Extension
of Grand Jury Ordered for Schmidt Matter
Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie
Aquilina, the one-person Grand Jury overseeing the criminal investigation of
the election and campaign scandal involving former State Representative Roy
Schmidt, extended the time allotment this week to August 22nd. Also
included in the order were the names of the special prosecutors involved in the
matter: Michael Ferency, former Ingham County assistant prosecutor, and John
Smietanka, twice GOP nominee for Michigan Attorney General in the 1990s and
former U.S. Attorney for Michigan’s Western District.
House
Panel Passes Bottle Return Reform
House Bills 4051
and 4092
passed the House Regulatory Reform Committee this week, moving now to the full
House of Representatives. The legislation, introduced by Representative Kenneth
Kurtz (R-Coldwater), applies the same penalties for attempting to return
non-deposit cans that currently apply to those actually in returning the
non-deposit cans. Attempting to do so is already illegal; however, carries no
penalties. Both bills passed 11-1 with Representative Theresa Abed (D-Grand
Ledge) the lone “nay.”
Polar
Plunge A Hit on Capitol Lawn
Nearly two dozen policymakers, including Lt.
Governor Brian Calley and members of both the House and Senate, took the Polar
Plunge on the Capitol lawn Thursday to raise money and awareness for the Special
Olympics. For pictures and videos, simply search your favorite social media
outlet as traffic is not light.
School
Contract Extensions Raise GOP Eyebrows
Some public school districts and even Wayne
State University have drawn the ire of some GOP legislators for recently
adopting lengthy union contract extensions the Republican lawmakers see as an
end-around the recently approved right-to-work law. The new statute does not
take effect until March 28, 2013, meanwhile the Taylor School District approved
a 10-year contract extension, and Wayne State an 8-year extension. While
noncommittal, lawmakers have indicated that funding levels could be examined
for those not complying with the spirit of the law.