Public/Private Right to Work Pass House and Senate

On, without a doubt, one of those “I remember when…” days, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives and Senate both passed “Right to Work” legislation, providing the ability for members of private and public unions to effectively opt-out.

Weeks of speculation following the decisive defeat of Proposal 2 (a proposal to place union organization rights in the Michigan Constitution) on the November ballot came to a head early Thursday when Governor Rick Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) and Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) announced their intentions to move forward on the reform, seen as potentially devastating to organized labor.

The House started the action with House Bill 4054, creating the Right to Work structure for private workers. The measure passed 58-52 with Republican Representatives Anthony Forlini (Harrison Township), Ken Goike (Ray Township), Ken Horn (Frankenmuth), Ed McBroom (Vulcan), Pat Somerville (New Boston) and Dale Zorn (Ida) joining Democrats in opposition.

Senate Bill 116 , identical to HB 4054, was moved by the Senate some hours later. In the upper chamber, GOP Senators Tom Casperson (Escanaba), Mike Green (Mayville), Mike Nofs (Battle Creek) and Tory Rocca (Sterling Heights) voted “no” resulting in the 22-16 tally.

The Senate also passed an amended version of House Bill 4003 to create the Right to Work environment for public workers.

The House and Senate plan to concur in each other’s legislation next Tuesday (December 11^th), ultimately moving the bills to the Governor’s desk.

As expected, the measures exempt police and fire workers and contain a $1 million appropriation to the Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to implement the new statute, thereby making the law referendum-proof upon enactment.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, December 7, 2012 12:04 PM
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Chaos at the Capitol

The protests began well before any gavels were swung as an estimated 2,500 union members and others opposed to the Right to Work movement descended upon the Capitol complex Thursday morning – and it wasn’t long before the protests turned less than peaceful.

Following the arrest of eight protestors for attempting to rush the Senate floor, Michigan State Police closed the Capitol for more than five hours, citing safety concerns. Organized labor sought and received relief through Court injunction when Judge Joyce Draganchuk ordered the doors opened shortly after 4:30PM as the House began taking action on the legislation.

Further reports allege that organizations supporting the Right to Work movement were forced off of the East steps of the Capitol and their signs removed although proper reservations had been made.

There have been no reports of injuries related to Thursday’s protests.

posted by PAA Online , 12:03 PM
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Blues Reform Near Enactment

Senate Bills 1293 and 1294, the package of bills to turn Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan into a nonprofit mutual insurance company, passed the House of Representatives Thursday. The Senate concurred in the House’s changes shortly thereafter, sending the measures on the Governor’s desk for signature.

Both bills passed the House on 61-49 votes, with Republican Representatives Joel Johnson (Clare), Tom McMillin (Rochester) and Chuck Moss (Birmingham) joining Democrats in opposition. The Senate concurrence votes saw Democratic Senators John Gleason (Flushing) and Virgil Smith (Detroit) join their GOP colleagues in voting “yes.”

The legislation proposes to change the Blues into a nonprofit mutual company and treat it largely like any other insurer in the market. The company would lose its tax exempt status, repeal PA 350, and no longer have involvement from the Attorney General in rate increase requests. Further, the proposal calls for the Blues to pay $1.5 billion over 18 years into an independent nonprofit working towards the overall improvement of the state’s health.

The House changes included sending more money, $120 million, to cover Medigap coverage as well as a complete ban on “most favored nation” clauses beginning in 2014.

posted by PAA Online , 12:02 PM
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House Moves Pieces of RTA Package - Some Left Behind

During one of the more contentious session days in recent history, three of the five bills in the Regional Transit Authority legislative package moved from the House of Representatives, advancing to the Governor’s desk for signature.

The main bill, Senate Bill 909, passed the House 57-50 on a mostly party-line vote. Two Democrats, Representative Shanelle Jackson (Detroit) and Lesia Liss (Warren) supported the legislation which establishes the RTA for metro-Detroit. Nine Republicans voted no.

Also passing were Senate Bill 445, setting forth the RTA’s funding, and Senate Bill 911, which lays the foundation for a regional fee.

Senate Bills 912 and 967 remain on the House floor awaiting action as the House Democratic Caucus withheld votes in support of the package in protest to the action being taken on the Right to Work legislation.

posted by PAA Online , 12:02 PM
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Last Week's Survey Results

The question in last week’s PAAdvisory asked readers if they believe Michigan should become the nation’s 24^th state to pass “Right to Work” legislation.

62% of respondents answered “no,” while 38% supported the initiative and answered “yes.”

posted by PAA Online , 12:01 PM
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PAA Government Profiles

For the 97^th Legislature (2013-2014), 28 new Michigan House of Representative members will be working in the Capitol. Here are four more of the newest members with more to follow in the coming weeks.

District 40
Michael D. McCready (D)
Email: mccready234@gmail.com
Occupation: Business owner
Age: 51
Predecessor: Chuck Moss (R)

District 41
Martin Howrylak (R)
Email: martin@howrylak.com
Occupation: CPA
Predecessor: Marty Knollenberg (R)

District 48
Pam Faris (D)
Email: jcherry@aol.com
Occupation: Former Genesee Co. jury board coordinator
Age: 55
Predecessor: Richard Hammel (D)

District 52
Gretchen Driskell (D)
Email: Gretchen@votegretchen.com
Occupation: Saline Mayor
Age: 53
Predecessor: Marc Ouimet (R)

posted by PAA Online , 11:59 AM
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Question of the Week December 7, 2012

posted by PAA Online , 10:21 AM
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