Department of Treasury: Dillon Out – Clinton In

State Treasurer Andy Dillon announced his resignation late last week, citing personal problems that have distracted from the hard work of the State, the Department, and himself in terms of local government financial turnaround and other priorities. Treasurer Dillon will stay on until November 1^st.

Early this week, Governor Snyder announced the appointment of now Treasurer-designate Kevin Clinton. Clinton was the Director of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) since it became a department, also previously serving as Commissioner of the then Office of Insurance and Financial Regulation (OFIR).

Clinton was previously CEO of American Physicians Capital, Incorporated, an East Lansing-based medical professional liability insurance provider.

Flood to Lead DIFS

With Clinton departing his role as Director of DIFS, Governor Snyder appointed the chief deputy, Ann Flood, to the position as Director. Ms. Flood also came from American Physicians Capital, Incorporated, having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. While Mr. Clinton is an actuary by trade, Ms. Flood is both an attorney and a registered nurse.

Response from Capital insiders, including many insurance industry representatives, has been positive regarding both the appointment of Clinton as Treasurer and Flood as DIFS Director.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, October 18, 2013 11:30 AM
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Unemployment Compensation Changes Debated In Senate

The Senate Reform, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee reported a package of bills Wednesday with the goal of changing regulations with regards to Unemployment Insurance. House Bills 4949, 4950, 4951, 4953, and 4954 focus on the recovery and repayment of unemployment benefits that have been distributed improperly.

The bills were then passed by the full Senate on Thursday. The majority of the package received strong bipartisan support, with the exception of HB 4952.

The bill that’s been receiving the most attention is HB 4952 which would allow for the denial of benefits to an individual if they were to refuse to take a drug test or test positive for a controlled substance during a time in which they didn’t have a legal prescription.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) and Senator Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) opposed the bill because of unanswered questions, such as what the protections are that an employee has if their benefits were stripped because of an internal error.

An amendment to HB 4949 was introduced by Senator Warren to correct an internal error within the appellate courts and involved a very long and drawn out debate. 30 percent of the 1.6 million determinations were appealed between 2008 and 2012 and that number was cut down another 30 percent after the first round of appeals.

Senator Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) along with Senator Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc) questioned whether or not there would be fewer mistakes made if the state reduced the amount of requirements needed to be eligible for unemployment, to which the department answered no.

posted by PAA Online , 11:29 AM
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Federal Government Shutdown Effect on State Operations Minimal

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget had been working on contingency plans in preparation for the federal government shutdown heading into November; however, all of that stopped Wednesday night with Congress and the President approving a continuing resolution to reopen the government and prevent a credit default, for the time-being.

The state saw little effect from the shutdown, certainly not in services to the general public. Examples of halted operations include inspections of new nursing homes or inspections required under federal occupational health and safety programs.

As expected, the measure to reopen the government passed the U.S. House with significant support from Democratic representatives. In fact, not a single Democratic U.S. House member voted in opposition. The measure also received support from moderate Republican members – a trend reflected in the votes of Michigan’s U.S. House delegation.

Generally considered the more conservative members of the delegation, Representatives Justin Amash (R-Cascade Township), Kerry Bentivolio (R-Milford), Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), and Tim Walburg (R-Tipton) all voted no. The only surprise came from historically moderate Republican Representative Candice Miller (R-Harrison Township) who also voted no.

posted by PAA Online , 11:29 AM
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October 11th Trivia Results

Last week’s Michigan trivia question was: Sunday newspapers have long been the most popular and bestselling editions; however, newspapers were not always sold on Sundays for religious reasons. When was the first regular Sunday edition of a newspaper in Michigan?

a. 1853

b. 1909

c. 1928

d. 1939

Not a single respondent answered correctly, “a. 1853.”

56 percent of respondents answered “b. 1909.”

22 responded with 1928 and another 22 percent of respondents answered “d. 1939.”

posted by PAA Online , 11:28 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Revenue Ahead of Estimates

The state’s General Fund and School Aid Fund have seen a huge deviation in the expected revenue from the month of September. The revenues totaled $2.3 billion which is a 10% increase from September 2012. The Senate Fiscal Agency underestimated September’s revenue by $169.3 million.

Wolf Hunt Has Voters in Favor

A poll released Tuesday shows that 67 percent of residents in the Upper Peninsula support the planned wolf hunt. The only city that was in opposition to the plan was Detroit which had 53 percent of residents opposing the hunt. The state as a whole had an even lower opposition percentage of 26 percent. Keep Michigan Wolves Protected has launched a petition to stop the hunt which has said to have strong support.

Pontiac Schools Hires Former Highland Park Emergency Manager as Advisor

Pontiac Schools will bring in Donald Weatherspoon to help advise on and implement the district’s consent agreement. Mr. Weatherspoon has formerly overseen Muskegon Heights and Highland Park schools as an emergency manager. Mr. Weatherspoon put great effort into reducing the debt of the two districts which was highly praised by Governor Rick Snyder.

posted by PAA Online , 11:27 AM
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Question of the Week 10-18-13

posted by PAA Online , 11:07 AM
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