Skyscrapers for large corporations and new arenas for wealthy owners of pro sports teams? The Detroit City Council has you covered. But if you want to live, work, visit or send your kids to school in the city, your endeavor is very difficult.
Detroit has the highest property and income taxes in Michigan. It has arguably the worst regulatory system in the state, creating high energy costs, a $400 “awning tax,” an $1,800 valet fee and restaurant startup costs four-and-half times more expensive than New York City. And Detroit imposes licensing rules above and beyond what the state requires, tacking on fees and regulations for landscapers, window washers, movers, sign erectors and people in other skilled trades.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4705, Teach proper traffic stop actions in drivers ed: Passed 109 to 0 in the House
To require drivers education courses to teach what to do when pulled over by a law enforcement officer.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
House Bill 4528, Include EMTs in impaired doctor program: Passed 107 to 1 in the House
By Kahryn Riley
A law that takes effect next month adds a handful of new crimes to the list of offenses for which violators must reimburse the state or a local unit of government for expenses incurred responding to and prosecuting the crime. Such crimes as drunk driving and violating a restraining order have carried this requirement and now retail fraud, dealing in stolen goods and failure to appear in court will, too.
Illinois has promised $129 billion more to government workers than it has saved for their pensions. That’s over $10,000 for every man, woman and child in the Land of Lincoln. So the state has cooked up a scheme to pay down these costs.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page summarizes it this way:
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4787, Revise personal data details on ice shanties: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
To revise the requirement that ice fishing shanties must have the owner’s name and address affixed to each side, by allowing either the owner's drivers license number or fishing license number instead. Also, to allow the Department of Natural Resources to determine the date each year when shanties must be removed from the ice based on actual weather and ice conditions. Current law sets fixed removal dates.
It’s Groundhog Day and Traverse City is closely imitating the plot of the movie of the same name by moving forward with a plan for a government-owned and -operated internet service provider. This despite the fact that similar attempts have failed time after time in other cities across the country.
Under Michigan law, people with a criminal record are severely limited or banned from working in health care professions. But a package of bills recently taken up in the state House would help more ex-offenders rehabilitate themselves back into society by finding legal work.
By Ben DeGrow
Editor’s note: This article has been revised since its original publication to reflect the budget proposal put forth by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Twice this month, the drum has sounded for more dollars to fund Michigan’s public schools. As of now, we don’t know where the extra funds would come from, but there’s every reason to doubt more money will have any significant impact on student achievement.
State lawmakers created new business subsidy programs last year. This new taxpayer spending will have little effect on the state economy and will not likely justify its costs. This is because politicians cannot keep up with the massive dynamic job loss and job creation that occurs outside of Lansing’s watch.
Rock Ventures founder and chairman Dan Gilbert made a valid observation in response to Amazon’s decision to exclude Detroit and other Michigan bids from its short list of cities contending for its HQ2 project: “The fact is, nobody outside of Amazon knows exactly all of the factors that went into this complicated decision.”
By Jack McHugh
Senate Bill 749, Increase child care income tax credit: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate
To establish that an individual is entitled to claim the same child care tax credit against Michigan income tax as the credit authorized by the 2017 federal tax reform law. This is a means-tested credit that is based on a percentage of child care expenses that are related to the taxpayer having a job (up to $6,000, or $3,000 if there is just one dependent). The credit would not be "refundable" (meaning the taxpayer would not get a check from the state for the amount the credit exceeded their income tax liability).
By Jason Hayes
In her Jan. 21, 2018, critique of my Detroit News op-ed, “State Needs Sound Energy Regulations,” Liesl Clark, president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, attempted to justify keeping Michigan’s recently expanded renewable portfolio standard. Her critique misrepresented my basic claims and wrongly argued that renewable energy is competitive, yet still deserves special government favors to force people to choose it over other options.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is pleased to announce that it is adding three new members to its Board of Scholars. This group of academics and business leaders supports and contributes to the Center’s mission of improving the quality of life in Michigan through high-quality, public policy research that promotes the benefits of free markets, limited government and the rule of law. They will be joining 47 other Board of Scholar members, rounding out the Board to an even 50. The three new scholars have distinct and diverse experiences in media, academia, law and public policy. They are profiled below.
