April 15, 1994

Legislative Week in Review

• Critics claimed House Republicans were back with a vengeance this week, using their control of the chamber floor and a slender majority provided by the late-night return of vacationing colleagues to pass a teachers’ union regulation bill (HB 5128) near midnight Wednesday. The GOP has a three-vote edge in the lower chamber at least until the April 26 special elections to fill the vacancies in seats formerly held by Democrats, which had resulted in the 55-55 split that led to the current shared-power arrangement. Under that arrangement, Republicans control the House until May and were thus able oversee the discharge from committee of HB 5128. The bill imposes stiff fines on striking teachers and removes a variety of issues from the scope of collective bargaining. With every Democrat and one Republican (former Democrat Sal Rocca of Sterling Heights) voting against the bill, Republicans mustered the bare minimum 54 votes required for passage by sending staffers to Detroit’s Metro Airport to meet GOP Rep. Bill Bobier’s plane and driving the Hesperia lawmaker to Lansing for the late-night vote. The measures are expected to have smooth sailing through the Republican-controlled Senate despite protests from the Michigan Education Association and other teacher groups claiming inadequate public input on the controversial measures.
• Not to be outdone by House colleagues in mustering a post-recess partisan offense, Senate Republicans slapped a ban on bingo as a fund-raiser for political organizations. While both political parties’ local organizations use bingo games to raise money, they are believed to be more widely used currently by Democrats. Senate Bill 3 passed on a near-party–line vote of 19-14, with the upper chamber’s action described by Gongwer News Service as "sinking its teeth into the raw meat of political finance." While Republicans contended that the measure was designed to close loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws, Democrats charged the bill was being hurried through the Senate so that the reed-thin GOP majority in the House could have at it before losing control of the chamber.
• A fourteen-bill package aimed at curbing domestic violence was signed into law over the weekend by Gov. John Engler. Provisions in the eleven House- and three Senate-generated measures include increasing penalties for domestic assault, permitting warrantless arrests, and upgrading reporting and record-keeping requirements of both police and courts in domestic violence cases.

Political News

• Gov. John Engler launched his reelection campaign announcement on a ten-day, 40-city tour that began this week in Livonia and will end April 23 in Houghton, Alpena, and Sault Ste. Marie. Using a 24-passenger bus donated by a supporter and outfitted with exterior speakers, the Engler entourage is forsaking the trusty Oldsmobile that the candidate used to visit all 83 Michigan counties during his last campaign. The Oldsmobile wasn’t big enough, explained campaign officials.
• Former Lottery Commissioner and longtime Engler aide Jerry Crandall will begin his new duties with the House Republican Caucus on May 8. Crandall will be a liaison with the gubernatorial commission on government efficiency chaired by former national Republican committee member and U.S. Ambassador Peter Secchia.
• The unexpected legislative retirement of Sen. John Pridnia (R-Hubbard Lake) caught his colleagues off guard. Chair of the Health Policy and Senior Citizens Committee and four-term House member, Pridnia has said he will not seek a second Senate term. The legislative ripple effect is already being heavily conjectured, should Rep. Beverly Bodem (R-Alpena) or Rep. Pat Gagliardi (D-Drummond Island) leave their current House seats to try for the Senate vacancy. Other retirements announced over the lawmakers’ spring break are those of House Democrats Justine Barns (Westland) and Mary Brown (Kalamazoo). Brown has served nine terms, is Democratic Caucus chair and Insurance Committee co-chair. A six-term legislative veteran, Barns is co-chair of the Senior Citizens Committee. Meanwhile, Sen. Gilbert DiNello (R-Clinton Township) has announced that he’s not leaving. DiNello has dropped plans to run for the U.S. Senate and will seek instead to retain his state Senate seat. This will be his first campaign as a Republican since changing his party affiliation last year.