MI Political Week in Review

It is spring break for our lawmakers in Lansing, and despite a budget that remains unbalanced, and a looming July 1st budget deadline, most legislators are off in their districts stumping the campaign trail. So not much legislation will be moving in the next two weeks, but here at Michigan LCV the show must go on!

STATE

State Legislature:

• The Senate passed bipartisan legislation last Thursday, March 25th, allowing Michigan residents to pay ten dollars for an annual state park pass as part of their license plate renewal fee. The new legislation actually lowers park entrance fees for Michigan residents, and legislators hope it will attract more in-state visitors to Michigan parks. Despite residents’ option to “opt-out” of the fee, the new system is expected to raise sorely needed revenue for the state parks. "The new funding plan will allow us to begin the much-needed repairs to our state parks," said Senator Patty Birkholtz, who championed the bill.
• On Thursday March 25th the legislature passed HB 5880, which approves $9.5 million in 2010 to fund the “Pure Michigan” ad campaign. The funding was agreed upon just in time for the ads to begin running in May, in time for the summer tourism season. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on additional legislation that would have approved $13 million more for the campaign through a tax on rental cars. Without the additional funding, the Pure Michigan ads will only be broadcast in Midwestern states.
• Critics continue to slam Rep. Dan Scripps’ HB 5319, which would place Michigan’s groundwater in the public trust (to be protected by the government, for the public good). Unfortunately, the Great Lakes Compact of 2008, which offers provisions to protect our surface water, does not mandate protections for our groundwater.

Race for Governor:

Recent news coverage of the gubernatorial race reveals that there may be more agreement across party lines than within parties. Democratic candidates Virg Bernero and Andy Dillon disagreed over health care reforms yesterday, while Dillon and Republican candidate Pete Hoekstra seemed to find a good deal of common ground during a presentation at Detroit Country Day School on March 20th. The race is still young but it’s never too early to get to know your candidates! You can find an overview of each candidate’s position on political reform here.

And here’s some polling for the week:

Among Dems: A Rasmussen Reports (IVR) poll; conducted 3/24; surveyed 541 Dem primary LVs; margin of error +/- 4.2% (release, 3/30). Tested: Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero (D), state House Speaker Andy Dillon (D) and '02 LG candidate/state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D).

Primary Election Matchup

A. Dillon 12%

A. Wheeler Smith 10

V. Bernero 8

Other 17

Undec 53



Fav/Unfav

A. Dillon 27%/14%

V. Bernero 24 /13

A. Wheeler Smith 22 /13

And Republicans: A Rasmussen Reports (IVR) poll; conducted 3/24; surveyed 662 GOP primary LVs; margin of error +/- 3.8% (release, 3/30). Tested: Oakland Co. Sheriff Mike Bouchard (R), AG Mike Cox (R), Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-02) and venture capitalist Rick Snyder (R).

Primary Election Matchup

P. Hoekstra 27%

R. Snyder 18

M. Cox 13

M. Bouchard 6

Other 5

Undec 32



Fav/Unfav

P. Hoekstra 54%/13%

M. Cox 45 /23

R. Synder 40 /14

M. Bouchard 37 /19

But it's only April 2nd, and the majority of Michiganders remain undecided; it’s still anybody’s race!

And around Michigan:

Wind farms are coming to Michigan! Five areas have been identified by the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council around the state as ideal locations for producing wind power. The areas are still being studied, but these new wind farms could contribute substantially to Michigan meeting its RPS standard.

Former Green Jobs advisor in the Obama White House Van Jones was in Detroit last Thursday, delivering a message of hope to our struggling city.

FEDERAL

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation released new “clean car” fuel efficiency standards yesterday, requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from light cars and trucks. The EPA also laid out a rather generous timeline last week, detailing when large stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions (such as power plants) would be required to obtain permits for GHG emissions. Permits will not be required until January of 2011, to give industrial complexes a chance to prepare for the stricter GHG regulations.

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