Michigan Developments
Eric Rule,
Director of Governmental Affairs

Cox wins Attorney General post
Mike Cox scrapped his way to victory in the battle to succeed Jennifer Granholm as attorney general, edging out competitor Gary Peters by 4,915 votes.

Initially, there was speculation that Peters would request a recount. Because state law only performs a mandatory recount if there are less than 2,000 votes separating the competitors, he would have had to formally request a second tally. Peters, however, declined that option and Cox is set to be sworn in on January 1. MRA looks forward to working with Cox to create an environment in this state in which retail business can thrive.

Item pricing reform bill hits roadblock
The bill endorsed by MRA to reform Michigan’s item pricing law could not overcome opposition by incoming Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Grandville), who killed any chance for passage by refusing to have it considered during the lame-duck session.

HB 5544, sponsored by Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester), appeared to have sufficient support in the House, but Commerce Committee Chair Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) apparently decided not to bring the bill up for consideration if it wasn’t going to go anywhere in the Senate.

According to Sikkema’s staff, his decision not to act on the bill stemmed from his belief that changes should not be made to the current law. Efforts by Governor Engler, Speaker Rick Johnson and MRA to change Sikkema’s mind on the issue were unsuccessful. Efforts to educate Sikkema on the merits of reform will increase in the new legislative session.

Special thanks go to all those members who played a role in advocating for HB 5544, as well as to Speaker Johnson, Gov. Engler and Rep. Bishop.

Unclaimed-paycheck policy sent to governor
A bill supported by MRA intended to relieve businesses from having to escheat unclaimed paychecks under $50 now goes to the governor for his signature.

HB 5540, sponsored by Rep. Clark Bisbee (R-Jackson), originally set the amount at $100. Senate Finance Committee members indicated $100 was too high, however, and the sponsor agreed to an amendment lowering the amount to $50.

The intent of the bill is to help businesses in the event an employee quits without notice, doesn’t return for a final paycheck and can’t be reached.

Current law requires that businesses hold the unpaid wages for a year and then escheat them to the state’s Unclaimed Property Division. In cases with such small dollar amounts, however, attempts to get the money to the employee are ineffective or cost more than the amount that is owed. The bill was intended to solve the problem and ultimately save money for taxpayers.

Youth-employment bill stalls in Senate
MRA-supported legislation clarifying and expanding the amount of hours minors are allowed to work during the school year did not see action in the Senate and is effectively dead for the year.

HB 4875, which passed the House last month, would have set the maximum number of hours a minor could work a week during the school year at 20, or 24 with the permission of the parent.

The law currently states that the hours of school instruction and work combined shall not exceed 48 hours in one week. This can create problems for businesses employing minors attending different school districts where hours of instruction can vary.

In addition, escalating hours of instruction have decreased the number of hours available for work. Efforts to pass similar legislation will resume next session.

Legislators prepare for final meeting
The House and Senate were scheduled to meet for the last time of the year—and the session—at 10 a.m., December 30, to take care of final business.

Left over from December 13, which was supposed to be the final day, was a measure to increase the number of charter schools in Detroit by 15 over the next five years.

Under Michigan law, any bills not enrolled and sent to the governor for his signature prior to adjournment automatically die and must be reintroduced during the next session in order to be considered.

Update from Washington
James Goldberg,
MRA Washington Counsel

Bankruptcy bill dies for third time
For the third consecutive Congress, legislation that would radically reform the nation’s bankruptcy laws has failed, even though it was approved by both houses of Congress by a wide margin.

This time, the failure had nothing to do with bankruptcy reform per se, but was tied to a highly controversial provision that would have prevented anti-abortion activists from using the bankruptcy laws as a shield against civil law suit verdicts.

The abortion provision was inserted in the Senate version of the bill, but its liberal sponsor later worked out a compromise with conservative Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL). While neither side was totally thrilled with the outcome, both parties indicated they could live with the compromise language.

That wasn’t good enough for conservative House Republicans, who engineered the defeat of a usually-benign procedural rule designed to bring the House-Senate conference version of the bill to the floor for final passage.

Shortly thereafter, the House leadership stripped out the offending language and the House voted to pass the bankruptcy bill, but by that time it was too late, since the Senate had indicated it would not go along.

The defeat left MRA’s Washington Office and other retail and financial services industry representatives frustrated over the inability to get meaningful bankruptcy reform at a time when personal bankruptcy filings have hit an all-time high. Some business lobbyists have even hinted that they will give up the effort to get bankruptcy reform when the new Congress convenes in January.

TV makers, cable companies reach deal
TV makers and cable companies have tentatively reached an agreement aimed at jump-starting the rollout of high-definition TV (HDTV) and eventually eliminating the need for cable set-top boxes.

The agreement sets national standards that will enable manufacturers to embed cable-box technology in new sets to enable digital TVs to receive HDTV signals via cable, which they cannot do today. The TVs would also receive digital cable service without the need for the consumer to buy or rent a set-top cable box.

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve the agreement, which anticipates a three-year phase-in period beginning in 2004.

States approve sales tax agreement
Representatives of some 33 states have voted to approve an historic, multi-state agreement to simplify the nation’s sales tax laws by establishing one uniform system to administer and collect sales taxes on nearly $3.5 trillion in retail transactions annually.

The work of the so-called Streamlined Sales Tax Implementing States (SSTIS) is another major step in a long process which MRA hopes will result in federal authorization for states to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on all merchandise shipped into a taxing jurisdiction.

All of the participating SSTIS jurisdictions are expected to introduce the agreement in their respective legislatures when the new sessions convene in January. The goal will be to win enactment in at least 10 states to trigger implementation.

Visa launches reward program
Visa has launched a new reward program aimed at encouraging customers to use their Visa-branded debit cards more often.

There is a catch however. Customers who punch in a personal identification number at check-out will get nothing. The rewards only go to those debit card holders who sign for their purchases as if they were using a credit card.

The new program is yet another skirmish in a long-running battle over who gets what fees in the growing debit card industry. In just five years, the number of debit cards jumped from 17 million in 1993 to 117 million in 1999. This means that in 2002 more than one half of people with checking accounts have a debit card, and more than one third of the entire U.S. population—that’s over 100 million debit card users.

Many retailers who accept debit cards have installed PIN terminals, in part because they pay fewer transaction fees to Visa when that method is used. However, when a signature is used, the transaction is processed like a credit card, with Visa and the issuing bank taking a bigger financial cut.