By Kahryn Riley
The Michigan House of Representatives recently passed a bill to protect personal electronic data, with nearly unanimous support.
The House Bill 4430 would “prohibit state agencies, local governments and their employees from assisting or providing material support to a federal agency in collecting electronic data or metadata concerning any person, except with a warrant (or under a legally recognized exception to a warrant) or with an individual’s informed consent.”
By Kahryn Riley
Most people are aware that the Michigan legal system uses bail requirements to bolster public safety and ensure that criminal defendants make their court dates. But they may not know how it perpetuates inequalities in the system, keeping legally innocent people behind bars because they can’t make bail.
In his final State of the State address, Gov. Snyder is expected to spend a lot of time talking about jobs: how Michigan lost them, how it regained some of them and what we should do to create more. But there’s one important aspect of this discussion that shouldn’t be overlooked: working adults with criminal records.
By Ben DeGrow
For the eighth straight year, National School Choice Week shines a light through the midwinter gloom by bringing people together to celebrate the importance of providing students and families with a wide variety of educational options. The stretch of January 21-27, 2018, is slated to feature more than 32,000 National School Choice Week events across the nation, including a Tuesday celebration in the Michigan Capitol rotunda that still has room for those who wish to attend.
By Jack McHugh
Senate Bill 748, Increase Michigan income tax personal exemption: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate
To increase the $4,000 personal exemption that is currently allowed under the Michigan state income tax. The bill would immediately increase it to $4,500, and then gradually to $4,700 by 2020, which with inflation adjustments is projected to be worth around $5,000 by then. Taxpayers can claim a personal exemption for themselves, their spouse and each dependent, and these are subtracted from the amount of income that is subject to income tax.
States have seen Medicaid costs skyrocket over the last decade as the program has expanded to cover many more individuals than originally intended. But new guidance from the federal government gives states the flexibility to innovate in administering the program amid budget-busting health care obligations.
By Jack McHugh
Senate Bill 702, Prohibit school districts from discriminating against charter schools: Passed 60 to 47 in the House
To expand the definition of “deed restriction” in a 2017 law that prohibits a school district or local government from refusing to sell property to a competing charter or private school. The bill would close a loophole that the Detroit school district has used in refusing to sell a shuttered primary school to a charter.
By Ben DeGrow
The Coston family scrapes together funds to pay the monthly bill to send their children to Calvary Baptist Academy. They love the school's challenging academics and emphasis on faith and character.
"Our family has needed to make some really big sacrifices, because we believe this is important," said Nate, father of three. "And so we're basically going to do whatever it takes."
The most popular Uber destination in Michigan in 2017 was the student bar Scorekeepers in Ann Arbor. The app makes it very easy for students to order a car when traveling over a mile from Michigan Stadium on game day.
But if it were up to the city council in Ann Arbor, the service would be banned or regulated to the point of ineffectiveness. The evidence suggests this would mean more students involved in alcohol-related car crashes.
There is a lot of pressure to underfund pensions, and the promises that guarantee them, whether moral or constitutional, are only as strong as the money that is set aside to pay for them.
In researching the history of some state business subsidies, I came across some talking points from a 2003 speech by former Gov. Jennifer Granholm at a Delphi plant (now Nexteer) in Saginaw. She made this point:
In Michigan alone, about 4 million people have some type of criminal record and 50,000 more people are convicted of a felony every year. Another 10,000 are released from prison each year back into our communities.
A state’s criminal justice system is driven in large part by the laws on its books and how it polices its citizens to enforce those laws. But it’s also important to consider how state policies affect how those people are treated after they pay the penalty for their crimes. Mike Jandernoa is the former CEO and board chair of Perrigo, a pharmaceutical company in West Michigan. In a recent essay for Fox News, he made a strong case for “Why hiring people with criminal records benefits us all.”
Michigan businesses and residents continue to produce more and employ more people, and the economic well-being of residents increased in 2017.
The available economic data that has been released so far is optimistic, though much of the information about the state’s 2017 performance won’t be released until later in the year.
