KEY LEGISLATION:
Budget Negotiations
Clear Senate –
Face Uncertain Future in House
Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senate Majority Leader
Ken Sikkema
successfully worked out a budget agreement that traded passage of a
temporary freeze in the income tax rollback for administration approval
of a
package of bills reducing by 40 percent the Single Business Tax (SBT)
burden
employers must pay for providing health benefits to their employees.
While Republicans opposed the freeze in the income tax
rollback, Sikkema
garnered the eight Republican votes necessary to pass it by arguing
that it
is only for six months and is tie-barred to SBs 672 and 673, the package
of
bills that provides relief to businesses on SBT for health care expenses.
The bills face a more uncertain future in the House.
Speaker Rick Johnson has indicated that his caucus may
instead come back
Tuesday and send the governor a negative supplemental bill cutting an
additional $77 million in state services. Republican House members are
leery
of freezing the income tax rollback because of pressure from the Republican
State Party and other interest groups that view it as a tax increase.
Passing the freeze will be even more difficult because it is scheduled
to
take effect prior to January 1. For this to occur, an immediate effect
vote
is necessary, which requires 74 votes rather than the 56 for regular
passage.
MRA supports the SBT bills in orde to provide relief
for Michigan retailers.
House Republican hesitancy to pass this bill could result in an inability
to
pass SBT relief. An MR Action Alert will be going to MRA members this
weekend and through the next week asking for them to contact their state
representatives and urge them to pass the SBT bills, even if it means
temporarily freezing the income tax rollback.
The legislature is expected to adjourn for Christmas
break on December 19,
so this issue should be resolved by then. If no agreement can be worked
out,
however, Gov. Granholm has indicated that she may call a special session
of
the legislature to force additional debate until the budget is resolved.
Petroleum Stabilization
Bills Debated in
Transportation Committee
A bill seeking to set a mandatory mininum markup for gasoline, advanced
by
the Service Station Dealers Association and the Convenience Stores
Association of Michigan, was debated in the House Transportation Committee.
At least 100 people were present in the small committee room, and the
entire
three hours allotted for the meeting was spent taking testimony, with
nearly
all present speaking in favor of the bill, HB 4757, sponsored by Rep.
Charles LaSata (R-St. Joseph). MRA was the lone opposition testifying
against the bill based on anti free-market conditions that are contained
in
the bill.
The bill seeks to set a cost of doing business component
to the price of
gasoline as part of a mandatory minimum markup of 13.38 cents. This
means
that regardless of how efficiently a business operates, at least 13.38
cents
will have to be charged to the consumer in addition to the state and
federal
taxes already charged. In MRA’s view, along with being anti-consumer,
the
bill establishes a dangerous precedent of price setting.
Proponents of the bill claim that small "mom and
pop" gas stations are being
priced out of business by the large, retailer-run operations that have
proliferated in Michigan and across the nation. They also claim that
these
larger operations are pricing their gas below cost in order to drive
the
smaller operations out of business, at which point they will be able
to
raise the cost of gasoline due to a lack of competition.
MRA points out that predatory pricing laws, which make
it illegal to sell as
product below cost, already exist, and any cases of this should be
prosecuted on an individual basis by the Attorney General. In addition,
any
time government steps in and attempts to set controls on how commodities
should be priced, the free-market is being trampled.
The bill was not brought up for a vote at the meeting,
but is expected to be
voted on in committee this coming Wednesday.
Identity Theft Bills Clear Senate
A package of bills seeking to implement additional protections
against
identity theft passed the Senate and has been sent to the House. Among
other
things, the bills stipulate in what situations personal identification
information such as Social Security numbers can be required and how
that
information can be shared with third parties.
The package saw numerous changes prior to passage, and
additional changes,
mostly technical, are needed before passage in the House. MRA has been
working with the bill sponsors to identify and correct issues and concerns
in the package for its members, especially in the area of extending
credit
to consumers.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
SB 894, sponsored by Sen. Tony Stamas (R-Midland),
to provide for
conscientious objection by health care facilities to providing or
participation in certain health care services.
SB 897, sponsored by Sen. Virg Bernero ( D-Lansing),
to repeal the
exemption on nonalcoholic, carbonated and sugared beverages.
SB 898, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck).
to create a
billboard advisory council.
SB 899, sponsored by Sen.Mark Schauer (D-Battle
Creek), to increase the
billboard permit renewal fee.
SB 900, sponsored by Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo),
to expand the logo
program tpo promote businesses related to agriculture or tourism.
SB 901, sponsored by Sen. George, to create a
moratorium on the issuance of
billboard permits.
HB 5154, sponsored by Rep. Edward Gaffney (R-Grosse
Pointe Farms), to
regulate uses of pesticides at schools and day care centers.
HB5383, sponsored by Rep. David Robertson (R-Grand
Blanc), to provide for a
judgement lien.
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
