September 24, 1999

Legislative & Political Week in Review

• Lawmakers appear intent on continuing to shake up the education establishment, as the Senate Education Committee reported out SB 663, which would prevent school principals from unionizing. The committee also added an amendment to the bill that repeals a section of the state’s school code governing due process procedures on employment contracts with school officials. After this amendment, the Michigan Association of School Administrators shifted its position on SB 663 from "undecided" to "against." Some form of SB 663 is likely to become law, given support by most Republican lawmakers as well as Detroit schools chief David Adamany, who has cited the need "to replace some administrators."
• Republican legislators are pressing ahead with efforts to investigate management practices at Detroit Metro Airport. Two outside experts, Joni Ffrench, vice president for business development for Airport Group International, and Sam Ashmore, former senior vice president at Continental Airlines, have been named to assist the Joint Legislative Select Committee looking into the airport. Michigan Democrats have characterized the committee’s work as a "witch hunt" designed to embarrass Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, arguably the party’s most influential figure.
• U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham (R) has fired the opening salvo in his year 2000 election battle with Congresswoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing). In a 60-second radio spot slated to run across the state for at least 10 days, Abraham accuses Stabenow of "putting politics ahead of principle" by voting "present" on a resolution condemning President Clinton’s decision to grant amnesty to 12 accused Puerto Rican terrorists. The resolution passed by a vote of 311 to 41, with 71 Democrats voting "present." The purchase of time for a negative ad so early in the election season can only signal the onset of a very tough campaign.
• Rep. Terry Geiger (R-Lake Odessa), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is taking aim at the spending gap between rich and poor school districts. Geiger’s proposal would distribute $40 million from a surplus in school aid to school districts whose foundation allowance is less than $6,300. Along with forecast increases in the foundation allowances, those districts should be allocating close to an additional $1,000 for each student within a few years. Geiger’s proposal would also provide inflationary increases for wealthier districts, something they haven’t enjoyed since the passage of Proposal A.
• Finally, everyone under the Capitol dome agrees on something—namely, the fact that money continues to pour into the state’s coffers at a record pace. Although in May the House and Senate fiscal agencies agreed on a fiscal year 1999 general fund revenue estimate of $9.32 billion, last week the Senate Fiscal Agency said it expects the true figure to be closer to $9.40 billion; the House Fiscal Agency’s final estimate came in at $9.37 billion. For fiscal year 2000, the House and the Senate fiscal agencies upped their general fund revenue estimate from $9.47 billion to $9.55 billion and $9.53 billion respectively.
• The battle over gun control heated up last week, with Democrats unveiling legislation to limit handgun purchases to one per month and prohibit gun distributors from supplying dealers who do not have a fixed place of business. House Speaker Chuck Perricone (R-Kalamazoo Twp.) was quick to criticize the proposal as extreme. Gun control advocate Rep. Laura Baird (D-Okemos) agrees that the bills are sweeping but claims they will make Michigan the safest place in the United States to raise a child.