May 8, 1998

Legislative & Political Week in Review

• It wasn’t tax-cut fever but more like tax-cut flu in the Senate this week as rancourous partisan debate raged over a five-bill package to cut state income taxes by 15 percent in very small increments beginning in 2000. Senate Bills 1079–83 passed on identical 33-3 votes, with the biggest argument being over whether to launch the initial one-tenth percent tax reduction in the current year rather than waiting until the turn of the century. The later phase-in prevailed. A family of four making $40,000 is expected to save $29 in the first year of the cuts, escalating to $144 when cuts are fully phased in.
• "I’m not going to run for the U.S. Senate," Gov. John Engler declared flatly this week while on a gubernatorial campaign stop. His current run for electoral office is his last, he told the Lansing State Journal, adding, "I’m not expecting another [campaign], and I couldn’t imagine what it would be for."
• Lawmakers continue their seasonal budget business, hoping to approve all agency appropriations in the 60 days remaining before their scheduled summer recess—and reelection campaigns—begins.
  • An 86-16 vote sent the Department of Agriculture budget from the House to the Senate. At just over $42 million, HB 5588 reflects a nearly $9 million hike over current general funding (GF) levels and a $5 million boost over the governor’s recommendation for the department.
  • The judiciary budget, at just under $157 million GF, fell about $5 million short of the judicial branch’s request and exceeded the governor’s recommendation by roughly the same amount. HB 5596 passed the lower chamber on a vote of 81-25.
  • Late last week the lower chamber passed a $187 million GF budget for the Department of Consumer and Industry Affairs. Winners in the umbrella agency’s spending plan are nursing home inspections, with funds for 30 new facility reviewers added in the House version. Losers include the Jobs Commission, which had $2.3 million lopped from tourist promotion programs. Neither change was supported by the department.
• Check out that leap in the MEAP: Michigan’s 4th and 7th graders never have scored better on the controversial Michigan Education Assessment Program exam. Although more students received a score of "satisfactory" than ever before, they also had more time to prepare. Reading and math testing dates were moved from October to January, and the science and writing components also were administered then rather than being scattered throughout the school year. However, educators credit better teaching, not fortuitous scheduling, for the best-ever scores, pointing to a greater statewide emphasis on following the model curriculum, which the MEAP material parallels.
• Speculation around Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld’s reelection plans are sending ripples through GOP political waters as the mid-May primary election filing deadline looms. Following Governor Engler’s statement that he and Binsfeld may make no decision on her candidacy until July, Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus (R-Alto)—considered a virtual shoo-in for the number two spot on the state ticket if Binsfeld opts out—announced this week his reelection campaign for his upper chamber seat. Gongwer News Service observes that if Binsfeld decides against another run after the primary filing deadline, and if Posthumus were to be tapped by the governor and confirmed by the Republican state convention to replace her on the ticket, then a candidate for the 31st Senate District seat now held by Posthumus would be selected by the Kent County Republican Party instead of by voters in the August 4 primary.
• Look for a familiar face in the 67th House District race. Eleven-term House veteran Democrat Bill Keith has announced for the seat being vacated by termed-out Rep. Dan Gustafson (R-Williamston). Ex-Representative Keith, now a Haslett resident, represented Garden City and chaired the House Education Committee.