McManus stands up for Michigan wineries

Position: State Senator
District: 34th (Lake Leelanau)
Party: Republican
Committees: Senate Appropriations, Senate Finance and Senate Commerce and Labor Committees

Background:
Senator McManus was first elected as state representative for the 104th District in 1992, after working in the office of then-State Rep. Tom Power. Before running for her current Senate seat, McManus served as the director of Governor Engler’s northern office.

The senator chairs the Appropriation subcommittees for the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality, and serves as vice-chair for the General Government and History, Arts, and Libraries subcommittees.

Sen. McManus is also co-chair of the Michigan Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, which is dedicated to promoting the outdoors through education and conservation. She and her husband, Keith Nelson, live in Lake Leelanau with their two daughters.

She attended Traverse City Public Schools and earned her B.S. in political science from Central Michigan University. She enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities and is active in her community.

Michigan Retailer: How did you become involved in politics?

McManus: I was always interested in government and policy-making. I actually never intended to run for office, but when I saw an opportunity, I reconsidered. At the time, I knew how to campaign but I didn’t know all the things that come with the job. I quickly learned, however.

MR: What are your legislative priorities?

McManus: When I first became a senator, I looked forward to serving on the Appropriations Committee to work on policy and finance. I am focused especially on natural resources and the environment.

I sponsored a recycling bill that gives local municipalities more options for funding recycling programs. I believe local governments are in the best position to make decisions on how to fund services like recycling programs.

The bill simply allows local units of government to sponsor a ballot proposal to fund recycling programs. Local voters would then have an opportunity to vote on the additional funding.

More recently, however, the wine bill has taken up much of my time, because it is so important to my district.

MR: Retailers are interested in recycling, especially as it impacts the proposed expansion of the state’s bottle bill. What are your positions on the bottle bill expansion and the so-called “penny plan,” an alternative which could fund state-wide recycling?

McManus: I haven’t taken a position on either of those issues yet. I’m not sure that what’s out there for consideration now would be able to be implemented in our region.

What we did in Leelanau County was a good approach to recycling in rural areas. Our approach is to go to voters county by county and ask them if they want a recycling program and are willing to pay for it.

What would work in Leelanau County certainly wouldn’t work in Kent county, for instance. So perhaps that piece of legislation could be looked at as a model for other areas.

MR: You crafted and sponsored the Senate version of the wine bill that was recently signed into law. Can you explain what this winery legislation will and won’t do?

McManus: A Supreme Court ruling made it necessary to specify what wineries can and can’t do with regard to direct shipping.

Our bill specifically deals with the Supreme Court case—direct sales to consumers. It doesn’t touch the current law regarding sales to retailers and restaurants, which is good news for them. These businesses can continue to buy directly from in-state wineries in small amounts and can ship to in-state customers, as they have been doing.

With the new legislation, an in-state or out-of-state winery will be able to ship 1,500 cases a year direct to consumers in Michigan.

Of the 40 some wineries in Michigan, the largest one is direct-shipping about 1,000 cases right now. So this number gives them some room to grow without dismantling the three-tier system (producers/distributors/retailers).

We have also covered the bases with regard to checking identification to prevent sales to minors, although that issue is actually a red herring, because wineries have an excellent record on that point.

I believed from the beginning that Michigan could responsibly and fairly regulate direct wine shipments in our state. This legislation strikes an important balance by giving Michigan wineries room to grow and blossom without threatening to undermine our state’s system for distributing alcohol.

MR: A clause in the bill states that if a higher court declares it unconstitutional to ban direct shipment from out-of-state wineries to retailers, then all such direct shipments will be ended and retailers will be able to buy wine only through wholesalers. Why was that provision included?

McManus: First, let me say that the Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association has publicly assured us they will not bring a case that would challenge this law.

That said, it’s possible that someone—possibly an out-of-state winery that wants direct access to retailers in other states—could file a case challenging the constitutionality of current wine laws. If it happens somewhere else in the country—say, between Washington and California—then after years of appeals it might make it up to the Supreme Court again, and we could be brought back to this issue.

Rather than going back to square one and fighting the fight again, we wanted to state now what the law will be in case that happens. It’s meant to cover the bases.

But there’s always time to fight that fight if need be. Even if a case were brought tomorrow, it would be years before the law would actually changed. There’s time to mount a different legislative effort, or time to rethink one’s business strategy.

MR: How do you view the relationship between business and government?

McManus: Accessibility is the cornerstone of any important relationship. Businesspeople should be able to talk to me and should know that they can talk to me—just as any constituent can talk to me.

No part of my constituent base is more important than another. I’m here to serve the people in my district, and they come from all segments.

Some are retailers, some are farmers, some work in the public sector. There are Republicans, Democrats and independents. The office belongs to them, not to me. I just get to hold it for a while and do what I can to serve their needs.