Senate Democrats move to protect voter’s choices and the School Aid Fund

LANSING - Senate Democrats announced today at a press conference that they will be introducing a constitutional amendment to guarantee money from the state’s School Aid Fund is dedicated to K-12 education and not diverted to the general fund

The amendment comes in response to Gov. Rich Snyder’s budget proposal which would divert money from the School Aid Fund to pay for other measures of the Governor’s budget, including corporate tax giveaways.

“Governor Snyder recently said ‘It’s not about politics; It’s about doing the right thing,’ and his budget is far from it,” said Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D – East Lansing. “He wants to cut school funding so the state can afford corporate tax handouts that have no guarantee of creating jobs. I ask what corporation would want to locate in a state with the failing school systems his budget would surely create.”

When citizens voted in 1972 to create the Michigan Lottery and again in 1994 to pass Proposal A, they did so with the understanding that the funds generated by these measures would be dedicated to supporting public education. The Governor’s proposal to divert that money to fill a deficit in the state’s General Fund budget is a clear strike against the intent of the voters.

“The citizens of Michigan have made it clear that they expect education to come first,” said Sen. Bert Johnson, D – Detroit. “This is exactly the type of accounting gimmick Governor Snyder said he wanted to avoid, and is yet another example of this administration saying one thing and doing another.”

Senate Democrats said they would be hosting a series of town hall meetings throughout the state to seek input from Michigan’s families on their concerns and priorities for the state budget, and they have invited Snyder to attend because of his love of townhall meetings.

“The people of Michigan have to live with the consequences of the budget passed by the legislature,” said Sen. John Gleason, D – Flushing. “It is only fair that we ask them for their input and ensure that their voices are heard within the Capitol chambers as these significant decisions are being made.”

Here are the townhall meetings, and most locations are TBD at this time.

Oakland County
Thursday April 7

Western Wayne
Thursday, April 14, 6:00pm-7:30pm VFW Hall, 27345 Schoolcraft, Redford.

Saginaw
Monday, April 18

Flint
Thursday, April 21

Detroit
Monday, April 11, 6:00-8:00pm

Grand Rapids
Tuesday, April 19, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Kalamazoo
Monday, April 11

Senate Republicans ignore the people and move anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM bills

LANSING – Despite thousands of workers packing the Senate gallery on Tuesday morning chanting “kill the bill,” the Senate Republicans ignored them and moved the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) package of bills to the third reading.

The bills can be voted on as early as Wednesday and sent to the Governor for his signature. The EFM package, House Bills 4214-4218, will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manager, and the bills give the EFM almost dictatorial like powers. The bills take the power and authority out of the hands of the people legally elected by the voters and places it in the hands of a person appointed by the governor and the Legislature, and it allows the EFM - which is why Republicans have placed the bills on the fast track - to terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith.

Many of the financial challenges municipalities face are due to mandates and budget cuts not of their own creation, but rather those that were imposed on them by decisions made in Lansing. The Governor’s proposed budget cuts will push those barely hanging on over the edge, from financial stress to financial emergency.
Senate Democrats put up 17 amendments and two substitutes to the main bill to make it more transparent, but they all were defeated along mostly party lines, with the exception of one. Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, introduced an amendment that would not allow the EFM to be paid no more than the Governor, Michigan's highest paid elected official at $177,000 a year.

Amendments are voted on via voice vote unless the chair is not sure of the outcome or someone makes a request for a record roll call vote. The Chair, Sen. Make Jansen, R-Gaines Twp., said the Hunter amendment failed despite the obvious loud yes votes.
When a record roll call vote was called for, Republicans joined with Democrats and the amendment passed with a vote of 19-18. But about 45 minutes and 12 amendments later, the Senate Republicans moved to reconsider Hunter’s amendment, and it was then disapproved by a vote of 16-21, angering Democrats.

“We have an emergency financial manager in my community that makes $420,000, and this man will make a million dollars before he leaves,” said Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit. “Are you really saying we can pay someone half a million dollars in a community that is financially strapped?”

