Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and the Snyder Budget Proposal are now under the spotlight, particularly as Snyder seeks to avoid protests like in Wisconsin, here in Michigan’s Capital Lansing.
The Michigan Republican legislature has been loaded with 39 bills they are shot gunning, Wisconsin-style through the Republican controlled Legislature.
Just in case you don’t get it yet, this is NOT about just the collective bargaining and unions, its ALL ABOUT 2012 and national party politics, the troubles in many States be damned.
Welcome to the Republican Party National laboratory for US States, Newt Gingrich to the Republican Governor Association:
The challenge for us is to turn rejection of the left into replacement of the left.
Washington is trapped in obsolete policies, regulations and ideologies.
However, in your states, you will have an opportunity to provide creative leadership and to organize innovative, creative citizens in new models of solutions appropriate to the age of the iPhone, iPad, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, Google and text messaging.
America will transform much faster in the 50 state laboratories of citizen-led government than in the centralized, bureaucratic, interest group dominated system of Washington.
We need your leadership in creating experiments of modernization and transformation.
As Governors, you have an opportunity to lead your states in transformational change while Washington is held captive by the reactionary interest groups, ideology and bureaucracies of the past.
List of Michigan Wisconsin-Style Legislation and more below...
Cross posted from Blogging for Michigan.
Currently in Michigan State Legislature Committees:
No nice way to put this, so here is one of the lists of legislation (individual bills, accept for the Emergency Financial Management or EFM 'package') that is flying around out there, this one by the Michigan AFL-CIO:
* The membership of board of trustees of certain police and fire retirement systems; make a prohibited subject of bargaining.
* Repeals item pricing laws.
* Prohibit promulgation of rules for ergonomics in the workplace.
* Repeals PA 312 Police and Fire Arbitration.
* Requires emergency financial manager provision to approve, modify, reject or terminate a public employee collective bargaining agreement.
HB4124 - HB4128 (Emergency Financial Management or EFM Package):
* Give emergency financial manager power to Terminate collective bargaining agreements.
* Override approval of collective bargaining agreement.
* Remove elected officials from office and ban them from running for office for 6 years.
* Dissolve political structures such as councils, commissions and school boards.
* Force consolidation of services in schools, townships, cities and counties.
* Repeals the sunset on the 3% public worker contribution to pension
* Repeals prevailing wage act.
* Removes prevailing wage on public construction projects.
* Removes prevailing wage on school projects.
* Repeals prevailing wage on state projects.
* Require public employer to pay no more than 75% of the cost of family health care plan; 80% if single.
* Create right-to-work zones.
* Freeze wages; no steps; pass health care costs on to public workers.
* Teacher tenure to be based on evaluation of teacher effectiveness; provide for, and allow for additional probationary period.
* Creates school district services consolidation commission to make recommendations for orders on consolidation of school services.
* Public Employee Health Care - Creates health care plan for all public workers; eliminates collective bargaining.
* Removes collective bargaining rights for health care for public employees; Allows legislature to control.
* Mandates a 5% pay reduction for all public workers.
* Repeal of Michigan Health and Safety Act.
* Definition of public employee; clarify regarding recognition of union based on receipt of government subsidy or interlocal agreement.
* Require public employees to pay no less than 20% of the cost of health care plan; 10% if HSA.
* A resolution to call upon the Governor to work to impose an immediate hiring freeze within state government.
* A resolution to call upon the Governor to work to impose an immediate freeze on all state employee compensation, including all wages, for a period of 3 years.
* Prohibit paying union officials for conducting union business.
* Right-to Work Zones.
* Removes cap on charter schools. (anti-MEA action)
* Taxpayer funded equipment and facilities cannot be used for union or political activities (shut down all activities).
* Government cannot mandate participation in health care plan.
Looks familiar right? But there's a twist...
Oh, but wait, loaded INSIDE the budget related bills in Wisconsin we find this:
"Here's something you might not know. Buried inside Walker's 144-page budget repair bill are 10 lines. They don't directly deal with state workers, unions, or contracts. Still, controversy is already heating up over what it could mean for a couple of out-of-state billionaires.
(Break)
In 2010, Koch's political action committee gave Governor Walker's campaign $43,000 its second largest contribution.
(Break)
Well, to save money, the Governor's controversial budget bill would allow the state to "sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without the solicitation of bids."
This is corruption in it’s purest form, brought to you by Citizen United ruling and the take over of all politics by third parties, like the Koch brothers.
Oh, but that is Wisconsin...
Say, anyone read Chapter 2A of the draft Michigan Business Tax Reform Bill yet? With its deals for Insurance companies?
CHAPTER 2A
208.235 Insurance companies; tax payment; determination; direct premiums; exceptions; tax in lieu of privilege or franchise fees or taxes; nonapplicability of tax to MCL 500.4601 to 500.4673 and MCL 500.4701 to 500.4747.
(1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (4), each insurance company shall pay a tax determined under this chapter.
(4) The tax imposed and levied under this act does not apply to an insurance company authorized under chapter 46 or 47 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.4601 to 500.4673, and MCL 500.4701 to 500.4747.
What else is in this pile of paper in Lansing? What other goods are Michigan citizens giving away? Who knows? The folks who wrote do, and guess what? They aren’t here in Michigan.
These were provided by the Mackinac/Heritage Center which was established by Dow Chemical and the Insurance industry in 1987, the same year the founding of the “Wisconsin Policy Research Institute”, also subsidiaries of the Heritage Foundation and AEI.
So, for any of you that think Michigan isn’t Wisconsin, think again, and get out your winter boots, signs and gloves.
Good News - these fights will be in every city hall and school board in the state, so you won’t have to drive to Lansing. Bad News - We are next.