"Democrats in the House and the Governor are committed to tackling Michigan's challenges head on," Dillon said. "Tonight, the Governor shared some bold ideas for how we can act today for a stronger tomorrow. The House is ready act quickly to move Michigan in a positive new direction."
GRANDVILLE, MI (AP) -- A state lawmaker has taken a break from the ongoing state budget talks to hunt snow sheep in Russia.
Rep. David Agema stayed in session until 4 a.m. Saturday and voted three times against a proposal by Democrats to raise the state income tax before leaving on the two-week trip, said his chief of staff, Karen Spoelman. The House of Representatives worked without a resolution throughout the weekend.
The Grandville Republican had planned the trip for three years, long before he was elected to his first House term last November, said Trevor Pittsley, a member of Agema's staff. The representative had a 100 percent voting record on 360 House votes before missing a vote taken Saturday and two votes taken Tuesday, according to the MichiganVotes.org Web site.
Agema informed House Speaker Andy Dillon, a Democrat, as well as House Republican Leader Rep. Craig DeRoche, Spoelman told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published Wednesday.
"The speaker assured Dave this would be a good time to go. He was assured things would be worked out," Pittsley said.
Dillon's office, however, said he was not informed.
"Not only was it not cleared with our office, but we were unaware until we found out that he was gone," said Dillon spokesman Greg Bird. "The speaker says that he had no idea that the representative was going to be taking a trip."
Agema's absence was listed as not excused. Only Dillon has the power to excuse an absence.
"Dillon's a liar," Spoelman responded, insisting that Agema spoke directly with the speaker. "Dillon was fully aware this was happening."
(Excellent work by our favorite Democrat out of Novi - promoted by LiberalLucy)
For weeks, the Republicans and their syncophants in the right-wing blogosphere have been claiming that the $1.7 billion gap in the Michigan state budget could be balanced with cuts alone. Last week, Senator Bishop rolled out his version of such a plan. The "plan" consisted of massive cuts in state departments and agencies, his short-sighted early retirement scheme for state employees and a defunding of state revenue sharing that would plunge many Michigan municipalities in financial disaster. Bishop's plan didn't even close the entire funding gap. It was left to the Senate Fiscal Agency to identify other potential reductions that would allow the entire $1.7 billion deficit to be closed.
Speaker of the House Andy Dillon is mad, really mad, and once you find out why he's so mad, well, I imagine you're going to be pretty hopped up too.
As reported here on MichLib last night, the Senate led by Republican Mike Bishop (R-Hair Gel) adjourned early for the evening until next Tuesday even though he had originally struck a deal with Dillon not too.
Dillon told reporters on the House floor that today was a "step backward" in the budget process, and claimed Bishop's refusal to go for the plan was just the latest roadblock the Senate Majority Leader has put in the way of finding a budget compromise. The Speaker also broke away from his longstanding demeanor of refusing to attack Bishop.
"I've been chasing Mike Bishop to try to get a budget deal since February," Dillon said. "All I've asked of Mike is to 'tell me what you want.' But he'd never say anything definitive. When I offered the proposal today, he said 'I can't do that.' If there's a government shutdown, the responsibility for it is Mike Bishop's."
If you were like most of the state, you fell for the line that had Dillon and Bishop as chums. It comes now as no surprise that Bishop's been the problem child all along, despite Gov. Granholm and Dillon's best efforts to keep things moving.
But tonight Dillon said he was breaking his silence on the alleged budget deal Bishop claims didn't happen in May.
"He (Bishop) cut a deal in May with the Governor that did include new revenues," Dillon said. "We weren't supposed to talk about so I haven't up to now. But yesterday Mike Bishop went too far when he made some remarks... about the House. He went over the line. I'm not going to keep getting punched by him."
The Speaker also remarked that the House was sill in the chamber and ready to work through the weekend if necessary, but the Senate had adjourned.
"Mike Bishop has a golf outing to raise funds," Dillon said.
(emphasis added)
After you pick your jaw up from the floor, be sure that's fact, we've had that independently confirmed here at MichLib.