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, was very angry, and even though the Senate Republicans tried to gavel her down, she made her point about the basic dishonesty of Republicans, saying they have no problem making millionaire EFMs with taxpayer money, but they want to break contracts with first responders negotiated in good faith.

“We were told you were going to open it back up because more people wanted to vote for it not to defeat it,” she said.

Senate Democrats go back to work to increase voter turnout

State Sen. Steven Bieda, D-Warren, is on a mission to ensure voting is easier and more convenient for Michigan residents.

On January 20 he introduced Senate Bill 49 that will allow no reason absentee voting. The Democratically-controlled House approved House Bill 4367 by a vote of 79-30 with 12 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in approving the bill last session, but like the previous session, it died because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to take it up.

Under current Michigan law, there are only six reasons for A/B voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence. If SB 49 becomes law, Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting.

On Jan. 26, Bieda introduced SB 76 that would require the Michigan Secretary of State to develop a website which would allow electronic voter registration. Voters would also be able to update their registration records online.

“The intent of this legislation is to make it easier for Michigan residents to register to vote,” Bieda said. “Why should a person who moves be required to submit a written change of address? Numerous states run a secure online registration program without problems.”

Both bills were referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections were they are awaiting action.

Bieda has a history of working on election reform and trying to increase voter turnout and make democracy easier. There sessions ago when he was in the House, he sponsored House Bill 5792 that would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their first driver’s license. The bill was approved on May 8, 2008 with a bipartisan vote of 88-18, but it died because the Senate refused to take it up. A similiar bill, HB 4261, was also approved with an even larger bipartisan vote of 92-19 in May 2009, but the Senate also refused to take it up.

These bills had the support of the Republican Michigan Secretary of State, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, the Michigan Municipal League and The League of Women Voters.

“I think we need to do whatever it takes to encourage voters to get to the polls and ensure their voice in government is heard,” Bieda said. “This is a no-brainer, and something that would ease the burden of registering to vote.”

Senate Republicans have a history of blocking voter reform, despite widespread support. That’s one reason they continue to keep a majority in the Senate.

It’s ironic that they block every attempt to make voting easier, yet they want to make it easier to get and carry a handgun.

Senate Democrats protect utility workers, and citizens from unauthorized utility hookups

A package of bills sponsored by Senate Democrats o prevent energy theft from dangerous unauthorized utility connections and protect utility workers when they go out to disconnect those hookups unanimously passed the Senate today.

The four-bill package aimed at protecting citizens and workers —Senate Bills 1310-1313— were sponsored by Sens. Irma Clark-Coleman, D-Detroit; Tupac A. Hunter, D-Detroit; Dennis Olshove, D-Warren; and Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit.

“Unauthorized utility connections are dangerous and can cause damage, fires, and even the loss of lives,” Hunter said. “These bills will help protect citizens and utilities from the problems these unauthorized connections cause.”

This package caused some tension in the Republican Caucus last month when Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, blasted his caucus leader, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, with a press release accusing Bishop of playing “insider political games” that “put Michigan lives at risk” after Bishop referred the package to the Judiciary Committee instead of Patterson’s committee - the Energy Policy and Public Utilities Committee - where preliminary work had been done.

SB 1310, sponsored by Hunter, would require a utility to use a best practices approach to stopping theft and the unauthorized use of service. In the event of unauthorized use, a customer would be required to provide proof of residence or property ownership and payment of damages and any past due charges before service is re-established.

SB 1311, sponsored by Thomas - the Senate Democratic Floor Leader - would make it a crime for a person to attempt to sell or transfer electricity or natural gas with penalties of up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines or both. SB 1312, sponsored by Olshove, sets sentencing guidelines for energy theft.

“Whether it’s a car, money or energy, we cannot allow people to take what’s not theirs,” Olshove said. “We need to take strong measures to protect our energy resources, the people who legally pay for them, and the workers charged with distributing them.

Clark-Coleman sponsored SB 1313, which would create penalties for an assault on a utility worker while performing duties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony with a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a $10,000 fine for causing a worker’s death.

