House Caucus Down Two Members

After 16 hours with her fate in the balance, Representative Cindy Gamrat (R-Plainwell) was removed from office by a vote of 91-12 while her colleague Representative Todd Courser (R-Silverwood) resigned early Friday morning. Ms. Gamrat became the fourth legislator ever to be expelled.

Thursday afternoon, the select House Committee voted 4-0 in favor of resolutions to expel the duo from the House for misuse of state resources for personal and political gain. The resolution was then taken up in the House where a two-thirds supermajority would be necessary to officially remove them from the House. The House did not adjourn until after 4:00 AM on Friday.

Mr. Courser and Ms. Gamrat admitted under oath they had misused state resources, however the House took several hours to muster the two-thirds supermajority vote. It was the belief of some Democratic Representatives that the process was rushed and one-sided, and the situation would benefit from an outside investigation. Minority Floor Leader Sam Singh mentioned the difficulty for non-committee members to obtain access to the committee documents, and that he felt time was needed for all the information to be reviewed. The first resolution vote was open for two hours and failed 67-14 with 26 Democratic members abstaining. The resolution reopened for five hours with all members required to vote if not excused.

Censure was the alternative outcome, but the House felt this was insufficient. Representative Gary Glenn (R-Midland) felt that censure “would only punish the lawmakers' constituents and expulsion is the appropriate answer.”

Several hours into the proceedings, Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) and Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) spoke in private for several hours and appeared to reach an agreement. Former Representative Todd Courser saw the House was going to work together until the votes were acquired, and thus decided to submit his letter of resignation at 3:12 AM. Former Representative Cindy Gamrat decided to stay and fight the expulsion. In her last testimony before the House, Ms. Gamrat said, "I know in my heart the mistakes I have made are not all of the mistakes in the report. I still believe my actions warrant censure, but not expulsion.” The House Resolution in favor of expulsion passed 91-12, effectively removing Ms. Gamrat at 4:13 AM.

In order to get those final votes, House Republicans agreed to amend the expulsion resolutions to include a formal request to the Department of State Police and Attorney General Bill Schuette to investigate the actions of Mr. Courser and Ms. Gamrat. Minority Leader Greimel went on to say House Democrats were not disagreeing with the expulsion; they wanted an outside agency to investigate.

With his caucus down two members, Speaker Cotter commented, "It's not a good feeling. It's a sad day.”

posted by PAA Online , Friday, September 11, 2015 1:52 PM
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Senate Bill to Include Hearing Aids under Coverage

Senator Dale Zorn (R-Ida) introduced SB 449 this week, a bill to include hearing aids under coverage for those 21 years old or younger with hearing loss unable to be fixed with covered procedures. This bill is being sponsored by Senators Zorn (primary), Hood, Gregory, Warren, Johnson, Hopgood, and Nofs.

In his testimony, Senator Zorn reported that approximately 2,700 students in Michigan have hearing loss and that “mild hearing loss can cause a student to miss as much as 50 percent of classroom instructions.” The purpose of this bill, according to the Senator, is to minimize the cost of hearing aids as a factor to a child’s education. Miss Michigan 2014 KT Maviglia also testified to her struggle with hearing loss, crediting her Honors Degree at the University of Michigan to her parents being able to afford hearing aids, a luxury not every child currently has.

Overall, the committee responded positively to the bill except for the cost and where the funds would come from. The Economic Alliance for Michigan spoke in opposition, however mainly in opposition to state regulation in general. The Michigan Manufacturers Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce submitted cards in opposition.

Senator Zorn acknowledged the concerns and noted the bill needs some adjustment. It was largely his intention to bring this issue to the committee’s attention.

posted by PAA Online , 1:52 PM
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Road Funding Discussions Continue

Governor Rick Snyder held an hour-long Legislative Quadrant meeting regarding roadfunding Tuesday. This came right before the Governor left for Japan and Germany. Snyder commented the conversation went well. Another meeting is being planned for the minority and majority leaders to continue the progress.

Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley published some figures Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, and Governor Snyder all agreed were inaccurate. Mr. Finley reported $1.2 billion being set aside, to which all replied no such numbers have been agreed upon. Senator Meekhof did mention that the prevailing wage repeal proposal has not been included in any agreement thus far.

Governor Snyder revealed the solution has been largely predicted to be a combination of additional revenue and General Fund savings. Although no agreement has been reached yet, all parties involved expect it to be a bipartisan solution.

posted by PAA Online , 1:51 PM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Mackinac Bridge Walk Draws 30,000

According to the Mackinac Bridge Authority, approximately 30,000 individuals made the trip across Mackinac Bridge for the 58^th anniversary of its Labor Day walk. Attendance was down from last year, in part due to potentially thunderous weather. The Bridge Authority was prepared to cancel the event because of the storms, luckily only rain arrived and the walk continued as planned.

Former Senator Henry Stallings II Dies at 64

Former State Senator Henry Stallings passed away Monday in his sleep. Born in California, Mr. Stallings moved with his family to Detroit when he was sixteen. He was elected as a State Senator in 1994 and served until his resignation in 1998. His funeral is scheduled for Monday, September 14^th in Detroit.

posted by PAA Online , 1:50 PM
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