We don't have a state budget, because Mike Bishop couldn't miss his donning his tweed pants for his golf outing today.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is backing a proposal that would extend the amount of time a lawmaker could spend in one chamber to 12 years.
It's been something of an open secret this past year that one of the things that has inhibited budget negotiations is a lack of experience on the part of lawmakers. Under the current system, representatives get four years six years (three 2-year terms) to serve in the House, and senators get six eight (two 4-year terms) to serve in the Senate. That hasn't been enough time for proper relationships to develop not just within chambers, but also between the House and Senate, and the Legislature and the Executive branch. Under the current proposal, a legislator would be able to serve a total of 12 years in either body. Term limits for the governor and attorney general would be left unchanged.
Wednesday will be a busy day in the Michigan House on Wednesday, and the full House will act on some budget bills already passed by the Appropriations Sub-Committee for that part of the budget.
It's expected the following bills already approved by the sub-committee will be taken up by the full Appropriations Committee beginning at 10 a.m. It's also expected those bills will be approved by the full House later in the day. Those bills are: House Bill 4346, Department of Education budget, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gillard, D-Alpena; HB 4350, higher education budget, sponsored by Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Chelsea; HB 4351 higher education budget, Byrnes; HB 4359, school aid, Gillard; and HB 4360, community colleges budget, sponsored by Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids.
This is in sharp contrast to the do-nothing, obstructionist Senate who have done absolutely nothing with any budget bills. As previously noted, this Senate is perhaps the most laziest, do-nothing Senate in Michigan history, or at least in recent memory. This is fewest total roll call votes held so far in a decade.
Speaker of the House Andy Dillon said the House has already sent more than half of the state budget over to the Senate, and the rest will come Wednesday. If the Senate fails to move their budget bill, Dillon said the House will move them the following week. The House is also prepared to send over the revenue bills if an agreement cannot be reached with the Senate. The Senate will own any government shutdown. That will fit right in the Senate's mode of operation, and it makes you wonder if a shutdown has been their plan all along.
But there is hope it can get done before the Oct. 1 deadline. According to Michigan Radio, Dillon says he thinks he and Senate Majority "leader" will come up with an agreement both of their caucuses can support.
The Senate is where bills go to die for lack of action and attention, and that was even true in the last Legislative session when the Republicans controlled both the House and Senate instead of just the Senate this time around.
The House session is broadcast live, as well as most committee meetings, so tune in for some stimulating action.
The rightwing blogosphere, all three of them, is buzzing - whining would be a better description - about an alleged incident where Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, was drunk at the National Governors Association event in Traverse City and allegedly "demanded" a ride form a Michigan State Trooper who was on duty there.
Minority "leader" Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, has even made the ridiculous request that the Speaker of the House relive Sak from his committee and leadership positions. This entire matter does not smell right, and it reminds me of the "Troopergate" issue of the early `90s when Rightwing sugar daddy Richard Mellon Scaife paid Arkansas State troopers to make up juicy and unflattering stories and lies about President Clinton.
This episode came to light from a memo the state trooper wrote and the Grand Rapids Press obtained from a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. As a former reporter covering cops and courts, I have read many police reports, including reports from the Michigan State Police at the Brighton Post, but I have never seen a memo from the state police. Ask Bill Nowling, the new Communications Director of the Michigan Republican Party, about how many state police memos he has read as the cops and courts reporter for the same newspaper where we worked the same beat.
This raises a few of questions for me. Why did the unnamed trooper even write the memo? How did the GR Press know to make a FOIA request for that particular memo?
The bottom line is Sak did not break any laws, and he had the good sense not to drink and drive. Sak denies he demanded a ride or even asked for a ride, but what if he did? Since when is that a crime to have to much to drink on occasion and have the foresight and maturity to ask for a ride instead of getting behind the wheel of a two-ton deadly weapon?
It's funny that the right-wingers are crowing about this, but they were silent as church mice when Rep. John Garfield, R- Rochester Hills, was arrested for his second drunk driving charge in March, and they even stayed quiet when the charge was dropped on a technicality. He was clearly driving drunk and endangering lives, but do you think we heard anything from the right? You guessed it, they were silent.
