February 18, 1994

Legislative Week in Review

• The much-touted shared-power arrangement in the House buckled under partisan pressures this week as Republicans forced a real estate transfer tax bill out of committee to the floor of the full chamber where it passed 78-26. SB 999, approved last week by the Senate, reduces to .75 percent a new tax on real estate sales that comprises a tiny fraction of the state’s revamped local school funding. Under Ballot Proposal A the transfer tax would have been levied at 2 percent of real estate transactions; under the statutory backup plan, the tax would amount to one percent. SB 999 was deadlocked in the House Taxation Committee, whose members were considering their own version of the measure. Using their current three-vote majority in the lower chamber, Republicans mustered a 55-49 vote to discharge the bill from committee. Democratic revenge took the form of denying the bill immediate effect, meaning the higher transfer tax rates would remain in effect until 1995. Even without immediate effect, Governor Engler is said to be ready to sign the bill, which is seen by supporters as likely to increase support for Ballot Proposal A.
• Tempers were also strained in the Senate over the short notice preceding passage of SB 887, which would restore vocational education categorical funding. Senators complained that the bill was discharged from committee and presented for their action only moments before the 24-10 vote for passage, which will add nearly $20 million to the 1994–95 school aid act. The 70-page measure overturns a gubernatorial veto on revenue recaptures and restores "voc-ed" funds as a categorical funding item—thereby ensuring local districts continued eligibility for federal funds.
• A nine-bill package making carjacking a Michigan felony passed the Senate unanimously this week. SBs 773–781 provide for prison sentences up to life and reflect the fact that carjacking has remained a major crime problem in the state rather than the short-lived fad authorities once hoped it would be.

Political News

• Michiganians smoke more, weigh more, and live with more racial segregation than residents of most other states, according to separate surveys released last week. Results of a 1992 Department of Public Health survey showed more than a quarter of all state residents smoke—putting Michigan in the top 15 smoking states nationally. Nearly 30 percent of Michiganians are overweight, the survey showed. And Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw ranked among the nation’s most segregated cities in a University of Michigan rating using U.S. Census data. But this good news from the Michigan Safety Commission: Alcohol-related auto crash deaths are at an all-time low and seat belt use in the state hit an all-time high of 67.4 percent last year.
• As promised, U.S. Rep. Bob Carr (D-East Lansing) formally announced his candidacy this week for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Also joining the field of August 2 Democratic primary candidates is state Sen. John Kelly of Detroit. Michigan State University Board of Trustees chairman Joel Ferguson is reported to be considering the race.
• The state Agriculture Commission named state government veteran Gordon Guyer as Agriculture Department director, effective February 28. Guyer, who has headed both Michigan State University (1992–93) and the Department of Natural Resources (1986), is expected to stress collaborative interagency relationships and increased visibility for the state’s agriculture industry.
• State Rep. Dianne Byrum is the first announced candidate for the 24th Senate District seat being relinquished by gubernatorial candidate Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Completing her second House term, Byrum has become the senior lawmaker of the Ingham County delegation as the result of incumbents seeking other offices.