“It is our job to protect the public and those whose jobs are essential to everyday life,” Clark-Coleman said. "Utility workers should have the same protections as postal workers and others who directly serve the community.”

The package now goes to the House Committee on Energy and Technology.

Walk with Marty Griffin and volunteers Saturday to take back the Michigan Senate

Rep. Marty Griffin, D-Jackson, is looking for volunteers to march in the annual Harvest Festival Parade that steps off at 10 a.m. Saturday in Parma.

Griffin is running in a special election set for November for the 19th District that represents Calhoun and Jackson counties that was vacated with the election of Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, to the U.S. House last November. This is the first step in taking back the Senate like we did the House in 2006.

The Republicans enjoy a thin 21-16 lead with the vacant seat, and they are pulling out all the stops to win it back. They see it as the first step in keeping control of the Senate in 2010. More people voted for Senate Democrats in 2006, but they gerrymandered the districts so badly, they kept control.

The budget process has shown how important control of the Senate really is. Senate Republicans are pushing an irresponsible budget proposal that mortgages Michigan’s future just so they can stay in power.

The Senate Democrats have presented an alternative budget proposal that still includes some painful cuts, but uses reforms to protect the things that will make our state competitive in the future. The Senate Democrat’s budget proposal would maintain funding for many important programs and looks to other funding sources to soften the cuts to other state programs. But, the Senate majority refuses to even consider it because at least five in the Republican Caucus are running for statewide office next year, and they want to be seen as cutting taxes.

The Republicans are throwing money around in this race like it’s candy, and they are practically paying volunteers. This is from the state party web site:
“For your help and support at these events, the Michigan Republican Party will take care of all transportation to and from events down in the 19th Senate District along with all hotel accommodations.” It doesn’t say if the accommodations are 4-star, but it’s sad that they are so bankrupt of ideas they have to bribe volunteers. When you are out of ideas, spend lots of money.

This is what we are up against, so we need you Saturday, as well as on other days to knock on doors and to phone bank.

The gathering point for Saturday’s parade is the corner of Elizabeth Street and Grove Street in Parma, 49269. You can RSVP by calling (810) 623-3198 or visit the Facebook page. The campaign is trying to set up car pools for the parade.

Proposed budget will kill any chance at economic recovery and mortgage the future

LANSING – Diverse groups from the Michigan Municipal League (MML) to the Michigan Association of School Administrators expressed shock that House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, agreed to use the all cuts budget proposed by Senate Republicans as targets for balancing the 2010 budget.

Dillon is siding with Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, in using all cuts to make up the $2.8 billon deficit in the state budget that must be in place by Oct. 1. The only thing that appears to be certain in the fluid budget situation is that there will be a continuation budget. Part of the alleged deal between Bishop and Dillon is an agreement to include new revenue that will allow the Legislature to restore some spending cuts in a supplemental appropriations bill down the road. But the problem is that Bishop has been running for Attorney General for the past year and there is no incentive for Bishop to even allow his caucus to take up any new revenue bills down the road.

The budget cuts passed by the Senate Republicans will devastate the state, and they include eliminating the state’s 78 Child and Adolescent Health Center (CAHC) Programs, a $110 cut in the per student in the foundation grant, eliminated School Readiness grants, completely eliminated Early Childhood funding, eliminated vocational and adult education, eliminated the Michigan Promise Grant scholarship, huge cuts to the Healthy Michigan Fund, cut 8 percent to Medicaid providers and a 12 percent cut to local government revenue sharing.

The good news is Senate Republicans are balking at the cuts that will hurt Michigan’s future and economic recovery.

Senate Democrats offered concrete suggestions on Thursday for resolving the crisis, while avoiding cuts that would eliminate any chance for a long-term economic recovery.

“For anyone to imply that the only way to fix our budget is through cuts alone or general tax increases alone is baloney,” said Senate Democratic Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “Our alternatives present a compromise approach that still includes some painful cuts, but uses reforms to protect the things that will make our state competitive in the future. These options should at least be on the table as we hammer out a final budget deal in the coming days.”

