If you think the rule of law and fiscal responsibility are key components to growing economic prosperity in Michigan, you probably don’t often look to Illinois for new policy ideas. But there’s at least one lesson Michigan could borrow from the Land of Lincoln: full electricity choice. A recent study from the Compete Coalition estimates that electricity consumers in Illinois saved $41.3 billion from 1999 to 2014 as a result of the state opening up its electricity markets. The state now features the lowest electricity prices in the Midwest.
Lawmakers in Lansing have been debating a series of bills aimed at increasing the amount of money available to repair Michigan roads. The House plan, which passed in late October, would provide $1.2 billion to repair roads by raising fuel and vehicle registration taxes to the tune of $600 million over time, and dedicating $600 million over time from increasing income tax collections.
There was welcome news recently as the Communist ruling party in China announced that it would loosen restrictions on the number of children couples are allowed to have. For 35 years, most people were limited to having only one child.
China instituted the policy in 1979 as a “temporary measure” to curb its population and, according to the Associated Press, to “limit the demands for water and other resources.” The AP adds, “The government credits the one-child policy with preventing 400 million births and helping lift countless families out of poverty by easing the strain on the country's limited resources.”
With the right tools and the right people, sound government can be an achievable goal. Consider the case of the Traverse Area District Library. About 10 years ago, during the housing boom, the library was flush with cash. That sounds like a desirable problem, but it was not.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
House Bill 4195, Limit some government “venture capital investment” spending: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate
By Kahryn Riley
On Oct. 27, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee met in Lansing for a hearing on two bills that address an aspect of overcriminalization that has been the subject of many Mackinac Center studies and commentaries, namely, the failure of criminal statutes to specify a culpable mental state for the commission of a crime. The bills were Senate Bill 20, sponsored by Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and House Bill 4713, sponsored by Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan.
The school pension system is in dire need of reform. It owes school employees and retirees $26.5 billion — 13 times more than the state owes its general obligation bondholders. Yet some policymakers think that they have already solved the problem with changes to the system made in 2010 and 2012. What has happened since shows why the state needs to get out of the defined-benefit pension business entirely.
By Jack McHugh
Both the Michigan House and Senate have included a provision in their competing road funding proposals to cut the state income tax in 2019, but only if the amount of revenue deposited in the state general fund increases at a rate faster than inflation.
REI recently announced it will be closed on Black Friday this year. The outdoor retail chain says it is encouraging its 12,000 employees from 143 locations to make a new tradition of spending time outside that day rather than shopping.
In years past, like many other retailers, REI offered customers special deals the day after Thanksgiving. But now, REI is hoping to capitalize on the idea that a lot of people are turned off by holiday shopping around Thanksgiving. It launched an #OPTOUTSIDE campaign, encouraging the public to upload personal photos of their outdoor adventures or use photos provided by REI to try to convince others to spend Black Friday at a lookout spot rather than a check out line.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
House Bill 4738, Increase gas and diesel tax: Passed 56 to 50 in the House
To increase the state gasoline and diesel taxes to 22.3 cents per gallon starting Oct. 1, 2018, and after that index the amount to inflation. The current gas and diesel tax rates are 19 cents and 15 cents per gallon, respectively. The bill would increase the diesel tax to 19 cents on Oct. 1, 2017.
Last night, the state House passed a road funding package that will raise $600 million in new revenues to help fund road repair and improvements. An additional $600 million for roads would be redirected over time from the state’s income tax.
While not ideal, this plan is better than the one the state came up with earlier this year when it tried to extract $2.0 billion from taxpayers via Proposal 1. The reader will recall that the proposal failed by a historic 80-20 margin. The new revenues from tax and fee increases expected to be generated by the yesterday’s House bill amount to only half of what Gov. Rick Snyder has long wanted. The entire package would be completely phased in by 2021.
With a high number of drivers exceeding the posted speed limits on Michigan interstates and rural highways, one has to wonder why anyone would oppose legalizing higher speeds. For insight, look no further than the five hours of testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on House Bills 4423 to 4427 given on Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13. The bills modify speed limits on roads to reflect what is known as the 85th percentile, or the speed not exceeded by 85 percent of drivers.
Opponents of electricity choice make two common arguments against injecting more competition in the energy industry: it will lead to higher prices and it will decrease investment in new energy generation. Fortunately, data are available to assess each of these claims, and a recent report by the Compete Coalition, a group of hundreds of electricity stakeholders, does just that.
Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law a package of bills that institutes new limits on how civil asset forfeiture is conducted and reported.
The new laws increase the standard for a forfeiture from a preponderance of the evidence to the more stringent clear and convincing standard. They also require greater disclosure from law enforcement agencies about the property and profits from seizures.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
Senate Bill 103, Reduce “student growth” portion of teacher rating criteria: Passed 97 to 8 in the House
A common refrain heard from policymakers is that there is no extra money in the budget for roads, or for most any other priority. Michigan’s continued economic growth, however, has in fact resulted in extra cash available to meet the Legislature’s spending priorities.
There has been abundant interest in the topic of civil forfeiture in Michigan recently. The Mackinac Center first published a study on this issue in the late 1990s, but we have highlighted the problems with this policy more in recent years.
Last year, Michigan Capitol Confidential broke several stories about state residents who had their property seized for over a year before being charged with a crime. The news service also highlighted stories about people losing their property without law enforcement ever pursuing charges. This year, we talked to legislators, hosted events, debated, teamed up with allies, pointed out polling and published a new study.
Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center, recently co-authored an op-ed with Elizabeth Stelle, director of policy analysis at the Commonwealth Foundation, on the unintended consequences of high cigarette taxes.
Although the Mackinac Center focuses on overcriminalization issues at the state level, Michigan is not alone in the fight to clarify and condense crimes. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently published an op-ed in Salt Lake City’s Deseret News, recommending federal reforms highly reminiscent of the Mackinac Center’s suggestions for Michigan criminal law.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
House Bill 4505, Increase civil asset forfeiture burden of proof: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
The state’s most potent power is the ability to penalize a person for crimes committed. Thus, the manner in which the state administers that responsibility is a fundamental issue of liberty.
The fiscal component is of concern as well; every year Michigan’s corrections budget consumes nearly 2 billion state taxpayer dollars. The business community, always interested in a talented and vibrant workforce, recognizes the value of training and societal assimilation for former inmates. Finally, it is appropriate to evaluate how free-market solutions can improve the efficiency of the justice system.
On Oct. 7, the Michigan Senate unanimously passed a package of bills to limit civil asset forfeiture and require more disclosure from police when property is seized.
The Mackinac Center has worked on the issue of civil asset forfeiture for years, and recently published a study with the ACLU of Michigan detailing its abuses.
As bills to reform civil asset forfeiture work through the Michigan Legislature, the Mackinac Center has voiced strong support, both for the reforms, and for going further by eliminating of forfeiture altogether.
Jarrett Skorup, a policy analyst at the Mackinac Center and author of the study "Civil Forfeiture," co-authored an op-ed with Jorge Marin of Americans for Tax Reform on the benefits of civil forfeiture reform and what the political right should support major changes. That op-ed was recently published in MLive:
Civil asset forfeiture, the process of law enforcement confiscating private property without charging its owner with a crime, is running rampant in Michigan today. Current law provides little in the way of oversight for or limits on its use, but a package of bills awaiting a vote in the Senate would provide transparency and some limits on its use.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
House Bill 4193, Allow electronic "proof of insurance" for drivers: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate
