New Poll: Little Support for Dillon Plan

by: LiberalLucy

Thu Dec 17, 2009 at 09:29:42 AM EST

You probably remember the bomb that Speaker Andy Dillon dropped earlier this year with talk of consolidating the benefits for over 400,000 public employees including emergency personnel, public school employees, and current and retired state employees, in the form of House Bill 5345.

The East Lansing-based polling firm EPIC-MRA ran a poll regardless, and released the staggering results earlier this week. Only 22% of those surveyed would support such a measure if enacted. 

This is in addition to an additional poll that MRG came out with in September showing virtually the same thing - opposition was strong at 57 percent to 37 percent, and within that, 72 percent of GOP voters opposed the bill. (Which is further interesting, particularly if rampant rumors of a possible Dillon gubernatorial run as an independent.)

According to Roger Martin, speaking for the group Citizens for Accountability in Reform, hearings in the state House on HB 5345 have stalled and key witnesses have been not been allowed to testify.

“House Bill 5345 is viewed as bad and risky public policy by Michigan voters, and legislators who support it will find it to be toxic in 2010 and beyond,” said Roger Martin, spokesman for Citizens for Accountability in Reform, a growing coalition representing taxpayers, police, firefighters, teachers, insurance companies and others who are concerned House Bill 5345 doesn’t provide the reform it promises at a price taxpayers can afford.

Martin noted that a House committee holding hearings on the bill has announced that today’s scheduled hearing will be the last for possibly months, even though 10 more bills were introduced late last week to implement the $4 billion to $5 billion state government health plan.

“With an election year just around the corner, given Michigan voters’ overwhelming opposition to this legislation, it’s no wonder the committee doesn’t want to hold more hearings,” Martin said. “During the hearings over the past two months, so many witnesses have either voiced opposition or raised serious concerns, opposition to the legislation among voters has skyrocketed.”

The vast majority of witnesses at the House hearings have expressed concerns or outright opposition to the legislation, including representatives of local governments, executives of health plans, representatives of labor unions and school districts, the head of the House Fiscal Agency, independent actuaries, and more. Witnesses have said the claimed savings are grossly over-estimated, the risks and costs to taxpayers are under-estimated, and constitutional problems with the bill are not even being acknowledged.

“A number of people with additional concerns wanted to testify and have been told they would not be allowed,” Martin said. “We know, for example, that witnesses have asked to present their concerns about reproductive rights and domestic partner benefits. We know Public Policy Associates, which has completed the only thorough analysis of the legislation, has asked to testify, but has basically been told ‘no.’ We are going to make sure their concerns are heard by the people, by legislators, and the news media, even if the committee has stopped the public hearings.”

I wonder what Dillon has to say about that?