Senate Democrats have consistently defended several key priorities that are important investments in making our communities safe and our workforce attractive to new businesses, including: Early childhood and public education programs, so that our young people enter school ready to learn; Promise scholarships that help our students afford a higher education and secure good-paying jobs; Local revenue sharing that provides police officers and firefighters to watch over our loved ones; and Health care programs that keep people from seeking more expensive care down the road that we all end up paying for.

The caucus acknowledged that difficult cuts in other areas of the budget may have to be considered, but they have identified a number of reasonable funding sources that would allow Michigan to restore these key investments. These funding alternatives include:

Ending Michigan’s status as a donor state. Assessing just a 2 percent fee on physicians, like we do with hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care providers, allows us to secure a 3 to 1 match from the federal government. This is an idea that even members of the Senate Republican majority have supported in the past and it could provide more than $300 million. By ignoring reforms adopted by other states, we are allowing Washington to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars to states like California, Texas and Alaska instead of Michigan.

Asking multi-millionaires to pay their fair share. Decoupling from the federal government on estate taxes for estates more than $2 million, like a number of other states have done, would allow us to collect at least $130 million to avoid these painful cuts. A majority of other states, including all of our neighbors in the Midwest, already have some type of system to require this.

Reducing tax expenditures. By temporarily scaling back the more than $36 billion in tax credits the state hands out every year; we can avoid wiping out important services.

Limiting tax loopholes. We currently give millions of dollars in breaks to oil and gas companies, insurance companies, and others, while some are advocating for the complete elimination of programs that help our kids. Those aren’t the right priorities for Michigan.

“Now, there may be those who accuse us of being obstructionist or not going along to get along. Well, this caucus has been around long enough to recognize when short-term political considerations are sending us over a cliff, and we won’t let it happen on our watch,” Prusi said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to restore these priorities, and if others in this town are hell bent on making these kinds of mistakes, they’ll have to do it without our help. And anyone who suggests that there’s no time to consider these options should commit to skipping their Republican leadership meeting up north next weekend to stay here and do this right.”

Report says Michigan’s unemployment insurance system is outdated and discriminatory

Michigan’s unemployment insurance system is outdated and unable to adequately meet the needs of unemployed working families, and it is discriminatory against women and low wage workers, according to a recent report by the Michigan League for Human Services (MLHS).

The MLHS released the report, “Michigan Needs to Modernize its Unemployment Insurance System,” on June 11 as other states were passing legislation to accept funds from the federal government’s Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act (UIMA), part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that would both stimulate the economy and help unemployed workers simply survive.

The report says only half of Michigan’s 14 percent unemployed are collecting benefits, and the low number is the result of the outdated system operating under rules that were designed for the 1930’s New Deal program.

Senate Republicans left $140 million in federal funds on the table when they voted against American workers and against discharging House Bills 4785 and 4786 from the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee last week. The bills, approved by the House on May 6, would provide unemployment benefits to individuals who are only available for and seeking part-time work and those in an approved job training program who have exhausted their regular benefits. It will pump $140 million in federal funds into Michigan which is suffering with double-digit unemployment.

Among the highlights of the MLHS report are that a minimum wage worker in Michigan must work nearly four times as many hours to gain UI monetary eligibility as a higher-wage worker. The full-time working requirement for UI disproportionately burdens female workers in the state. For every $1 of UI benefits spent by workers and families, there is an estimated $2.15 in economic growth. That makes Senate Republicans decision to stiff Michigan workers even more appalling.

The report also found part-time workers make up one-sixth of the nation’s workforce, but they are restricted from collecting UI in states like Michigan. This requirement disproportionately burdens female workers in the state who represent 68 percent of part-time workers nationwide. The requirement makes child care and parenting responsibilities a mess. Also, workers are often unable to find full-time work simply because no one wants to hire full time workers because it’s cheaper to hire two people who each work 20 hours instead of one and pay that one person benefits.

