MBT complaints gathering steam
With most businesses having just paid their 1st Quarter Michigan Business Tax bill, the sticker shock is palpable. MRA is gathering data on the increases hitting our members and is using an online survey to aid in the process. If you have not yet done so, please take our quick online survey to provide this valuable data.
Legislators are beginning to hear the public outcry. Last week three state representatives from West Michigan held a town hall meeting to hear grievances from constituents. Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Cutlerville), who chairs the MBT Impact Assessment Subcommittee, has announced a “road show” to gather data from taxpayers on the impact of the MBT on their businesses.
The hearings will be held in:
• Grand Rapids on May 8 at 3 p.m.
• Oakland County on May 15 at 3 p.m.
• Saginaw on May 16
• Traverse City on May 19
For updated information on locations and times of the hearings, contact MRA Governmental Affairs or call Sen. Jansen’s office at 517.373.0797.
Governor undergoes emergency surgery
Governor Jennifer Granholm underwent emergency surgery Tuesday evening to correct a bowel obstruction. As a result, she postponed her scheduled jobs-seeking trade mission to the Middle East.
Granholm is said to be doing well after the surgery, which involved an incision to remove a part of her small intestine, and is spending the week at a Lansing hospital. She has continued serving as governor and not passed her authority to Lt. Gov. John Cherry.
The condition reportedly resulted from an auto accident she suffered in 1993 while in Washington, D.C. for President Clinton’s inauguration. Granholm sustained broken bones and a punctured intestine in that accident.
'Fire-safe' cigarettes bill moves
Bills requiring that only “fire-safe” cigarettes be sold at retail passed the House. The bills mirror efforts in other states that require self-extinguishing cigarettes.
Retail and wholesalers have not opposed the legislation, as it gives ample time for them to sell off their existing inventory prior to the effective date.
Partial Blue Cross package passes
Two bills of the Blue Cross individual market reform bill package passed the Senate after being discharged from a Senate committee earlier in the week following an extremely political and acrimonious battle. As passed, House Bills 5282 and 5283 do not include a high-risk pool, which is generally seen as a loss for the Blues, which pushed for such a provision.
After numerous drafts, redrafts and substitutes, committee chair Tom George (R-Kalamazoo) finally was able to garner enough votes to move the bills. The Senate-passed versions are much different from the House-passed versions and will be hashed out in a conference committee.
Two other bills—which would allow Blue Cross’ workers’ compensation insurance subsidiary, the Accident Fund, to sell other forms of insurance—were not considered. They are being held up at least until Attorney General Mike Cox’s concerns with the proposal can be explored.
Speaker recall efforts moving along
The group attempting to recall House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford) may have cleared a major hurdle in its efforts when it turned in more than 15,000 recall petition signatures. The Bureau of Elections must now examine the signatures to ensure that 8,724 signatures are valid. If this threshold is met, Dillon will likely face a recall, presumably on August 5. The Michigan Democratic Party, however, has accused the group of widespread fraud in collecting the signatures.
Dillon is under fire from anti-tax groups for his leadership and votes to raise taxes last year in the much publicized budget battle and conversion from the Single Business Tax to the MBT.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
HB 6043, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Farrah (D-Southgate), to revise prohibition of selling of alcohol on Sunday.
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