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Lawmaker stands firm during budget crisis |
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In the frantic, final press to plug holes in the state
budget and head home to campaign, senators were changing their minds and
trading votes. Shirley Johnson, however, didn’t waiver in her opposition
to a key element of the compromise package - a 50-cent increase in the
state cigarette tax.
“It hurts small businesses, especially grocers,”
the Royal Oak Republican told Michigan Retailer between votes on a laundry
list of other bills needing to move before summer recess. “Retailers
have been very much opposed to raising the tax.” “It’s not just the fact that the higher tax
hurts cigarette sales,” she continued. “The loss of those sales
has a ripple effect. If people don’t go into the store to buy cigarettes,
they also don’t buy the other things they would normally pick up
there.” Johnson, who is seeking re-election to the Senate but
first faces a tough August 6 primary against State Rep. Robert Gosselin
of Troy, also criticized another key element of the budget bailout plan
- freezing already-scheduled reductions in the Single Business Tax. “Continuing the tax cut is the right thing to do,”
she said, citing both economic and strategic reasons. “Small businesses are hurt more by the Single Business
Tax than are large manufacturers. Come to my district and see the stores
that are closed. Small businesses always get slammed first. “And now is not the time to freeze the rates and
stop the phaseout. We’re going to have a new governor and a new legislature
on January 1, and if we end up with the wrong governor we might not get
the opportunity to cut the tax again for years.” The fact that Governor John Engler, a fellow Republican
with a reputation for cutting taxes, was pushing lawmakers to raise the
cigarette tax and was expected to go along with the Single Business Tax
freeze didn’t phase Johnson. Nor was it the first time she had bucked a Republican
governor on a tax issue. In her first term in the Michigan House during
the deep recession of 1981-82, Johnson criticized then-Governor William
Milliken’s tax proposals. Her comments quickly made their way to
the popular governor, who penned a sharply-worded rebuke to Johnson’s
hometown newspaper. But Johnson has weathered any and all storms while serving
during three governors’ tenures. She fully expects to serve with
a fourth next year - and from a position of considerable influence. Because of term limits, re-election would make her one
of only as many as 11 returning senators. She is a strong candidate to
become chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, especially if Sen.
Ken Sikkema (R-Grandville) becomes Senate Majority Leader. “I very much hope that Ken is our leader,” she
said. “We’ve worked together for many years and served on Appropriations
together. I think we’d make a great team.” Despite the additional $300 million in revenues from the
cigarette tax increase, Appropriations members will have their work cut
out for them next year. “We still have budget problems, but they can’t
hold a candle to some of the sessions I’ve been through as a legislator,”
she said calmly. “There are no easy fixes available, so it’s
going to take a lot of us sitting down and going through the budget to
make sure there isn’t any unnecessary spending. You can’t turn
to taxpayers for more money if governments’ pockets aren’t clean.” Johnson and her husband, Cliff, have lived in Royal Oak
for 35 years and have two sons and one grandchild. She got her start in
politics as a local volunteer for President Nixon’s re-election campaign
in 1972. “I passed out literature at a supermarket in Royal
Oak,” she recalled. “I’ve been involved ever since. I’ve
held several partisan positions and stuffed millions of envelopes.”
She was elected to the Michigan House in November 1980,
her first run for public office. During her 18 years there she co-authored
the 1995 welfare reform bill requiring welfare recipients to work and
voted for all 24 tax cuts from 1990 to 1998. In March 1999 Johnson won a special election to fill a
vacancy created when former Senator Mike Bouchard resigned to become Oakland
County sheriff. She is the first female senator from Oakland County, where
her 13th District includes Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Clawson,
Madison Heights, Troy, Hazel Park, Ferndale, Huntington Woods and Pleasant
Ridge. Johnson currently serves as chair of the Appropriations
Career Development and Strategic Fund Subcommittee; vice chair of the
Appropriations General Government Subcommittee; and member of the Appropriations
Capital Outlay and Community Health subcommittees. She is vice chair of
the Education Committee, a member of the Families, Mental Health and Human
Services Committee, a member of the Legislative Council and chairs the
Legislative Council Agencies. Her first Senate legislation to become law was a package
of bills giving prosecutors the power to punish criminals who agree to
immunity deals but fail to fully disclose the extent of their criminal
involvement. Another key law she sponsored was a 2001 bill to help the
more than 4,000 reported victims of rape each year by eliminating the
statute of limitations in cases of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
She calls her past three years in the Senate the highlight
of her legislative career. “I’ve had the opportunity not just to focus
on appropriations, but also to serve on a number of committees where I
have been even more involved with legislation that helps children and
families, businesses and the environment. The Senate is a much smaller
body and provides you with more opportunities to have an impact. It has
been a great experience.” In sharp contrast to her opponent in the upcoming primary,
Johnson stands solidly with retailers on the issue of sales tax collection
fairness. Although her opponent fought unsuccessfully against Michigan
joining a national effort to streamline states’ sales tax systems,
Johnson supported it as a plus for business and a step toward Michigan
collecting taxes due on goods sold by out-of-state merchants. “I supported it because it will streamline things
for business and makes the system more efficient. It’s also a matter
of fairness for retailers,” she said. “The business groups in my district supported streamlining. We have argued for years in the Capitol about our state being hurt by tax rates in other states. This was a chance to make sure our retailers have a level playing field against out-of-state merchants. Then to have your opponent attack you - he either doesn’t understand the business community or he’s just grabbing at straws.” |
The
$1.25-a-pack tax was approved on July 9 by a 20-16 vote, the minimum margin
needed for passage. It was the second try of the day after weeks of wrangling,
arm-twisting and hand-wringing in both the Senate and House.