Mortimer backs item pricing modernization

Position: State Representative
District: 65th (Horton, Jackson area)
Party: Republican
Committees: House Education (vice-chair), Insurance, Health Policy, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security

Background:
Mortimer was elected to her first term in the Michigan House of Representatives in November 2004. She is running for reelection on Nov. 7.

She owns Nutrition Management Associates in Horton and provides consulting dietary services. Before opening her business she worked as a dietician at several health care facilities, including Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and Foote Hospital in Jackson.

Mortimer has bachelor’s degrees from Albion College and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and a master’s degree in Nutrition from Wayne State University.

She is a two-time president of the local American Heart Association, a member of the Michigan Farm Bureau and a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

Mortimer lives in Horton with her husband, former State Rep. Mickey Mortimer, and their two children.

Michigan Retailer: How did you become involved in politics?

Mortimer: My husband, Mickey, served six years as a state representative, from 1998 until 2004. When he was term-limited out, I decided to run for his seat.

Six years as the wife of a state rep gave me a good sense of what I was getting into. I also knew the people from socializing with them and just listening. Being a good legislator requires building relationships, and I had already started building those relationships before I even got elected.

MR: Some retailers are now struggling to pay workers the increased minimum wage that the Michigan Legislature enacted this year. What happened there?

Mortimer: A group called ACORN had targeted Michigan for a minimum wage increase, and they had been very successful in three states where they’d done this previously.

The GOP leadership read the writing on the wall, so to speak. Extensive research by the Michigan Chamber and other business groups showed that Michigan voters were extremely likely to pass a minimum wage ballot initiative no matter how much time and money the opposition might spend on defeating it.

Rather than throw money away on a battle they were likely to lose, the GOP leadership decided it would be wiser to pass its own bill that would give businesses more control.

The ballot initiative proposed by ACORN did not allow exceptions for youth workers or tip-wage workers, whereas the GOP bill that passed left open the chance to legislate separately on those special wages situations. In fact, we recently passed legislation to establish a youth wage and to fix the problem regarding unintentional overtime exemptions [see “Michigan Developments” on page 6].

Most importantly, by passing our own bill we kept the issue out of the state Constitution, where it didn’t belong and where changes and improvements would be nearly impossible.

MR: MRA has been urging legislation to modernize the state’s item pricing laws. What do you think of Rep. Hildebrand’s proposed bill on item pricing?

Mortimer: I like Dave Hildebrand’s bill very much and support its passage. In fact, I had the opportunity to visit a Sun Microsystems office and see for myself some of the new technologies that retailers could be using to identify product prices to shoppers and improve scanner accuracy. I was very impressed.

Consumers are likely to be reluctant about this kind of change, but once they see what’s possible and realize the new bill would protect them as well, they will adapt to it and even embrace it.

MR: What are your legislative priorities?

Mortimer: Like most of us in the legislature, my highest priority is job creation and diversifying Michigan’s economy. I’ll do whatever I can to bring and retain jobs.

I also work hard to address the specific concerns of my constituents. I brought home $18 million for much-needed improvements to I-127; helped Jackson Community College get $7.5 million for a new technical education center, which will help prepare Michigan’s young people for tomorrow’s jobs; and got $32,000 for sidewalks in Eaton Rapids, as well as a stoplight they have needed for the past 10 years.

In addition, because of my training, health policy and education are high priorities for me. I was involved in getting legislation passed that set higher curriculum standards for Michigan’s high schools. It helps ensure consistency among very different schools.

MR: Of what legislation are you most proud?

Mortimer: First, I’m proud to say that I have gotten more legislation passed—25 bills—than any other legislator, just in my freshman term.
I’m proud to be on the Healthy Kids Task Force, which will help communities in the struggle to raise healthy children, something I care about deeply as a nutritionist and health care professional.
I’m proud of my legislation to fund an initiative to educate women about donating umbilical cord blood after giving birth—cord blood that can provide stem cells for research and even treatment for diseases like leukemia.

My bill, together with another bill that helps fund the cord blood banks, will grow our state’s cord blood network. Most of us are unaware of how important this donation can be, so the cord blood banks won’t grow without more education explaining how to donate and why.

It will also, we hope, improve the variety of cord blood donated, so that various ethnic groups will be better represented in the cord blood banks. I’m proud of this because I believe it will help save lives.

MR: What would you say to people unsure about whether to vote in the upcoming midterm elections?

Mortimer: If you don’t get out and vote, you’re giving away your voice to those who do. Don’t let others call the shots for you.

MR: Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Mortimer: I’d like to encourage them to visit the Michigan.gov website and check out a new link there, on the right-hand column under Featured Links: “Unclaimed Property.” The link was added at my suggestion.

Unclaimed property is money and other assets that revert to the state when no one claims them. This link goes to a service that lets people look up names to see if the state has any unclaimed property in that name. Then it provides the forms and instructions needed to verify the claim and obtain the assets.

I was surprised to find unclaimed funds for members of my family there. I’ve also helped my constituents recover more than $330,000 through this service.