KEY
LEGISLATION:
House
Passes ‘Omnibus’ Budget Bill
House Republicans got most of what they wanted when they used procedural
tricks to pass their omnibus budget bill devoid of Democratic amendments.
The Democrats had numerous amendments cued and ready to go for House
Bill
5975, which had been designated as the vehicle bill for the multi-department
spending plan. The GOP, however, opted to attach the contents of the
omnibus
budget onto the end of HB 5976, which had been designated as the “School
Bus” because it funded higher education, community colleges and
the
Department of Education.
The GOP included some 50 amendments of their own in the budget bill,
however. Among them was an issue important to retail—a measure
preventing
the Department of Labor and Economic Growth from drawing up ergonomic
standards for businesses. Although Democrats argued that such standards
would save businesses money in the long run, Rep. Rick Jones (R-Grand
Ledge)
said that requiring ergonomic standards would be an unnecessary burden
for
businesses. California is the only state that has implemented state-specific
ergonomics rules.
The Granholm Administration has been considering offering ergonomic
rules
for over a year, and Republicans and business groups such as MRA have
been
attempting to thwart this costly and burdensome requirement.
The omnibus budget bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. Both
chambers hope to have the entire budget wrapped up by June 15, or the
following week at the latest, so they can adjourn for the summer and
begin
campaigning for the important elections in November.
Kleine Confirmed
as New Treasurer
The Senate confirmed Bob Kleine as state treasurer. Kleine was appointed
by
Gov. Granholm to succeed Jay Rising, who left to join the Detroit Medical
Center.
Kleine was instrumental in crafting the Single Business Tax (SBT) decades
ago and is intimately familiar with its workings. This knowledge was
viewed
as helpful to confirmation, because replacing the SBT is a major priority
of
the legislature.
Kleine’s confirmation was much less rocky than other recent Granholm
appointees. He received praise from both Senate Majority Leader Ken
Sikkema
(R-Wyoming) and Senate Minority Leader Bob Emerson (D-Flint).
DeVos Holds Lead in Latest Poll
Gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos continues to gain momentum in his
bid to
unseat Gov. Granholm. The latest poll to be released—conducted
by Strategic
Vision—shows the Republican challenger holding a three-point lead
over
Granholm, with a margin of error of three percentage points. The results
show DeVos leading Granholm 45 percent to 42 percent, with 13 percent
of
voters undecided.
DeVos has campaigned aggressively early, spending approximately $6 million
already on television and radio spots. The DeVos campaign is expected
to
spend upwards of $40 to $50 million on the campaign. Granholm, however,
has
yet to begin campaigning actively and appears to be holding her funds
until
later in the political year. This strategy worked well last election
cycle
for U. S. Senator Debbie Stabenow when she unseated incumbent Spence
Abraham.
The Michigan Retailers Association recently endorsed Dick DeVos’
candidacy
along with that of current Republican Attorney General Mike Cox.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
No new key bill introductions to report
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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
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