March 17, 1995

Legislative Week in Review

• Despite opposition from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Mackinaw Center, the Senate passed legislation creating Governor Engler’s Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) on a bipartisan vote of 33-4. Republicans accepted a key Democratic amendment banning a cap of 25 economic development grants per year in order to obtain the necessary votes to achieve immediate effect for the measures (SBs 350–51). The package moves back to the House, where leaders have agreed to hold a timely vote.
• A Senate appropriations subcommittee has eliminated the $938,100 line item to establish Michigan Government Television (MGTV). The subcommittee’s vote tunes out, at least temporarily, plans to televise various capitol proceedings in the manner of C-SPAN.
• A bill (SB 322) reducing unemployment benefits and giving employers more latitude to be designated seasonal businesses was heatedly discussed in a House committee Tuesday. Currently, workers employed by seasonal businesses are not entitled to unemployment benefits. Construction workers—potential victims of the seasonal provision—testifying against the bill asked why the Michigan Employment Security Commission did not send a representative to the hearing.

Political News

• Recalling the furor he caused by pointing out the numerous plane trips made by his predecessor, Jim Blanchard, John Engler was questioned about the nine trips he has made to Washington, D.C., in the last four months. Defending the frequent flier miles as vital to driving the national debate on welfare reform, Engler’s office released figures showing the total cost for the state-owned plane excursions to be slightly less than $25,000. Claiming a Freedom of Information Act exemption, Engler’s spokespeople declined to reveal any other costs associated with the trips.
• The Detroit News reports that, during his stay in Washington, the governor expressed an interest in being the running mate of the eventual Republican 1996 presidential nominee, "But," Engler admitted, "nobody’s asked me yet."
• Why settle for number two when you can be number one? A national poll commissioned and released this week by Inside Michigan Politics reveals that John Engler would fare favorably—a statistical dead heat—against Bill Clinton in a hypothetical race for the presidency. Forty-five percent of voters nationwide would pull the lever for the president, while 42 percent would opt for placing Engler in the Oval Office. Observers note that the poll also discloses that only a quarter of the electorate has heard of Michigan’s governor, suggesting that the results indicate mainly an erosion of Clinton’s electoral drawing power.
• With a deadlocked 2-2 vote last Friday, the highly partisan State Board of Canvassers threw the question of bingo games sponsored by political organizations to the courts. Questioning the "freshness" of signatures collected by Democratic supporters before last November’s election, Republican board chair Jim Alexander claimed that, "it may not be fair, but it’s the state of the law right now."
• Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine got a great bill of health from U.S. News & World Report. The magazine rated the college third in the nation for primary care physician training. U.S. News will rave in an upcoming issue about five other MSU graduate programs that it rates among the best in the country. The University of Michigan’s medical school also made the newsweekly’s top ten list, as did six other UM advanced degree programs.
• In striking down a portion of the state tobacco tax act, the Michigan Court of Appeals has refused to block a lower court’s decision to make it harder to apprehend and prosecute cigarette smugglers in Wayne County. The court believes that the current law does not properly ensure that suspected smugglers have a right to appeal police confiscation of illegal cigarettes. An emergency appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court is being pursued by Attorney General Frank Kelley to head off the effects of the appeals court ruling.