services
by
health facilities under certain circumstances.
HB 5294, sponsored by Rep. Taub to provide forfeiture
remedy for failure to
obtain licenses at auction sales.
HB 5295, sponsored by Rep. Taub, to expand and
revise licensing requirements
for auction sales.
HB 5296, sponsored by Rep. Taub, to create licensing
requirement for going
out of business sales.
HB 5305, sponsored by Rep. Wenke, to increase fees for tobacco licenses.
HB 5328, sponsored by Rep. Gaffney, to provide
for quality assurance program
for the reporting and prevention of prescription errors.
HB 5329, sponsored by Rep. Artina Tinsley (D-Detroit),
to extend sunset on
issuance of health professional license for certain individuals with
health
professional license issued in other state or any province of Canada.
HB 5331, sponsored by Rep. Wenke, to exempt start
up business from tax for
tax years in which the business does not make a profit.
SB 831, sponsored by Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo),
to provide for
pharmaceutical best practice initiative in the public health code.
SB 832, sponsored by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom
(R-Temperance), to provide for
exemption of certain prescription drugs from the department of community
health Medicaid prior authorization process.
SB 840, sponsored by Sen. Tony Stamas (R-Midland),
to create a small
business czar.
SB 851, sponsored by Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse
City), to allow payment of
wages by electronic funds transfer as acceptable form of payment.
SB 852, sponsored by Sen. Robert Emerson (D-Flint),
to pause reduction of
rate based on budget stabilization fund balance.
SB 862, 863, 864, sponsored by Sen. Laura Toy
(D-Detroit), Sen. Bill
Hardiman (R-Kentwood), and Sen. George, to exempt start up business
from tax
for tax years in which the business does not make a profit. Exempt start
up
businesses from taxes for 5 years.
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
