In this study, the authors consider cigarette smuggling from two angles. First, they employ a statistical model to estimate the degree to which cigarette smuggling occurs in 47 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Second, they review the historical experiences of three states — Michigan, New Jersey and California — known to have problems with cigarette smuggling. The author's findings suggest that state policymakers should reassess the value of cigarette taxes as a revenue and public health tool.

The State should not allow municipal governments to increase public, education and government channel fees when there is no evidence of additional demand.

The Mackinac Center’s brief urges the Michigan Supreme Court to hold that the judiciary need not defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Alternatively, because Michigan courts (unlike federal courts) have not determined that agency rules created through formal adjudication are equivalent to rules created through notice-and-comment rulemaking, the Court could hold simply that there is no judicial deference to rules created through adjudication, leaving aside the question of deference to notice-and-comment rules.

The Michigan Supreme Court decided the case in July 2008. The justices held that the rulings of state agencies should not receive deference from the courts and that the Michigan judiciary hence plays an integral role in reviewing the legality of agency actions. The ruling places a direct check on the power of state agencies to interpret and to act upon laws passed by the Michigan Legislature.

The decision is a landmark in Michigan jurisprudence, particularly since it diverges from federal jurisprudence, which grants almost unlimited power to federal agencies in implementing laws passed by Congress. The court's ruling was substantially in agreement with the arguments presented in this brief.

In this volume, Lawrence W. Reed identifies the root of many of America’s evils today: a failure to recognize that government rests on the use of force. This fundamental feature of government may be a boon when used to protect our individual freedoms, but it is a bane when used to diminish these freedoms in pursuit of a political faction’s idea of a good cause.

Although he has no radio show or nationally syndicated column, Reed, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, is one of the most quietly influential people in the American freedom movement today. It is fitting, then, that this volume draws primarily on his past columns for The Freeman, an unpretentious magazine with a resonant voice that has reached some of America’s most prominent people, including a onetime presidential hopeful named Ronald Reagan. In that tradition of plain speaking, Reed demonstrates that the clarion call of liberty will always find an audience, even in a world clamoring for chains. 97 pages.

The latest privatization initiatives, controversies and news from around the Great Lake State.

Dear Reader:
You will notice that the format for this edition of Michigan Privatization Report has been revised. Around the State is not only our most popular feature, there are so many privatization initiatives to report on that we felt compelled to expand this section. We are still committed to in-depth privatization articles and essays — as you will find in the rest of this issue.
James Hohman
Fiscal Policy Research Assistant