March 20, 1998

Legislative & Political Week in Review

• Michigan motorists will receive a $180 per vehicle rebate. The action, approved this week by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association board, follows House passage of a bill mandating the reimbursement from the fund that pays unlimited medical expenses for insureds whose claims exceed $250,000. The money in the fund comes from assessments on automobile insurers doing business in the state. House Democrats are crowing that the refund—which reduces the $2.5 billion in reserves accumulated by the fund in recent years—was their idea; Republicans contend that they gave the legislation its substance, while the governor congratulated the MCCA board for implementing "recommendations I made."
• State Rep. Deborah Whyman (R-Canton Township) announced this week a petition drive to add a constitutional amendment outlawing affirmative action on the state ballot in November. The proposal has been criticized for both its substance and presumed strategy, with some seeing Whyman’s announcement as part of her campaign for the state Senate seat of retiring Robert Geake (R-Northville). Meanwhile, a committee hearing on Senate Joint Resolution N, which would ban race- or gender-based preference in Michigan government, spawned rancorous debate in the upper chamber. The hearing included testimony from Ward Connerly, who helped lead California’s successful citizen initiative to overturn state affirmative action programs there.
• This week’s campaign news focuses on the Senate. Rep. Ray Murphy (D-Detroit) confirmed that he will seek the upper chamber seat being vacated on March 31 by Sen. Henry Stallings (D-Detroit). Speaker pro tem of the House, Murphy has held office since 1982. And in an even less unanticipated announcement, Rep. Don. Gilmer (R-Augusta) officially launched his campaign against incumbent Sen. Dale Shugars (R-Portage). Gongwer News Service observes that the pro-choice Gilmer has been openly preparing to challenge the pro-life Shugars for more than a year and quotes Gilmer’s opening campaign salvo, "It is time that the radical right’s choke-hold on the district be broken." Sen. Shugars—who will launch his reelection bid in May—responded that Gilmer "is going to have to be very aggressive and very negative to be competitive."
• Under a Senate bill passed this week, welfare recipients will face benefits cuts if their kids are truants. Nicknamed "Learnfare," a pilot project in three counties would reduce benefits if a recipient’s child aged 6–11 is absent from school more than once without an excuse. SB 945 is part of a three-bill package; other measures not yet adopted in the upper chamber would require fingerprinting and drug testing for those receiving welfare.
• A new state auditor general’s report claims Michigan government is insufficiently prepared for the mammoth “Year 2000” computer glitch. Most of the state’s 1,000 computer systems—which track everything from payroll to parolees—record the year of a transaction by the final two digits. When those digits are both zero, innumerable transactions will be miscalculated despite the $56 million allocated by the state to address the problem. Governor Engler has issued an executive order mandating that the computer fix be completed this year, deferring any other technology projects that stand in the way.
• The Detroit News reports that Michigan taxpayers footed nearly $26 million last year to settle lawsuits against the state claiming everything from highway negligence to job discrimination. That’s the lowest payout since 1992 and well below last year’s record $91 million. The latter total was a blip on the chart, reflecting a single large settlement to three companies denied oil and gas exploration rights. In 1997 Michigan paid $19 million in out-of-court settlements to plaintiffs, and an additional $7 million in court-ordered settlements. The chief sources of legal claims against the state were 50 highway negligence suits totaling $11 million and 40 discrimination cases totaling $6 million.