Michigan Senate Democrats recently launched a website calling for action on this plan that eleven other states have already approved to receive the funding allocated to them. The site encourages visitors to sign a petition and contact Republican Senators to demand support for the legislation.

Senate Republicans slap Michigan workers in the face and address a problem that does not exist

LANSING – Less than 24 hours after voting against Michigan’s unemployed workers and leaving $140 million in federal funds that would have gone directly to Michigan workers who cannot feed their families on the table, Senate Republicans again voted against Michigan workers on Thursday by addressing a problem that doesn’t exist.

Senate Bills 612-615 were approved along primarily party lines that address fraud in the unemployment benefits system and penalizes the unemployed who received benefits by mistake. Senate Democrats were upset for a number of reasons, and the bills did not receive a single committee hearing. They were introduced in late May and forgotten until passed by the majority on Thursday as the Legislature took two-week summer break.

“This shows that our priorities are clearly out of step with the needs of people who are struggling out there in Michigan,” said Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit.” While we are cozy in this air-conditioned chamber, there are people who are struggling just to barely make it. This is another example of how this Legislature is totally out of touch with the needs of people.”

Specifically, the bills would allow the recovery of interest on the amount of improperly paid unemployment benefits, double the amount of damages that may be recovered for fraud and create the "Special Fraud Control Fund" and require amounts recovered for fraud violations to be deposited into this Fund.

Senate Democrats said they support going after fraud, but there is no provision for the state making a mistake, or even the worker thinking he is eligible and receives benefits that later turns out he was not eligible for. It also didn’t address employers who fraudulently try to stop a worker from collecting benefits.

“I didn’t see anything in those bills that was aimed at employers who are fraudulently denying workers unemployment insurance,” said Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor. “I had a trucking company in my office the other day in their fight with Treasury over taxes that they were charged. In fact, there was an $80,000 dispute in Treasury who is admitting that they are wrong, but they don’t want to give the money back to the trucking company.

“So if the trucking wants to continue to litigate this, they will have to put up one hundred and something thousand dollar bonds to go after $80,000,” he said.

The bills would also put Michigan out of conformity with federal rules and put us at risk of about $70 million in federal sanctions. But Senate Democrats were more incensed that the bills were rushed out without a single committee hearing just 24 hours after refusing to consider House Bills 4785 and 4786 that would provide unemployment benefits to individuals who are only available for and seeking part-time work and those in an approved job training program who have exhausted their regular benefits. That would make Michigan one of only about five other misguided states to say no to those funds.

“When we are at 14.1 percent unemployment here in the state of Michigan, and we leave $140 million sitting on the table in Washington that we could be using to benefit working families and people who have lost their jobs here in Michigan, I think that is a travesty of what we are sent here to do,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming.

Because Michigan's largest employer, the auto industry, is losing market share in the national recession, it has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. But, only about half of Michigan’s unemployed workers are currently receiving benefits, according to a report by the Michigan League for Human Services, because they have exhausted benefits without finding a job, they are working part-time or they lost a part-tine job. It’s also estimated that for every $1 of unemployment benefits spent by workers and their families, there is an estimated $2.15 in economic growth.

Prusi said he is angry that he has to go home to the UP during the Legislature’s two-week break where unemployment is even higher than the rest of the state and tell them the only thing the Legislature did was penalize them if a mistake is made. Instead of helping 20 percent of the people, they are going after 2 percent of the people.

“You could have brought home that we are extending your unemployment benefits. You could have brought home we are going to help you get retrained for a job because your job has left and is not coming back. But all you are going to do is say we ended fraud in the unemployment system,” he said. “The very bulk of the people and the very number that is shown 2.5 percent of the people are overpaid in their unemployment benefits, and you are going to go after that 2.5 percent and claim you saved $100 million. That is fraudulent in itself.”

Senate Republicans vote against Michigan workers

LANSING – Senate Republicans again voted against workers Wednesday, and left $140 million in federal funds that would have gone directly to Michigan workers who cannot feed their families on the table.

