Editor's Note: On Dec. 4 the state House approved a road reform package similar to the one described below that does not raise taxes. The state Senate earlier took the opposite approach, hiking taxes by $1 billion. Now the two chambers must hammer out a compromise. Any deal should favor the House plan, which is superior.
In the debate over whether or not people should be forced to pay money to unions as a condition of employment, opponents of right-to-work laws often claim that workers who exercise their rights under the law are “freeloaders.” That is, that they are taking advantage of benefits from union bargaining while not paying their “fair share.”
The Mackinac Center has just released its biennial high school Context and Performance report card. Though there are several report cards for Michigan schools, the Center is the only organization in the state to publish a school report card that adjusts for student socioeconomic background, which allows schools serving diverse communities to be compared throughout the state.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio was a guest on Fox News recently, discussing worker centers and labor front groups involved in Black Friday protests. He also wrote about the issue in The Hill and explains why unions need to move away from politics and embrace workers’ needs in order to adapt and stem membership losses. You can read more in his recent study: “Unionization for the 21st Century: Solutions for the Ailing Labor Movement.”
Monthly job reports on payroll employment and the unemployment rate hide the massive job creation and job loss that occurs in the economy. This turnover challenges the state’s ability to influence job creation by offering tax money to select businesses to locate their business in Michigan.
Lame duck sessions in the Michigan Legislature provide a no holds barred setting for Lansing lobbyists and special interests. Many lawmakers will be leaving the Legislature at the end of the year or the end of their next term; others who were just elected to new terms know they won’t have to face the voters again until two or four years from now.
The Dearborn Press and Guide is reporting that Star International Academy in Dearborn Heights has again been ranked as the top-performing high school in the state according to the Mackinac Center’s “Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card.”
By Jack McHugh
While the legislature is in a two week recess with no voting, the Roll Call Report examines recent constitutional amendment proposals of interest.
Note: There will be no Roll Call Report during Thanksgiving week. The Report will return on Dec. 5.
House Joint Resolution KK: Replace House and Senate with unicameral legislature
On Dec. 4, the Mackinac Center will host Dr. Morris Kleiner of the University of Minnesota to speak about occupational licensing. On this issue, Dr. Kleiner is one of the leading experts in the nation. (For information about the event, go here. Free lunch!)
Executive Vice President Michael J. Reitz, who also serves on the board of directors for the Michigan Coalition for Open Government, writes in at op-ed at MLive today that the Michigan Senate should give consideration to House Bill 4001, which would strengthen the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
A panel last March at the Milken Institute in California featured several film incentive boosters who admitted Michigan’s subsidy program was a bad call.
The panel was centered on what California should do with its incentive program. There were four pro-subsidy representatives: Fred Baron of 20th Century Fox; Rajiv Dalal with the Los Angeles mayor’s office; Kathy Garmezy of the Directors Guild of America; and Kevin Klowden of the Milken Institute. Joe Henchman of the Tax Foundation was the lone opposition.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio recently wrote in The Detroit News that union members should enjoy the same democratic process voters enjoy on Election Day by getting to vote not just on union contracts and officials, but whether or not they want to be represented by their current union.
In his recent Dome Magazine article, Rich Robinson of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network writes that Republicans won the state House and Senate because of “the power of the gerrymander”:
As old Joe Stalin observed, it’s less important who votes than who counts the votes. Or, in our contemporary situation, how the votes are grouped to be counted.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 5477, Increase gas tax: Passed 23 to 14 in the Senate
To replace the current 19 cents per gallon gas tax and 15 cents diesel tax with a 9.5 percent wholesale fuel tax, gradually increasing to 15.5 percent in 2018. When fully phased-in this would represent a tax hike of around $1.0 billion at current wholesale fuel prices.
State Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw, introduced legislation that would create state-based regulations for ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. At first glance, the regulations appear reasonable and have the support of these so-called transportation network companies themselves, as reported by MIRS News (subscription required).
(Editor’s note: Jack Spencer is capitol affairs specialist for Michigan Capitol Confidential and a veteran Lansing-based journalist. His columns do not necessarily represent the views of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy or Michigan Capitol Confidential.)
Good intentions are no substitute for sound results, and nowhere is this more evident than in public policy. Correcting a possible policy mistake should therefore be a priority when lawmakers begin work on the next state budget. An initiative that funnels minority students into teacher preparation programs is a prime candidate
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio was cited in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Bloomberg Businessweek about the ongoing labor talks at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.
VW recently announced a policy that could recognize multiple unions in the plant, including the American Council of Employees and the UAW. Vernuccio cautioned that VW that it should not recognize either group as an exclusive representative of employees.
On Tuesday, the human resources department at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., released a new policy allowing for voluntary recognition of multiple unions at their plant.
The company said it would recognize any union that can show it represents at least 15 percent of the employees in the plant. As detailed below, the company will bestow greater privileges upon organizations that prove they represent more workers. These include use of company facilities and meetings with VW’s human resources department and executive committee.
(Author’s Note: In last week’s Detroit News editorial, “Second term agenda focused on right priorities,” Gov. Snyder noted that a road funding package “was pretty much done.” We hope some of the sound ideas below are contained therein.)
Last May, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a legislative package that would permanently increase annual road funding by around $462 million without a significant tax increase. Some of the measures could theoretically lead to modest restraints on other state spending. The Senate should adopt this or a similar package to move the ball forward on road funding.
Detroit bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes called on the state to address the underfunding of local government pension benefits in his oral opinion. He stated that the state has a “constitutional, legal and moral obligation to assure that the municipalities in this state adequately fund their pension obligation.”
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman was a guest this morning on “The Tony Conley Show” on WILS-AM1320 in Lansing, discussing his recent commentary titled “What Should the Next Legislature Do?”
Lehman noted that Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive recent put together $2.1 billion worth of budget reforms, which he submitted to legislators.
Mackinac Center Executive Vice President Michael J. Reitz told MLive that a legislative package on criminal sentencing reform is a good stop forward, including a proposal that would create a Justice Policy Commission to review sentencing guidelines.
“It is a valuable component of the proposals,” Reitz said. “These issues tend to fade to the background if there isn’t someone, or a group or entity, that’s continually looking at it.”
By Jack McHugh
The House and Senate met one day this week, primarily so that returning members and newly elected freshmen could select legislative leaders for the 2015-2016 session.
House Republicans chose Rep. Kevin Cotter to be the next Speaker of the House, and Senate Republicans chose Sen. Arlan Meekhof as the next Senate Majority Leader. These selections will be confirmed in official votes when the 98th Michigan Legislature convenes on Jan. 7.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio was cited by Fox News and in The Week regarding the failure of Big Labor to accomplish the political retribution on Election Day against elected officials who embraced labor reforms.
“The voters are siding with taxpayers and the workers,” he told Fox News. “This [election] was less a referendum and more of a reaffirmation. Unions are going to have to adapt.”
