No Additional Appointments Expected This Week from Governor-elect Snyder. A spokesperson for Governor-elect Rick Snyder said no announcements would be made this week for additional staffing on the incoming leadership team. Mr. Snyder returned to work Monday following participation last week in the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association meetings. The sessions included programs designed for newly elected governors to participate in seminars with colleagues who have been serving as their state’s chief executive.

Snyder Announces Support for Schostak to be Named GOP Chair. Governor-elect Rick Snyder said this week that he supports Bobby Schostak, the finance chair for the Michigan Republican Party, to replace outgoing GOP state chair Ambassador Ronald Weiser. Mr. Schostak led the grassroots and fundraising efforts for Republican candidates this fall.

The Public Affairs Associates offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observation of Thanksgiving and the busiest retail shopping day of the year. Have a safe holiday with family and friends.

Advocates for two separate causes are expected early next week to call for legislative action in the final days of the legislative session to provide funding for the Pure Michigan tourism promotion and require health insurers to provide coverage for treatment of autism disorders.

The Pure Michigan supporters have sponsored billboards near the Capitol Building calling on legislators to finish the job and provide adequate funding to support the tourism promotion campaign for the upcoming year. The supporters also have scheduled a press conference Monday in the Capitol to discuss the economic benefits of the legislature approving $25 million to fund a spring and summer Michigan travel campaign.

Lt. Gov-elect and current Rep. Brian Calley (R-Portland) has issued a five-minute video message calling for his legislative colleagues to support passage next week of HB 4183 and HB 4476, legislation calling for insurance coverage of autism disorders.

“I am not going to do the politically correct thing to make everyone else comfortable and stay home and shut up. I’m just not going to do it,” Mr. Calley said in explaining why he is calling for the legislative action next week. Mr. Calley has a daughter who was diagnosed with autism.

Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), the Majority Leader next year, and Sen. Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit) have co-chaired statewide meetings on the autism issue, but the legislation remains in the Senate Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee with no hearings scheduled next week.

The busiest time for legislative sessions next week may be the farewell speeches given by all term-limited House and Senate members.

Legislative leadership has said they do not expect many bills will be up for final passage votes during the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday scheduled sessions. At this time, neither chamber is expected to return to Lansing the following week, although that schedule could change.

The one major package expected to see additional debate and possible vote is the plan to implement the Next Michigan Development, formerly known as the Aerotropolis program. The proposal would establish additional tax-free renaissance zones in areas near five major airport sites in the state, plus 10 additional ‘floating zones’ statewide. The aerotropolis plan only called for an economic development tax free zone in an area adjacent to Wayne County Metropolitan Airport.

The House is expected to take up Senate-passed bills that would allow the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Zoo to ask local governments to seek voter approval for additional millage to financially support the two facilities.

Now, supporters of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra say they might seek House approval of changes that would allow the DSO to also qualify for a public vote to increase their funding.
Still undecided, or at least not confirmed to be taken up, are legislative proposals to support additional revenue for transportation programs. Infrastructure improvement supporters are advocating that the legislature should consider legislation for cost savings reforms or an increased gas tax to provide needed revenue for maintenance and construction of roads and bridges.

The annual economic forecast issued Friday from the University of Michigan concludes that Michigan will start to see a modest growth in jobs in 2011. The reports, issued by the U-M Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, projects that some 24,500 new jobs will be added in 2011 and it foresees another 63,000 jobs added in 2012.

The economic researchers said the job growth will be modest, but represents a turnabout from the decline seen for the past several years.

“It is our sense that we are now approaching the turning point from negative to positive net job creations,” said George Fulton, director of the UM Research Seminar. “An upward turn in the state macroeconomy has been long awaited and would be welcome news indeed, but we must keep in mind that the event will not usher in a changing tide for many of Michigan’s struggling residents.”

Mr. Fulton said that the state’s manufacturing sector is finally realizing small, but significant, gains in employment and this is leading the overall economic turnaround.

The economists also issued their forecasts for projected state revenues for the 2011-12 fiscal year. They concluded that the general fund revenue is expected to total $7.19 billion, down 2.2 percent from the current fiscal year and the School Aid Fund is projected to total $11.03 billion, an increase of 1.4 percent.