Senate Democrats tried to discharge House Bills 4785 and 4786 from the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee to the floor on Wednesday, but it was blocked along party lines. The bills, approved by the House on May 6, would provide unemployment benefits to individuals who are only available for and seeking part-time work and those in an approved job training program who have exhausted their regular benefits. It will pump $140 million in federal funds into Michigan which is suffering with double-digit unemployment, and Michigan cannot afford to give up that money for people who can only find part-time work and people who lost a job and are trying to learn new skills.

Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, said Michigan unemployment is the worst it has been since 1983, and in 1983 he was one of those unemployed. He said he had to leave two small children behind in Michigan as an unemployed miner and find work in Colorado. He said he doesn’t want any more Michigan residents and families to have to go through that and leave the state.

“The only thing that helped keep my family together was the fact that I had extended unemployment benefits,” he said “There were 3,500 iron ore miners laid off, and you could not find a job in the Upper Peninsula to save your soul.”

Today’s ore miners are auto workers, and the need to diversify Michigan’s economy is paramount. The economic climate has also produced thousands of workers who are technically part-time because they work less than 40 hours a week, and employers also do not have to supply benefits like sick days and health benefits. If that type of worker lost their job, they would not be eligible for unemployment benefits under the current plan. In fact, part-time workers currently make up one-sixth of the nation’s workforce.

“These bills have sat long enough,” Prusi said. “Thousands of people are going without unemployment benefits because we refuse to act in this chamber, and I think now is the time to act before we break for the summer; before we let these families go without the unemployment benefits that supports them and supports their children.”

Opponents – primarily Republicans and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce - claim that once the stimulus money is gone in four years the employers will have to pay more in taxes to pay for the unemployment benefits. But most states, all with lower unemployment rates, have taken the money.

Senate Republicans say yes to banks, no to homeowners

LANSING -- State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, carried water for the home mortgage industry whose greed plunged the country into a financial meltdown by fighting off every attempt by Senate Democrats Wednesday to pass a meaningful moratorium on home foreclosure and keep people in their homes.

The Senate passed a package of three bills, House Bills 4453-4455, along party lines that would have given a 90-day reprieve from foreclosure for homeowners who commit to working with their lender and a housing counselor that was approved by the House with bipartisan support last month.

The bills passed by the House stipulated that if at the end of the 90 days a homeowner is eligible for a loan modification, but the lender does not give it to them for whatever reason, then the lender would be forced to take the foreclosure through the judicial process.

But Richardville, the chair of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, stripped that out of the bill in committee, and he fought off numerous attempts by Senate Democrats to put the provision back in the bill on the Senate floor.

Sen. Hansen Clark, D-Detroit, a long-time advocate of foreclosure protection for consumers, gave an impassioned plea to include the judicial hammer in the bill. Michigan ranks seventh in the nation for foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac. More than 145,000 properties were in foreclosure in 2008 – a 21 percent increase from 2007 and a 108 percent increase from 2006. In January of this year alone, 11,418 foreclosures were reported in Michigan.

“Our failure to have the courage to resist special-interest lobbying and for a change look out for the interest of the individual, not the large corporations who are benefiting right now from loans totaling billions of dollars of our kids and grandkids--tax dollars,” he said. “My amendment would require a judge to get involved with the foreclosure process. It would bring the borrower and the lender together so that they can voluntarily work something out.”

Richardville used the lame excuse that it ads an extra step for mortgage companies and cost them a few more dollars. The same mortgage companies whose greed caused the sub-prime mortgage mess that plunged the country into a recession. The national recession has severely hurt the auto industry, Michigan’s largest employer, and many Michigan residents have lost their jobs. Still, many banks refuse to work with homeowners who have fallen behind, and there is nothing the homeowner can do about it.

“The question is this: How many more people have to lose their retirement savings before we take action,” Clark said. “How many more homeowners must lose the value of their houses before we take action? How many more families need to end up in homeless shelters before we take some reasonable action to give those responsible homeowners who can afford to stay in their home a few more months to catch up on their mortgage payments?”

Consumer groups like the Michigan Advocacy Project and the Michigan Foreclosure Taskforce said stripping the judicial piece out of the bill will cost more people their homes.