The Democratic Speaker declined to relieve Garfield of his committee assignments when he was arrested. Perhaps he believed that quaint and naïve notion of innocent until proven guilty. So why should he relieve Sak when he was not only not charged with a crime but did not commie a crime to be charged with.
Sak has apologized, but that is not good enough for Republicans. Now that the charges have been dropped against Garfield perhaps he can now issue an apology. Don't hold your breath.
It is a rather indisputable fact that Michigan is solidly a Democratic state. Often, elections give the impression that Michigan is leaning Republican or evenly split; but that is a display of the voters who show up... not the political leanings of the masses. One of the weakest links in the Democratic party is the ability to motivate their base and get them to the polls; or even get some of them to register to vote. I am not seeking to bash Democrats, I am loud and proud Dem myself; but facts are facts and admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery.
Republicans constantly capitalize on this 'voter apathy' of the Democratic Base. This is how they manage to slip in to office in the first place. However; presidential elections are quite another thing. Dems are far more likely to get off of their asses to vote in presidential or even gubernatorial elections. Ironically, both of these elections are held in even years.
Well the Rovian Republican strategists in Lansing have figured this out for themselves. A group of West Michigan local boys (Dave Hildebrand - Lowell, Dave Agema - Grandville, and Tom Pearce - Rockford) and other Conservative hacks have co-sponsored and introduced House Joint Resolution U which seeks to play to the Democrats 'voter apathy' weakness.
"Michigan's state pension systems would be asked to pull their investments in some foreign companies that do business in Sudan and Iran under legislation approved today by the state House. ... "As more and more states jump on board, it creates a snowball effect," said Ginny Mitchell, an Ann Arbor resident who is working with the task force. "It will hit Sudan in the wallet, and that's what we're looking to do." ... The effort to divest from South Africa in the 1980s eventually helped end apartheid practices. "It was state by state getting involved in the process, and the federal government getting pushed by state action," said Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democrat and sponsor of a bill targeting Sudan. "I think this one will move much faster. This is not new. South Africa was new.""
This is nice, but I call the Sudan divestment bill "weak" at least in context, since
1. something like this should've happened long ago;
2. it smells like it maybe had to be paired with the Iran divestment bill to pass (and the Sudan bill even got one less vote than the Iran one, even though there's no ongoing genocide in Iran); and
3. since there's no present resolution in the House urging state universities, cities, or private companies/citizens to divest: and they should, too, not just state pension funds.
There may be weaknesses even in the bill itself too, so I may update this diary. --Anyway, I have been trying to get people to divest for ages, cf. a post on this blog, or my Michigan Liberal post from LAST August, Divesting Michigan from Sudan. It would be sad for a weak bill to pass, so feel free to contact your, and others', too (since some Michigan representatives or senators may be more involved with the issue than your own personal one is), reps/senators/governor, at least to urge the passing of a resolution that Michigan colleges/cities/citizens/corporations should also divest from Sudan (or Iran, too). Lives may depend on it.
I was at a meeting today with a group of representatives of many of the larger corporations in the state.
Although it wasn't the topic of the meeting, we got off on a short discussion of the fiscal crisis facing Michigan. Someone handed out a 2 page summary of the House Democrat's tax plan, and guess what? It got a pretty positive review.
Now, I'm not saying that big business is lining up and going to go public and support the Dems. But, I thought it was a sign that the House Dems were on the right track.
Liberal Lucy (BLUE shirt) introducing Michigan House Democratic Speaker Andy Dillon (in suit, standing), to a cast of thousands (or close)
As per Liberal Lucy's fine Mich Lib diary Tonight: Meet Up With House Leadership, there was a nice get-together at the Livingston County Democratic Party Office last night. Michigan House Speaker and Democrat, Andy Dillon, graciously fielded many questions from the visitors there.
