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A new proposal from the Michigan House of Representatives would allow the Michigan Department of Corrections to hire ex-offenders. Research suggests that the more difficult it is for ex-offenders to find legal employment, the more likely they are to reoffend. This proposal could provide a lifeline for an offender who is trying to turn his life around — something lawmakers should keep in mind when considering the bill.

Senate Bill 119, Transfer prison property to NMU for forensic anthropology: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate

To transfer a piece of unfenced Marquette state prison land to Northern Michigan University, which will use it for a new forensic anthropology program. This is a field whose techniques are useful in crime and disaster investigations.

I’ll be at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Detroit Policy Conference today.

I’m especially interested in the panel “Strengthening Detroit: Partners in Economic Development.” With Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, city Planning Director Maurice Cox and vice presidents from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and Detroit Regional Chamber on the panel, it’ll be up to moderator Stephen Henderson from the Detroit Free Press to bring any skepticism to the discussion about the value of command-and-control “economic development” programs for the people of Detroit. As we’ve pointed out time and again, broad-based economic liberty drives economic growth more than targeted subsidies to politically connected developers.

In the push to offer new school employees a 401(k)-type retirement package, the most common response by those opposing the idea has been some variation of the question, “Why should teachers not receive pensions when politicians do?” But state policymakers and their staff do not receive pensions or health care once out of office.

The Environmental Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy will attempt to answer three key questions with its work. They are:

Six basic principles will guide EPI’s research, writing and policy suggestions as we attempt to answer these questions.

In a statement explaining why he voted against a bill to slightly lower income tax rates over time, Rep. Chris Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids Township, remarked, “This plan will jeopardize our state’s bond rating and will create a structural deficit in the general fund of over $2 billion by 2022.” However, Michigan’s budget picture is rosier than he suggests: Revenues have grown and are growing. Michigan can afford a modest tax cut.

The Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union and second-largest union in the state, is listed by one union watcher as one of the most financially precarious across the nation.

Mike Antonucci, who writes about unions at the one-man Education Intelligence Agency, notes that the MEA is shedding members and facing huge financial liabilities. Antonucci writes this about Michigan’s NEA affiliate:

House Republicans have faced some unfair opposition to their plan to lower the state income tax, with assertions that the state budget can’t afford it. Yet the amount of state spending from state-levied taxes has grown $5.8 billion over the past six years.

The first legislative hearing on a labor reform idea first championed by the Mackinac Center will take place tomorrow, and Mackinac’s Director of Labor Policy F. Vincent Vernuccio will be there to testify.

Missouri’s House Committee on Economic Development, chaired by Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, will consider a bill to bring the nation’s first Worker’s Choice law into being. The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve Helms, R-Springfield, would allow unionized employees to opt out of union contracts and represent themselves before their employers.

Editor’s note: A version of this appeared in the Detroit Free Press on Feb. 23, 2017 as a “letter to the editor.”

In his recent State of the City address, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan worried about a lack of workers in Detroit and said he wants to launch jobs programs to connect people to work. But there is an easier way for the city to help people find employment: Get out of the way.

Editor's Note: A version of this article ran in The Detroit News on February 22, 2017.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, Michigan’s electric utility executives warned us that upcoming closures of coal-fired generation plants meant the state faced impending electricity shortfalls. This is mostly because coal plants are closing as a result of increasingly strict federal environmental regulations, like the Clean Power Plan.

House Bill 4001, Cut state income tax rate by 0.2 percent: Failed 52 to 55 in the House

To cut the state income tax rate from the current 4.25 percent to 4.05 percent over two years. The tax could go down another .15 percent later but only if the state rainy day fund is allowed to exceed $1 billion. Twelve Republicans voted 'no' and one Democrat voted 'yes.'

Over seven years ago, Michigan passed a law calling for teachers to be paid based on performance. The law has been largely ignored, despite evidence that the old compensation system doesn’t work.

The traditional way of paying teachers according to seniority and academic credentials does not benefit student learning. Research has shown that having a teacher with a master’s degree offers a student no advantages. A Brookings Institution report calls it “one of the most consistent findings in education research.” Yet in Michigan, hundreds of millions of dollars go to funding these “master’s bumps” rather than recognizing teachers for merit.

One state may be getting wise to the fact that government-funded tourism promotion is a bad bet for taxpayers and do away with two state agencies tasked with economic development and tourism promotion.

Recently, Florida House’s Careers and Competition subcommittee voted in favor of a bill that would end Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida. Those government entities are similar to the Pure Michigan advertising campaign and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, respectively.

Editor's Note: This piece was originally published by The Hill on February 22, 2017.

Taxes matter.

People change their behavior based on incentives and higher taxes create a strong motivation to find ways to avoid paying them. Just look at cigarettes.

While the goal of many who wish to raise taxes on cigarettes is noble — improving public health — new research confirms what decades of previous studies have shown: much of the decline in legal paid sales of cigarettes is due not to people kicking the habit, but to an increase in smuggling.

A former marketing boss for the Sunshine State’s tourism promotion bureau criticized our Feb. 7 op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times titled “Visit Florida not critical to state’s economy or tourism.” Our column was based on the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s recent study of state-level tourism promotion that analyzed data from 48 states over 39 years.

While Michigan strongly protects people from eminent domain, there are still cases where governments violate the private property rights of citizens. A bill introduced in the House would provide remedies when the state goes too far.

While the practice of government taking private property for “public use” has been allowed since the founding of America, public entities started to expand their definition of the term toward the end of the 20th century. After the Kelo case, where a town took a woman's home to give to a private business for "economic development," citizens across the nation pushed back by passing dozens of constitutional amendments limiting the practice. Michigan passed its own amendment in 2006.

The Michigan House Republicans have released their action plan, which contains their goals for the legislative body for the next two years. Overall, it is very good, as most of the recommendations would lessen the scope and power of state government.

Below are some highlights from the plan, each followed by a commentary.

Some officials have argued lately that the state will see the benefits of new projects — which they label “transformational” — only if taxpayers hand out more in subsidies through measures such as Senate Bill 111 and its companions. But plenty of development is built without direct taxpayer support.

The Michigan Senate has advanced legislation that amounts to handing taxpayer cash over to well-connected developers. According to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, the bills would transfer up to $1.8 billion from regular taxpayers to these special interests over the next 20 years.

No bills of general interest were voted on by the full House or Senate this week, which is not unusual for this point in a new legislature. Appropriations committee members have been receiving detailed briefings on a proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Editor's Note: This piece was originally published by The Hill on February 7, 2017.

Pam Harris, an Illinois mom who made history as the lead plaintiff in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, has a simple message for President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Price.

The state’s pension fund lost $10 million by investing in a private development deal in Ann Arbor. A diversified pension system ought to make room for some risky investments, but system investors have doubled down on chasing high returns.

MLive.com explains what happened:

(Editor's note: The following is testimony presented to the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee by the Mackinac Center's Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh on Feb. 15, 2017)

In 2007, Michigan’s Legislature approved a “temporary” income tax hike, from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent. The rate was trimmed 0.1 percent in 2012 and made permanent.

The state of Michigan licenses about 160 occupations while cities, like Detroit, require even more. Occupational licensing is the fees, educational coursework, training and exams that governments mandate before someone can legally perform certain jobs. Mackinac Center policy analyst Jarrett Skorup speaks about why licensing laws in the Great Lakes State are so destructive to consumers and the economy.