Many Democrats crossed over and voted for the bills. Because they are substitutes, they have to go back to the House for concurrence, and more than likely they will end up in a conference committee where the bills will be fixed.

Senate Republicans vote against Michigan workers

LANSING -- Senate Republicans voted against hiring Michigan workers Wednesday when they refused to consider the package of bills known as the “Hire Michigan First” package.

Last month the House Democrats passed the "Hire Michigan First" plan, which rewards companies that employ 100 percent Michigan workers with state economic development incentives. The 12-bill package also encourages transparency and accountability by requiring companies that accept incentives to report on who they hire to ensure that Michigan residents are put first. The package also cracks down on companies that hire undocumented workers by creating penalties that include requiring them to pay back their tax incentives and barring them from future state contracts.

Senate Republicans had refused to take up the bills, so Senate Democrats moved to discharge House Bills 4083-4093 from the Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism where they were sent when they were approved by the House on March 12. The motion was defeated Wednesday along party lines.

“With unemployment around 12 percent, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to make sure that Michigan residents can get good jobs,” said Sen. Glenn Anderson,” D-Westland. “That includes making sure that these hardworking men and women can count on companies that receive state funding and incentives to hire them first.”

Under the common sense Hire Michigan First program, a company that gets tax breaks and money from Michigan tax payers must hire Michigan workers when possible.

“After getting millions in tax breaks from Michigan taxpayers, a Colorado-based company working in Battle Creek shipped workers in instead of people right here who needed work, “ Anderson said. “The company working in an ethanol plant in Marysville shipped in workers from all over Texas to do the work.”

The chair of the Commerce and Tourism Committee gave the lame excuse for voting against the bills that they were only approved two weeks ago and sent to the Senate. But he has not held a single hearing on the bills. People are losing jobs everyday, but he can’t find the time to hold a hearing? That’s lame.

Because the Senate is the deliberative body, bills are routinely discharged directly to the Senate floor. The Legislature goes on a two-week break after Thursday‘s session, but the Senate Republicans still refused to even consider the bills.

Federal stimulus funds will be used for Michigan infrastructure projects to create Michigan jobs, and Sen. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, said Michigan residents should do the work in order to create jobs in the state.

“It only makes sense that these jobs created to rebuild our state are filled with Michigan workers, and leaving these bills to sit in committee while we go on break, breaks the faith with the people who we represent, “ Prusi said. “We are here to represent their best interests.”

Griffin files to run for Senate seat

Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, officially filed to run for the vacant seat in the Michigan Senate last week.

The seat in the 19th District that represents Calhoun and Jackson counties was vacated with the election of Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, to the U.S. House in November.

This election will be the first step in retaking the Senate in 2010, and the Senate Republicans have been the biggest obstacle to getting meaningful legislation passed. The filing deadline is May 12, the primary is Aug. 4, and the General Election is Nov. 3. So far, Griffin is the only official Democrat in the race.

Griffin was first elected to the House in 2006 when Democrats took control of the House. Prior to that, Griffin served as the Mayor of Jackson from 1995 - 2006. Griffin has experience in government at all levels; local, state and federal. He served for 12 years as a staff member in the Michigan Legislature and five years with U.S. Rep. Carl Pursell.

Griffin also has a long list of accomplishments and involvement, including chairing the Jackson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, a member of the Economic Development Corporation of Jackson, a member of the National Association of Realtors, a member of the City of Jackson Planning Commission, a Trustee of Ella Sharp Park Board, a Downtown Kiwanis member, Urban Core Mayors Group, Trustee for Police and Fire Pension Boards and on the Cascade Humane Society Capital Campaign.

Fundraiser for the next state Senator from the 19th District on tap

If you’re going to be in Lansing for Wednesday’s hearing of the House Regulatory Reform Committee at noon for the discussion of the indoor smoking ban, plan on sticking around for the fundraiser for Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson.

