September 22, 2006
KEY
LEGISLATION:
Minimum Wage Fix Passed
When the Legislature passed an increase in the minimum wage to take
effect October 1st, a major mistake was made in terms of how overtime
exemptions were treated. Because the state wage was now to be higher
than the federal wage, it brought Michigan out of compliance with the
Fair Labor Standards Act, which grants exemptions for overtime to certain
classes of employees such as commissioned retail sales staff. Business
groups argued that a fix was necessary to correct this oversight, but
politics made reaching a solution difficult.
Grassroots support from business owners in Michigan finally brought
the point home to the Democrats and Governor Granholm that a solution
through a restoration of the exemptions must be achieved. With barely
a month to spare prior to the new minimum wage rules taking effect,
the Legislature passed the minimum wage overtime fix it bill. So, while
the minimum wage will increase to $6.95 on October 1st, the overtime
exemptions previously in place in Michigan will not be affected. Our
thanks to all our members that participated and made this victory possible
through their grassroots support.
Youth Training Wage Part of Minimum Wage Solution
At the same time the overtime fix-it bill was being negotiated, a similar
issue involving youth pay was working its way through the legislative
process as well. In order to provide at least a modicum of relief for
businesses in Michigan from the increase in the minimum wage, business
groups were advocating for a reduced wage for workers under the age
of 18.
The new law allows businesses to pay workers under 18 a youth wage of
85% of the full minimum wage. Once the worker turns 18, the full minimum
wage must be paid. In addition, a 90-day training wage of $4.25 can
be paid to all new employees under 20 years of age.
Video Competition Bill Closer to Reality
A bill favored by MRA that would help bring competition to the video
and cable industry passed the House Technology and Energy Committee
on Sept. 20th. The bill has been moved to 3rd reading on the House floor
and will likely be passed on to the Senate for action after the November
7th elections.
HB 6456 would open up the state’s video service market to competitors
and be the first step toward true competition in that marketplace. The
bill is being pushed by AT&T, Verizon, and other companies that
want to provide video services in Michigan. The bill is expected to
bring hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to Michigan as a
result of the build-out necessary to compete with existing video service
providers. At the heart of the legislation is the change to put the
state in charge of negotiating and grating franchise agreements to potential
video service providers. Currently the local units of government grant
the agreements – a process that would considerably hinder and slow
the ability of competitors to enter multiple markets.
Carpentry Licensure Bills Stall
At least for the time being, two bills designed to require professional
carpenters to pay a fee and register with the state were left to be
dealt with possibly during Lame Duck session if at all this year. The
bills, HBs 6533-4, sponsored by Rep. Pastor (R-Livonia) were reportedly
an effort to crack down on illegal aliens in the carpentry work force.
The issue has raised the concern of homebuilders and business groups,
including MRA. At issue was the concern that home-improvement projects
would be affected by the changes and additional rules and qualifications
would be sure to follow. The bills are still in the House Regulatory
Reform Committee and could be discharged from committee for floor action
at any time.
State-Sponsored Buying Program for Lawn Care Equipment Pitched
Three Democratic House members are pursing what they are calling the
Michigan Lawn Care Equipment Bulk Purchasing Discount Program. The program
would apply to businesses in the state that pay a fee to join the program
for the purpose of purchasing low-emission lawn care equipment at reduced
prices.
The Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Consumer
and Industry Services would create and operate the program, which would
sell the discounted low-emission equipment to businesses that voluntarily
trade in inefficient 2-stroke engine-powered equipment. The department
would negotiate with lawn equipment providers and manufacturers and
others to obtain the equipment at reduced prices and for the disposal
and recycling of the used lawn care equipment.
MRA clearly has a huge problem with such a proposal. In our opinion,
if the state wants more businesses to utilize low-emission lawn equipment,
they should simply offer a tax break on such equipment, or even better,
make these products exempt from state sales and use tax altogether.
This would be a better role for the government than price setting and
meddling in the free-market.
Fortunately, the bill has been referred to the House Government Operations
Committee chaired by Rep. Leon Drolet (R-Clinton Twp.). Drolet is traditionally
one of the most conservative members of the Republican caucus and does
not normally go for programs like this. In fact, MRA spoke with a member
of his staff who confirmed that this bill would not see action prior
to the end of the legislative session, at which point all bills not
signed into law will have to be re-introduced in the next legislative
session.
Session Schedule
On September 20th, the House and Senate wrapped-up all legislative
action until after the Nov. 7th election. The Legislature will return
after the election for leadership voting and will then determine what
sort of schedule will ensue for the “Lame-Duck” session. The
2005-2006 legislative session will adjourn on Dec. 31st and the new
2-year 2007-2008 session will officially being on Jan. 1, 2007.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
No new key bill introductions to report
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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
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