December 21, 2006
SBT Replacement
Could Be Decided During Lame Duck
Finding a replacement plan for the Single Business Tax (SBT) and the
$1.9-billion budget hole it will create has not been considered a pressing
issue, as the current tax does not phase out until Dec. 31, 2007. Most
expected the next legislature to tackle the issue early in the new year.
Against expectations, however, Governor Jennifer Granholm has called
for lawmakers to take care of this issue prior to adjournment of the
current session.
Legislative Session
Wrap-Up
The 93rd Michigan Legislature wrapped up the remainder of its agenda
early Friday morning, December 15, after a marathon-like three days
of activity.
The only remaining formality is Sine Die, in which the legislature will
return on Dec. 29 to officially adjourn the two-year session. Any bills
not yet sent to the governor for her signature will die and must be
reintroduced in the new legislative session.
While this legislature’s lame-duck session was not as productive
as some in the past, several issues of importance to the business community
were debated. Some were or will be signed into law, while others faced
a last-minute death. Here’s an overview:
• Item-pricing modernization.
This issue has continued to plague retailers since its inception in
1976. A bill sponsored by Dave Hildenbrand
(R-Lowell), which would have provided retailers with moderate relief
from this price-stickering burden, proceeded further than any previous
attempt before ultimately dying in the Senate.
The bill passed the full House and a Senate committee prior to stalling on the Senate floor on the last day of session. The Senate chose not to pass the measure because Governor Jennifer Granholm indicated she would veto the bill if it reached her desk.
This reform measure was again defeated not because of faulty policy
or lobbying, but because of pure politics. The governor indicated her
desire to not go against the unions that oppose the legislation. It
is unclear what strategy will be undertaken next session, as Granholm
has another four years in office.
• Video franchising legislation.
Competition in the cable and video services industry will be realized
through passage of HB 6456, a bill to make it
easier for video service providers to enter into franchising contracts
with local units of government. Prior to the bill passing, AT&T
announced it would add 2,000 new jobs in Michigan by 2009 if the changes
were signed into law.
Cable prices could soon drop as well. When a similar bill passed in
Texas, customers saw a significant reduction in their cable bills, as
competition in the industry forced cable companies to try and retain
customers.
• Billboard moratorium.
After years of trying to limit the number ofbillboards on Michigan’s
roads, the environmental community and the business and advertising
community finally struck a compromise.
Gov. Granholm signed two bills, Public Acts 567 and 568 of 2006, which in essence prohibit new billboard permits after Jan. 1, 2007.
Michigan ranks relatively high in the number of billboards in the state, with 14,000 of them in use and 1,200 unused permits for others. The legislation encourages owners of these locations to consolidate the unused billboards with those already being used to reduce potential construction.
Billboard owners will be able to trim vegetation in front of billboards
in order to utilize current locations that may have grown over and are
not currently in use.
• Phosphorus regulation.
A bill regulating the sale of phosphorus passed—without language
that would have required retailers of fertilizers
containing phosphorous to display signage and hand out educational material.
As passed, the bill only updates standards for the agribusiness industry.
Also stripped from the bill was a fee on the sale of fertilizer and
pesticide applicators that was designed to pay for the educational material
in exchange for a statewide preemption of local ordinances requiring
piecemeal registration of the applicators. When this portion of the
bill unraveled, the entire bill was then gutted and approved with only
the
minimum of changes made to the existing law.
• Security breach legislation.
The governor is expected to sign SB 309, a bill that amends the Identity
Theft Protection Act. In the event of a security breach of a database
containing personal information, the bill requires a state agency (including
a college or university), an individual or a business to notify, without
reasonable delay, each Michigan resident for whom personal information
had been maintained in its database.
This bill had been in negotiations and workgroups for more than a year;
previous attempts at moving the bill from committee failed because of
the perception that business input watered down the bill too much. Toward
the
end of session, the group got back together and reached a compromise
that was able to move through both chambers.
• Penny plan.
A package of bills designed to fund recycling efforts—the so-called
“Penny Plan”—was unable to muster enough votes to pass
from the House Natural Resources Committee after MRA, the lone business
group opposing the bill, joined with committee Democrats to poke holes
in the plan.
MRA’s testimony pointed out the costs to all retail businesses that would have been forced to add a penny to retail transactions over $2 and remit that amount to the state, to be distributed to local governments to pay for curbside recycling programs.
Other major business groups supported the plan as a compromise to prevent expansion of Michigan’s bottle-deposit law to include water, juice and sports-drink containers. MRA also opposes expansion efforts, but believes the Penny Plan unfairly burdened retailers that would not see any benefit from the compromise on expansion.
Democrats who will control the House in the upcoming legislative session
have indicated they would like to reexamine the recycling issue next
year.
New Legislature
Thirty-two new House members and seven new senators will take office
in January. All seven senators previously served in the House and will
take less time to get up to speed than the new House members.
Leadership will look quite different in the 94th legislature, with a new Speaker of the House and new Senate Majority Leader.
Rep. Andy Dillon (D-Redford) was elected speaker by his Democratic colleagues, taking over for Craig DeRoche (R-Novi), who will become minority leader.
Sen. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) was elected Senate majority leader, narrowly edging out Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) in a vote of incoming senators. He will take over for term-limited Sen. Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming).
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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