Griffin is an announced candidate for 19th District Senate seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer's, D-Battle Creek, election to the U.S. House. The fundraiser is set for 4:30 – 6 p.m. March 18 at the Governor’s Room at 121 W. Allegan, right next to the Farnum Building at Capitol and Allegan.

This election will be the first step in retaking the Senate in 2010, and the Senate Republicans have been the biggest obstacle to getting meaningful legislation passed. The filing deadline is May 12, the primary is Aug. 4, and the General Election is Nov. 3. So far, Griffin is the only official Democrat in the race.

Senate Democrats stage bloodless coup

LANSING -- Senate Democrats staged a bloodless coup Thursday and briefly took over control of the Senate.

The minority Democrats used some procedural magic and wrestled control of the Senate from the majority Republicans, who have a 21-17 edge in the Senate. Democrats - with the help of Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Lansing - took advantage of the fact three Republicans were out of town to pull off the takeover.

While the majority party, the Democrats managed to discharge Senate Bill 124 from Judiciary Committee to the full floor. The bill addresses the recent interpretation of law by the Michigan Supreme Court in the case Kreiner v. Fischer, and it gives more freedom in the courts for people who have been seriously injured in an auto accident.

Although that is a real victory for the regular guy over the insurance companies who have not lost a case in the Michigan Supreme Court for the past 10 years, the real enjoyment was the look of befuddlement and frustration on the face of Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey. Priceless.

Bipartisan effort aimed at stopping high foreclosure rate and predatory lending

LANSING- Hoping to stop a trend that has Michigan in the top 10 for home foreclosure rates, both the House and Senate rolled out separate packages of bills aimed at stopping that trend in its tracks.

The House Democrats rolled out their package Tuesday, and the highlights include allowing homeowners who hold unstable adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), and those who have missed mortgage payments in the past to refinance that debt and secure a fixed-rate loan through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

"Federal policies have utterly failed to prevent the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market," said Rep. Marc Corriveau, D-Northville, one of the bills sponsors, in a press release "This refinancing legislation puts Michigan at the forefront of states efforts to protect hard-working men and women from losing something they have spent their lives working for."

In September, Michigan ranked fourth highest in the country in the number of foreclosures, with 14,242 filings. According to Pennsylvania-based Default Research, Wayne County had the fifth highest foreclosure rate among metro areas with 7,410 filings, or one foreclosure for every 113 households.

This House plan is in addition to the package of bills known as Michigan Home Loan Protection Act that House Democrats introduced in late August. The bills are primarily aimed at predatory lending, and it addresses such practices as prohibiting home refinancing to generate fees for the lender unless there is a tangible net benefit to the borrower, protect consumers from being steered toward high-cost loans when they would otherwise qualify for a traditional loan, prohibit the financing of any points and fees that hide the true costs of the loan, require vulnerable borrowers to receive independent counseling from a certified third-party counselor and simply give homeowners who have been victims of predatory lending some legal recourse so they can independently enforce these consumer protections.

On Thursday the Senate Republicans rolled out a 13-bill package also aimed at predatory lending. Perhaps the most important feature of the bipartisan legislation will be to require loan officers to be licensed. Many unscrupulous loan officers simply move from state-to-state to stay in business. The package would also create a seven-member Mortgage Industry Advisory Board, require criminal background checks of loan officers and it would urge the Office of Insurance and Financial Services to participate in the development of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System database.

“The state has the dubious distinction of being in the top six of states that have a high foreclosure rate,” said Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, who introduced one of the bills in the bipartisan Senate Republican package. “What we are doing is on a bipartisan, bicameral basis is to try and put some solutions in place.”

On Friday Senate Democrats offered their plan aimed at slowing the foreclosure rate. The package is similar to the House Democrats' plan, and it establishes through MSHDA the Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Refinance Program and the Rescue Refinance Program that will assist delinquent homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes.

“For far too many Michigan citizens, it is a daunting and challenging task just to get their family into a home,” said Sen. Hansen Clarke in a press release. “Legislators from both sides of the aisle should be able to agree on the importance of protecting the homes of our citizens, and this package is a step in the right direction.”