May 10, 1996

Legislative Week in Review

• Amid a chorus of Democratic "I-TOLD-YOU-SOs," Governor Engler and legislative leaders agreed to a $100 million set-aside in the state budget in case anticipated federal reforms fail to materialize. The governor’s proposed fiscal year 1996–97 budget assumes massive federal Medicaid and welfare reforms that will give more control of the programs to the states, along with funding to run the programs. The reforms haven’t happened and may not, giving rise to persistent Democratic complaints that the governor’s budget is potentially as much as $300 million out of balance.
• The House considered this week changes to Michigan’s workers’ compensation statutes passed by the Senate last week. Senate Bill 895 passed the upper chamber along strict party lines, 21–16. Republicans describe the measure as toughening up the fraud and abuse provisions in existing laws. Democrats protest that the bill narrows eligibility, thus benefiting employers at the expense of workers.
• Minors seeking tans, tattoos, and body piercings will need prior parental permission, under two bills passed in the House last week. Senate Bill 51 passed unanimously and requires parental consent for branding, piercing, or tattooing a minor’s person. Mom or dad also would have to sign off on the "electric beach": SB 840 limits underage use of tanning salons.

Political News

• Ex-governor Jim Blanchard in a second-term Clinton cabinet? It was a near-miss once and is a near-certainty again, according to Detroit News columnist George Weeks. Quoting a recent political memoir by state pol Morley Winograd, Weeks recounts that Blanchard interrupted his 1992 Christmas holiday to fly to Washington, D.C., to finalize his appointment as secretary of transportation. "Assured that he had been selected after a thorough review, Blanchard was stunned to hear CNN proclaim two days later that Federico Pena had been chosen," Weeks quotes.
• Engler veepstakes watch: Who’s had more cause to ponder the implications of John Engler’s truncated gubernatorial term—should he receive a vice-presidential nod—than Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, his constitutionally mandated successor? Binsfeld told the Michigan Information and Research Service that from her years of legislative and executive branch service with Engler, she well knows both the cast and the agenda in the executive office. "But I have to tell you," she continues, "I am very close to the governor, and he has told me—and I believe him—that no one has asked [him to run]." Binsfeld also predicts that her name will not be on the ticket if Engler stays in Michigan and runs for an additional term. "I will not close the door tightly, but I can’t think of any reason why I would run again," she said.
• Twenty-year House veteran Michael Bennane will not run again in the 14th District; during his tenure he has chaired the chamber’s Public Health and Urban Affairs committees. Total open House seats: 13, five of which are held by Democrats.
• Ripple effects are likely in the crowded primary anticipated for Michigan’s 15th Congressional District. Incumbent Barbara-Rose Collins reportedly will seek reelection, although she is dogged by charges of personnel and financial improprieties in her office. State Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and state Sen. Henry Stallings, both Detroit Democrats, are expected to be among as many as four contenders jockeying with the incumbent in the August 6 primary.
• Longtime Engler ally John Kost will leave state government this July to accept an inside-the-beltway consulting position in McLean, Virginia. Currently the chief information officer in the Department of Management and Budget, Kost was Engler’s program director during the latter’s days as Senate majority leader.