KEY LEGISLATION:
Streamlined Sales Tax Bills Pass Senate
Streamlined Sales Tax Project legislation will soon
to be on the way to
Governor Jennifer Granholm for her signature. The Senate passed the
bills,
and all that remains is for the House to concur in the Senate version.
That’s expected to happen Tuesday.
There was some debate over the bills in the Senate,
but the measures
ultimately passed with 29 "yes" votes out of a possible 38
and also received
immediate effect. Gov. Granholm has been extremely supportive of the
concept
and is expected to sign the bills.
Signing the bills into law will be another major victory
for MRA in the
battle to level the playing field between in-state retailers and "remote
sellers." In the 1980s and ’90s, MRA was a voice in the wilderness
when
calling for action to bring fairness to Main Street retailers.
Improved Community Health Budget Clears House
The House approved a Department of Community Health
Budget—which contains
the Medicaid budget—that is significantly different from the Senate-passed
version. The House corrected flaws in the original bill that would have
caused serious damage to retail pharmacies in Michigan.
The House essentially returned the budget boilerplate
back to the language
in the current statute with regard to pharmacy-dispensing fee and Average
Wholesale Price (AWP). It also removed references to a pharmacy quality
assurance and assessment program (QAAP) otherwise known as a pharmacy
tax.
The remaining challenges are still great. The bill is
headed for a
conference committee to hammer out differences between the two chambers’
recommendations. It is imperative that retail pharmacy continue to
aggressively lobby possible conferees to make sure the House changes
are not
stripped from the bill.
Tobacco-, Liquor-Tax Hikes Appear Inevitable
According to political insiders and legislative leadership,
the proposed
tobacco-tax and liquor-tax increases are done deals. The budgets recently
passed by both houses rely on the funds from these two increases—an
additional 75 cents per pack on cigarettes and 50 cents on a $10 bottle
of
liquor—and the public doesn’t appear to be seriously opposed
to them as ways
to fix the hole in the state budget.
One area that is apparently off limits, however, is
Gov. Granholm’s desire
to initiate a Michigan-specific Estate Tax. According to off-the-record
comments by legislative leadership and comments made during budget hearings,
that move is not going to happen.
The Senate still has not acted on the tobacco-tax bill
recently sent by the
House. Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema reportedly wants passage of
the
tax increase to coincide with the governor signing the Republicans’
Jobs II
bills that she recently vetoed.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
HB 5878, sponsored by Rep. Ed Gaffney (R-Grosse
Pointe Farms), to clarify
process for issuance of certain licenses and expand to include discount
and
refund language.
HB 5910, sponsored by Rep. Charles LaSata (R-St.
Joseph), to establish
exemption of energy-efficient appliances.
HB 5911, sponsored by Rep. LaSata, to establish
exemption of
energy-efficient appliances.
HB 5922, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly),
to require licensure of
persons who buy or sell personal property as pawnbrokers.
HB 5970, sponsored by Rep. Gary Newell (R-Saranac),
to exempt certain
rebates from drug companies that are in violation of the health care
false
claims act to consumers.
SB 1186, sponsored by Sen. Burton Leland (D-Detroit),
to provide for
licensure of carpenter contractors and journey carpenters.
SB 1199, sponsored by Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse
City), to create commerce
centers in certain communities.
SB 1291, sponsored by Sen. Raymond Basham ( (D-Taylor),
to increase length
of time to receive unemployment benefits by 13 weeks.
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
