January 21, 1994

Legislative & Political News

• In his fourth State of the State address Gov. John Engler promised to be tough on crime, tougher on welfare, and to follow through on what he called historic reforms in the state’s education system. Regularly interrupted by mostly partisan applause, the speech drew its largest and only standing ovation in response to Engler’s introduction of Democratic Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. As expected, the governor called for an end to the parole system and the imposition of flat sentences that must be served in entirety. Other centerpieces of the address called for "the end of welfare as we know it," with current aid recipients required either to find work or enter job training programs.
• Former Ambassador to Italy Peter Secchia was named in Engler’s address as chair of a new blue-ribbon state commission. The group’s charge, said Engler, is to reengineer state government to give taxpayers more for their money. Secchia’s panel is to submit recommendations by the end of the year.
• The governor’s well-organized and upbeat text, decried by political opponents as election-year rhetoric, also urged passage of the March 15 ballot proposal to raise the state sales tax to provide local school operating funds. Engler roundly denounced the statutory backup plan, which relies primarily on a state income tax increase, that will be implemented if the ballot initiative fails.
• Gubernatorial approval this week of SB 896 (P.A. 362) concludes action on a record number of bills passed in the 1993 legislative session. Gongwer News Service notes that lawmakers approved more public acts last year than in any first year of a biennium since 1965. Many observers concluded that the shared power arrangement in the House actually speeded the deliberative process.
• State Treasurer Doug Roberts says Michigan may run out of matching funds that help finance gubernatorial campaigns. Roberts last week told the Lansing State Journal that fewer taxpayers are contributing to the voluntary campaign fund, which has been promoted on state income tax forms since 1976 as a way to help equalize spending among candidates and reduce the influence of special interests. Assuming all five current candidates for governor become eligible for the maximum two-to-one match of $990,000 in state funds, Roberts proposes that candidates receive 65 percent of this total. Alternatives include a legislative appropriation of additional funds or some candidates dropping out of the race or failing to qualify for the maximum match, leaving more available to their rivals.
• Veteran state lawmakers Reps. Dick Allen (R-Caro) and James O’Neill (D-Saginaw) have announced retirement plans at the end of their current terms. O’Neill, a former school administrator who figured largely in House education policy formation, has served for 14 terms. Allen, a former newspaper editor who serves on several appropriations subcommittees, is currently serving his sixth term.
• Two criminal proceedings for individuals charged with wrongdoing in the House Fiscal Agency scandal have yielded an acquittal and a legislative resignation. Luke Hasbany, former state retirement bureau employee, was acquitted this week by a federal jury in Lansing. Earlier this month, state Rep. Steve Shepich (D-Iron River) pleaded guilty to a single felony charge in Ingham County Circuit Court and submitted his resignation from the House effective on his sentencing date, February 16. His resignation will reduce Democratic representation in the lower chamber to 52 seats, due to the earlier retirements of Reps. Harrison and Hollister.