Canvassers Reject Minimum Wage Proposal

On a 3-1 vote Thursday, the Board of State Canvassers denied the petition to raise the minimum wage a spot on the ballot. The petition, which would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and raise the tipped minimum wage up to the same rate, was denied in a bipartisan vote after hours of consideration regarding duplicate signatures.

Raise Michigan, the group pushing for the passage of the petition, had 259,776 signatures accepted by the board out of the 319,641 signatures that were turned in. The group opposing the proposal, People Protecting Michigan Jobs, argued that they had found 82 duplicate signatures in the sample used to determine the validity saying that the total signatures fell below the required 258,088 needed to gain a spot on the ballot.

While a challenge in court is still available to Raise Michigan, the bipartisan denial of the petition is a significant setback in their case. Had the board approved the proposal, the issue would have moved to the Legislature who was expected to allow the proposal to move onto the ballot by not acting.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, July 25, 2014 9:56 AM
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State Officials Respect, Praise Vote on Detroit Bankruptcy

Governor Rick Snyder celebrated the passage of the proposed “Grand Bargain” on Wednesday saying that Michigan’s biggest city will move toward a brighter future because of the settlement. He added that the acceptance of the settlement was key in quickly resolving Detroit’s bankruptcy. Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that he would respect the pensioners’ decision to waive their constitutional rights, which he had earlier said he would defend.

The vote shows that the general public is in support of the bankruptcy settlement between the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), multiple private organizations, and the state, which aims to better protect pensioners as well as the art collection at the DIA. General pensioners voted for the settlement by over 73 percent, while retired police and fire pensioners supported the settlement by more than 82 percent of the vote.

Before the “Grand Bargain” is finalized, it must complete a trial in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.

posted by PAA Online , 9:55 AM
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Supreme Court Moves Toward Greater Unanimity

Over half the cases, 28 out of 53 cases, heard by the Michigan Supreme Court in the 2013-14 term were resolved in unanimous fashion. This represents a significant increase from the previous year where out of 59 cases only 21 were agreed upon unanimously.

In the 2012-13 term, four out of the seven Justices were changed so the recently discovered stability does not come as a surprise. While the court did not lose any Justices during this session, next session has the potential to cause a disruption in the court as Justice Michael Cavanagh has reached the constitutional age limit and cannot seek reelection and Justice Brian Zahra and Justice David Viviano are facing reelection bids.

Only five cases before the court were decided on a 4-3 ruling; however, one of those was the headline case of the session, People v. Carp. The issue brought up in this case, parole hearings for juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole, is still before the 6^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 2013-14 term saw some interesting trends such as the alliance between Justice Mary Beth Kelly and Justice Bridget McCormack who only disagreed on three cases. This regular agreement is made more interesting by the fact that Ms. Kelly is a Republican while Ms. McCormack is a Democrat. Justice Cavanagh was the justice who most frequently dissented with a total of 7 times.

posted by PAA Online , 9:55 AM
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Quote of the Week

“Before I give you the benefits of my remarks, I’d like to know what we’re talking about.”

-Representative Frank Wierzbicki, 1979

posted by PAA Online , 9:54 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

New Museum Director First In Four Years

The new Executive Director of the Michigan Historical Museums, Linda Endersby, is the first director in four years. Ms. Endersby previously worked in the Missouri Historical Museum for 10 years. The post was vacated during the last round of early retirements. As director Ms. Endersby will oversee 10 museums throughout Michigan.

Seasonal Unemployment Drops in Northern Michigan

Thanks in large part to the tourism industry in full swing, northern Michigan labor markets saw decreases in unemployment rates from May to June. The Upper Peninsula rate dropped from 8.5 percent to 8.3 and the rate in Northern Lower Michigan decreased from 7.9 to 7.6 percent.

State Chamber Endorses Hobbs

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday the organization’s endorsement of State Representative Rudy Hobbs race for the U.S. Congress 14^th District. Hobbs also announced Thursday that his campaign has raised an additional $75,000 since the recent July 1^st filing deadline.

posted by PAA Online , 9:53 AM
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