The Speaker.....speaking
Much of the discussion was financially oriented, e.g., how to deal with state revenue shortfall (one idea of the Speaker's was to encourage aircraft repair in Michigan, since many planes have to be flown all the way to Indonesia to be repaired, otherwise!), the downside of cutting library funding, etc. I myself asked two questions, the first about university waste, e.g., the fact that UM-Ann Arbor hasn't been audited by the state Auditor General in 23 years or so, I believe (a general "audit" of Michigan state universities' tuition and fees did come out today--see the Freep--but its main focus isn't UM-Ann Arbor); and I think the Speaker said he would look into it. And as for my second question, about both the "Prop 2" initiatives, the first from 2004 restricting gay (and unmarried heterosexual?) health benefits, and the second from 2006 destroying affirmative action, Dillon focused on the first initiative, saying that he too had heard that there could be bad effects on heterosexual folks, and that it's important to provide health care for a large array of people. --One notable saying of Dillon's: the most important thing (or was it the rarest thing?) in government is to get good information, since bureaucrats may present their agencies' performance as better than it really is, etc. --This may be another raison d'etre for blogging, that is, to spread accurate information!
"Not Bob" Dillon and Ann Arbor business consultant Anthony Nitsos. The Speaker looks like he has that "preacher with the mystically glowing Bible" thing going on...
So, many thanks to Speaker Andy for his time and attention to his computer-savvy constituents! What happened to Steve Tobocman, though? he being the other Democrat who was supposed to show. I hope the majority floor leader is all right, but we didn't see him, nor did we hear from him! Hope all is well...
...Back to blogging: after the Speaker had gone, and as a final flourish to the night, Liberal Lucy gave a brief "introduction to the blogosphere" to an attentive crowd there, including people who wanted to learn the very basics. So thanks to her (and to the Livingston County Democratic Party), and I am sure the number of well-informed and activist bloggers will now greatly increase!
There is actual debate on the Michigan House floor, as we speak. When was the last time that happened?
The House is debating House Bill 4044 that will no longer give drugs companies legal immunity against lawsuits against the harm their drugs call. The bill repeals a 1996 law granting legal immunity to drug companies. Passed by then-Governor John Engler and the Republican-controlled Legislature, the law gives companies complete immunity from legal action. It includes big drug companies in the Consumer Protection Act, from which they are currently exempted.
Republican after Republican stood up and gave long speechs against the bill. Many stood up and said it's a job issue, ignoring the simple fact that we are the only state in the union to give this immunity to drug companies. After 1996 they should have been flocking here. Have they?
But the most important thing is there is actual debate. When Republicans controlled the House that was not allowed. There certainly seems to be no limit on the time either. Check it out.
The Michigan House Democrats are taking a real step forward in campaign finance reform with the introduction of a bill that requires elected officials to file personal financial disclosure statements.
Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman, D-Detroit, introduced House Bill 4285 yesterday that will require "candidates for state office or judge, state department heads and current office holders to file personal financial disclosure statements that include the names of all family members; his or her employer; the source and amount of earned income and other or her spouse; a list of assets including real and personal property, stocks, bonds; a record of transactions involving the previous items; a list of liabilities over $10,000 of the candidate or a family member; any business ownership; any trustee, director, etc. positions held by the individual in a business, union, non-profit, educational or other institution; any future employment agreement, including leave-of-absence agreements; any honoraria received by the office holder or spouse; and more."
The House Democrats introduced an eight-bill package last spring that included the financial disclosure that died in committee, but now that the Democrats are in the majority chances are very good this bill will finally become law.
Michigan has the worst record for financial disclosure in the country, according to the Center for Public Integrity. The Center for Public Integrity - a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern - has consistently ranked Michigan among the worst in the nation for its public financial disclosure laws. In addition, many laws in Michigan don't apply to all state elected officials in the same way, creating different standards for different officials.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Ethics and Elections, chaired by Rep. Marc Corriveau, D-Northville.
On Friday, subscription-only MIRS and Gongwer announced that the House had selected the new leadership for the Standing Committees. The list contained a few surprises, but for the most part, it was true to the path that Speaker Andy Dillon has set in motion since his election.
The list is below, followed by some analysis of the appointments. Given that I wasn't old enough to vote the last time that Democrats held power, my analysis is humbly offered. Feel free to add your two cents.
