A commitment of $194.8 million from the State
of Michigan to the Detroit “Grand Bargain” passed the Senate on Tuesday.
Joining Governor Snyder in celebrating the Senate’s passage of nine of the
original eleven house bills were members from both chambers of the Legislature
as well as U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Rosen, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr,
and representatives from Mayor Mike Duggan’s office. While the plan still must
pass a vote of Detroit retirees and be found legal in a trial with U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes presiding, the passage of the package was
something to celebrate according to lawmakers from both parties. The news of a
$3.5 million dollar commitment from the Skillman Foundation, bringing the
foundation total to $370 million, was also announced Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville
(R-Monroe) called the vote a “very responsible vote.” He elaborated saying that
it was the right thing to do fiscally as it eliminated the chance of $3 billion
in liabilities but it was also right for the people of Detroit as retirees will
receive more of their pensions that they have built throughout their lives. The
Grand Bargain consists of foundations, the State, and the Detroit Institute of
Arts (DIA) pulling together more than $800 million dollars. Many legislators,
including Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), House
Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), and House Minority Leader (Tim Greimel
(D-Auburn Hills) spoke to the bipartisan work done in order to pass this Grand
Bargain, which would diminish the cuts to Detroit pensioners and protect art works
at the DIA from being sold in an attempt to pull Detroit out of bankruptcy.
All eleven of the bills in the package were
in the Senate Government Operations Committee; however, two of the bills were
not moved from Committee on Tuesday. House
Bill 5571, which would prevent the DIA from being able to renew their
millage, and HB
5572, which would allow the State to use the budget stabilization or “rainy
day fund” in order to help with the Detroit bankruptcy, were left in Government
Operations. HB
5571 was not moved from Committee because there was no support for the
motion to move the bill to the floor. Senate Majority Leader Richardville
(R-Monroe) asked for support on the motion of reporting the bill to the floor
of the Senate and was met with silence. He has opposed the bill from its
conception.
Three of the bills in the package cleared the
Senate by narrow margins. HB
5573, which would transfer money to the budget stabilization fund from the
tobacco settlement over a 20 year period, HB
5574, that would move the $194.8 million to the Detroit fund from the
budget stabilization fund, and HB
5575, which deals with the disbursement of funds to retirees through the
creation of the Michigan Settlement Administrative Authority, all passed with a
final vote count of 21-17. Senator Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) was the only
Democrat to vote no on all of the bills saying that the bills diminished
democracy by creating more government oversight in the city of Detroit. Senator
Young II (D-Detroit) was joined by 16 Republicans as the no votes on all three
bills.
HB
5568, which would limit the amount that can be given to employee retirement
plans by the city, passed with a 24-14 vote count, the next slimmest margin.
The rest of the votes were done by much larger margins, HB
5566, which would set up an oversight commission for Detroit, passed 36-2
while the issue of requiring a chief financial officer with a four-year
financial plan, HB
5567, had a 37-1 split. HB
5569 and HB
5576, measures to keep the city from ignoring the state limit on health
insurance costs and force the city’s financial situation to be investigated by
arbitrators, passed 36-2 and 37-1, respectively.