300+ Gay Marriages Recognized

Governor Rick Snyder sent a message to more than 300 same-sex couples this Wednesday when he announced that he will not be appealing U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith’s ruling on gay marriage. Judge Goldsmith stated that these marriages were valid at the time they were performed, thus they are to be recognized in the state of Michigan. This allows the couples to file joint taxes, adopt children, and exercise all other benefits provided to married couples.

This decision will not affect the tax forms or instructions for the upcoming season. For Michigan tax purposes, the instructions will still tell same-sex couples to file separately as singles, however Treasury spokesperson Terry Stanton said they can ignore this and file together.

The Governor mentioned that it ultimately will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to be the decisive vote on this issue. Scheduled to be heard sometime this year, if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to uphold Michigan’s ban, the marriages in question will fail to be recognized yet again.

Supporters commented that this is a big step for Michigan, but there are still some unanswered questions. Executive Director of Equality Michigan Emily Dievendorf congratulated the 300 plus couples, but has concerns about the couples who chose to get married in other states and remain unrecognized. She stated that Governor Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette like to take issues, such as this, one step at a time.

Both Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) and House Minority Floor Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) expressed their support for the Governor’s decision. Mr. Ananich and Mr. Singh feel this will start to bring about equality to the state of Michigan and join many other states in this fight towards marriage equality. Senator Ananich hopes that this decision will also lead to a better partnership between the Governor and Democrats.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, February 6, 2015 10:04 AM
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Representative Santana Removed from Democratic Caucus

As Representative Harvey Santana (D-Detroit) and Representative Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) continue their disagreement over the House Appropriations Committee Minority Vice Chair position, Representative Santana proclaimed that he had officially been escorted out of the House Democratic Caucus. When asked if Representative Santana is currently a member of the caucus, Representative Greimel had no comment.

Since the situation involving House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant) selecting a different Minority Vice Chair for the House Appropriations Committee other than Democratic Leader Representative Greimel’s pick Representative Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids), the House Democrats and House Republicans have seen a growing divide. Representative Santana is the Democrat that House Republicans want to work with, and this dismissal from the Democratic Caucus furthered that. He credits the caucus for making him the most powerful Democrat in the House because of this.

Representative Santana reportedly met with Minority Floor Leader Sam Singh to discuss the matter. Representative Santana suggested that Mr. Dillon is a superior candidate and planned on internally allowing him to be the ranking Democrat, however he wanted to handle the association with the Republicans. Excluding him from caucus was unreasonable, in Mr. Santana’s opinion, and Representative Robert Kosowski’s (D-Westland) request that Representative Santana leave was not justified. Representative Kosowski commented that there was a vote in the Democratic caucus that Representative Santana was not allowed in the caucus group while the Democrats were meeting as long as Representative Greimel and he were still at odds. Representative Santana was aware of this, but attended anyway which resulted in his dismissal.

Communication is crucial in the House and the Democrats want to run everything through Representative Tim Greimel. Representative Kosowski stated that he doesn’t believe Representative Santana will be removed permanently.

posted by PAA Online , 10:03 AM
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Governor Admitted to Hospital

The Governor’s office announced Wednesday that Governor Rick Snyder had been admitted to St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and would be staying Thursday night; provided assurance that the Governor is in good health.

The Governor had a cast on his leg from an Achilles injury he suffered about a month ago and had the cast removed earlier this week for a protective boot. The injury was healing as it should, however, the Governor noticed swelling Thursday morning and sought medical attention at St. Joseph’s Mercy and was diagnosed with a blood clot.

A blood clot such as this can form when a limb does not receive enough movement. There is no current projection on how long the Governor will be in the hospital, however, his office stated that he still plans to present his budget next week.

posted by PAA Online , 10:02 AM
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Director Lyon Comments on DCH/DHS Merger

Director Nick Lyon addressed members of the House Families, Children, and Seniors Committee Wednesday to discuss a few short-term changes on how local offices will operate after the departments of Community Health and Human Services merge. Governor Rick Snyder initially proposed the idea of this merger in his State of the State address a few weeks ago, but now the departments are simply waiting on a signature from an executive order to officially begin the process.

Director Lyon will focus his efforts on developing stronger communication between the offices so that they can ultimately work concurrently to better support and aid the individual. He does foresee the budget becoming an issue. As this will be the second year the Department will be experiencing budget cuts, Mr. Lyon commented that it would be helpful for the Legislature to better explain these cuts to the local offices. Almost 300 positions were reduced last year, and this year there could be as many as 100 layoffs. In addition, he explained the Department would need to see additional funding in order to carry out the suspicion-based drug testing pilot, which was approved last year.

Committee members expressed concern to the Director regarding fraudulent disability benefits and were curious as to what could be done. Mr. Lyon replied that he will have to raise the subject with the local offices when he visits, but because it is a federal program, there are requirements that have to be met. Representative Kathy Crawford (R-Novi) also expressed concern over some aged-out foster youth who didn’t have connections to their siblings, or a means to live and work once out of the foster system. Director Lyon told Representative Crawford that he would look into this issue as well.

Committee members urged Director Lyon to continue his work in getting Michigan out from the consent agreement from the Children’s Rights lawsuit. The state has already met some of the marks in this agreement, and Director Lyon assured that it remains a high priority for the Department.

posted by PAA Online , 10:01 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Bill to Privatize Lottery Management in Works

Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) introduced a bill this past Tuesday regarding lottery management. The language of this proposal would allow private management of the state lottery and would amend the current state lottery act to include these changes. This bill has been referred to the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee and a similar bill currently sits in the House Commerce and Trade Committee.

Vaccination Push from Snyder

Governor Snyder in a recent comment urged parents to vaccinate their children unless they have a religious or otherwise serious reason against it. Michigan currently has a high exemption rate, and Governor Snyder in his announcement did not explicate whether he believes a stricter vaccination law would be necessary. The Snyder administration in 2014 developed new rules through the Department of Community Health to require parents to be educated about potential dangers of skipping vaccinations before they were allowed to opt-out.

Former Director Krichbaum Passed Away

Former Department of Civil Rights Director Dan Krichbaum passed away Tuesday from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 72. A dedicated civil rights activist, Mr. Krichbaum had worked in Governor Granholm’s administration, was President of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, was Executive Vice President for WTVS-TV, as well as former Director of Parks and Recreation in Detroit. Dan Krichbaum was passionate and regarded by many as a truly dedicated civil servant. He is survived by his wife, Susan, children, and grandchildren.

posted by PAA Online , 10:00 AM
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