Agriculture: Rep. Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City) Appropriations: Rep. George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit) Banking & Financial Services: Rep. Andy Courlouis (D-Saginaw) Commerce: Rep. Andy Meisner (D-Ferndale) Education: Rep. Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills) Energy & Tech: Rep. Frank Acciavatti (D-Eastpointe) Ethics & Elections: Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) Family & Children Services: Rep. Brenda Clack (D-Flint) Government Operations: Rep. Lisa Wojno (D-Warren) Great Lakes & The Environment: Rep. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) Health Policy: Rep. Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee) Insurance: Rep. Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) Intergovernmental, Urban and Regional Affairs: Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) Judiciary: Rep. Paul Condino (D-Southfield) Labor: Rep. Fred Miller (D-Mt. Clemens) Military, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security: Rep. Gino Polidori (D-Dearborn) New Economy & Quality of Life: Rep. Ed Clemente (D-Lincoln Park) Oversight and Investigations: Rep. Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit) Regulatory Reform: Rep. Barb Farrah (D-Southgate) Senior Health, Security & Retirement: Rep. Robert Jones (D-Grand Rapids) Tax Policy: Rep. Steve Bieda (D-Warren) Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources: Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch) Transportation: Rep. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor)
Political junkies look forward to MIRS Capitol Capsule's annual rankings of all Michigan legislators, on a Conservative to Liberal scale. I've got details and fun facts for everyone to enjoy.
And props to Representative Aldo Vagnozzi and Senator Martha Scott, the most liberal members of the MI House and Senate, respectively!
Editor's note: the following is intended for people who
are already up-to-speed on Michigan House Bill 6456 - a bill to be debated in the State
Senate this week which deals with cable TV franchising and net
neutrality. A further explanation of what this whole thing is about
waits for you below the fold.
Memo to Google, the Michigan Municipal League, and the two lobbyists left in Lansing who haven't been hired by AT&T:
Your strategy on fighting HB 6456 is all wrong.
Look, I'm a blogger. I like net neutrality - and would much rather
AT&T and Comcast NOT be allowed to require certain websites (like
Michiganliberal.com, for example) to pay a legal bribe to keep from
being
blocked or have access slowed to a crawl. Without a doubt, that would
be a real drag - and un-American to boot. Having end-users foot the
bill for needed broadband infrastructure improvments has worked so far.
Why change it now?
But let's be real: most people in Michigan (including term-limited
legislators) have no friggin' clue what net neutrality is all about.
And you're not going to be able to explain it to them before the State
Senate probably votes on HB6456 this week.
If you really want to get serious, hit AT&T and Comcast where it
really hurts: talk about the fact that - even with major new leaps in
digital cable and "on-demand" service - people still don't have the ability to pick and choose what individual channels they would like to receive. It's called "a la carte" pricing - and it's something nearly everyone can relate to (even term-limited legislators). It even has the potential to transcend partisan boundaries.
Let's insist that if AT&T and Comcast are going to be relieved of
having to negotiate franchises with over 1,000 local governments - that
(among other conditions) they let parents who don't want their kids to
watch violent or explicit channels to opt not to buy them. Or perhaps a
customer would prefer not to pay for say, the Home Shopping Channel, or
Fox News (yay!) - why shouldn't they have the option?
For example, here's my current cable lineup - along with a few proposed changes...
(UPDATE - looks like the House will be meeting late into the evening. As a result, tonight's event with Speaker-elect Dillon is postponed. We hope to have a new time and date within the next day or so. Stay tuned - and don't blame Rep. Dillon. It's not his fault. He's not actually the speaker yet. - promoted by matt)
Some of you may have noticed that our new Speaker-Elect of the Michigan House, Andy Dillon (D-Redford), left a comment on my recent post about his recent promotion. In it, Rep. Dillon suggested we schedule a party/get-together for us blogger types and the new Democratic leadership of the Michigan House. Well, I'm pleased to report that connections have been made, calendars checked, and a location selected. Therefore...
Come meet the new Democratic leaders of the Michigan House of Representatives!
Speaker-Elect Andy Dillon (D-Redford)
House Majority Floor Leader-Elect Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit)
Thursday, December 7, 2006
6:30PM-7:30PM
Livingston County Democratic Party Headquarters
10321 E. Grand River, Suite 600
Brighton, MI
Come find out more about Democratic agenda for the coming session, and offer your questions or comments.
RSVP not necessary, but it would be nice (to help us get an idea of how many folks to expect) if you would send an email to news@michiganliberal.com if you plan to attend.
Thanks again to Reps. Dillon and Tobocman for taking the initiative on setting this up - and Kathy and Joe Carney for making Livingston Co. HQ available to us. Everyone, please try to make it if you can. Directions below the fold.
I've
never actually met soon-to-be State House Speaker Andy Dillon in
person, but folks close to me who have seem to think highly of him. Rep. Dillon does have a user account here at
Michlib - and he posted a quick comment here earlier in the year during
the debate over repealing the Single Business Tax (read it here).
Here's what I like about Rep. Dillon: I like the fact that he took a
strong public stance against repealing the Single Business Tax without
a replacement. The fact that Rep. Dillon also was not the choice of the
UAW and Jon Stryker (according to MIRS) is frankly a plus in my book. Nothing against
either of them, but having a speaker who is perceived to be his own
person puts him in a stronger position politically. He was apparently also the
Governor's favorite choice - and some might say that should be held against
him (separation of powers, etc.). I'm not among them. We've got more
important things to do that have the Governor and the Dem leadership in
the House mired in internal party squabbles (as has been the case in
the past). Hopefully having a like-minded Speaker and Governor will
curtail this.
I don't like the fact that Rep. Dillon is opposed to abortion rights
and embryonic stem cell research. But according to yesterday's Gongwer newsletter, he says he will not block a measure that would lift the stem cell
research ban. I haven't heard what his plans vis-a-vis abortion are,
but I would be quite surprised if he tried to do anything on that
either. Why would he - knowing that it'll ultimately be vetoed by
Governor Granholm? The Republicans love to raise abortion questions as
a way to rally their base and make the Governor bad. But for Rep.
Dillon, raising these issues would be damaging, a distraction, and
ultimately futile. If he isn't smart enough to realize this, I've
misjudged him.
The other main rub against Rep. Dillon put forward here seems to be that he's a sellout,
a Republican wannabe, etc. For sure, only time will tell on this. I
certainly hope that 's not the case. However, his strong stance against
the unfunded repeal of the Single Business Tax gives me encouragement.
While certain other members of the House Democratic caucus quickly lined up
against the wall to vote with Dick DeVos on this issue, Dillon was not
among them. If he was truly the DINO some here would make him out to
be, I certainly would not have expected him to come out as one of the
leading opponents of the unfunded $1.9 billion business tax cut.
Of course, all of this is just reading of tea leaves on my part. I
could be completely wrong. Dillon could wind up being a terrible
Speaker and sell us all up the river. That would be the worst case
scenario. I don't think that will happen, but one never knows.
There is a best case scenario here, though, and that's what I'm holding out for.
It's that - as the favorite candidate of the so-called moderate and
conservative members of the caucus - Dillon may be more effective at
holding them - and the caucus - together when it really counts.
If a candidate from the left had won, they probably would have had a
much harder time doing this - and would no doubt have spent
considerable time and energy worrying about how to appease the right
flank. Hopefully, Dillon can avoid this as he shepherds the Governor's
initiatives through the House.
I am particularly hopeful that Dillon can unite people around economic
and budgetary issues - which seem to be his area of expertise, and the
area where there is the widest agreement among Dems. In Michigan right
now, it's also where our biggest needs are.
The reality here is that many of the members of the Democratic caucus
in the House are conventionally-labeled as moderates or conservatives.
And yes, some are against abortion rights. Yet without them, Democrats
would still be in the minority in the House. Conversely, the so-called
moderates and conservatives should never forget that without the
so-called liberals and progressives, Democrats would ALSO be in the
minority. Such is the bane of a party that still allows divergent
opinions within its ranks: we actually have to learn how to live with
one another.
The die is cast. Andy Dillon will be the next Speaker of the Michigan
House. We can either work with him or be bitter and vindictive - and
really, who wants that? Congratulations, Mr. Speaker. We have lots of
work to do. Now let's get to it.
