By Tim Hughes
Michigan AFL-CIO Legislative Director

LANSING - Partisan politics hit the fan in the closing days of the 2001 legislative session as Republican lawmakers and the Governor attacked voting rights and Democratic campaign sources. And, the Senate failed to take action on raising unemployment benefits. Here's how the deal went down.

Straight Party Voting - Michigan voters have had the option of voting a
straight-party ticket for more than 100 years. But not any more, under the
terms of SB 173. Touted as election "reform" by Republicans, the bill was
a thinly disguised attempt to suppress the vote among Democratic
constituencies, particularly African-American and Latino voters in urban
areas.

The Michigan Association of County Clerks (an organization dominated by
elected Republican clerks) voted almost unanimously against the proposal,
calling it "bad public policy." The clerks told a Senate Committee that the
bill would increase voting time, create longer lines at polling places,
discourage and reduce voter participation, make it more difficult for senior
citizens to cast their ballots and result in a fall-off of voting on the
non-partisan portion of the ballot.

The bill was passed on (what else?) a straight party vote in the House, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. In the Senate, Republican Mike Goschka of Saginaw joined with Democrats against the bill. The bill is now on the governor's desk, where he is expected to sign it.

Unemployment Insurance benefit raise fails in Senate - Efforts to force a bill out of committee that would have raised the maximum unemployment benefit failed in the Senate on a largely party-line vote.

Republicans Mike Goschka of Brant and Joe Schwarz of Battle Creek joined with a solid Democratic caucus in trying to discharge SB 923 from the Human Resources and Labor Committee.

The bill would boost the state's maximum unemployment benefit, which has
been frozen since 1995 at $300 a week, to 58% of the state's average weekly
wage. The bill would raise the current maximum by $114.39 a week.

Bill sponsor Sen. Alma Wheeler-Smith (D-Salem Township), said it was
"unconscionable" that benefits had been capped at $300 a week for six years
while businesses have received six consecutive UI tax cuts because of the
huge surplus in the UI Trust Fund that pays benefits. Business groups have
conditioned their support of a benefit increase on the establishment of a so-called "waiting week," which would actually cut benefits for most unemployed
workers.

Prevailing wage footnote: The state's most important law that affects construction workers - the Michigan Prevailing Wage Act - "seems to be in good shape," Hughes said.

There is nearly always a bill on the Republican agenda to repeal the prevailing wage act, and at the end of 2001, there was such a bill on the books that never went anywhere during the year. Even with total Republican control in Lansing, there has not been a vote on repealing prevailing wage - because, Hughes said, there still aren't enough votes.

"The vote would be very close in the Senate, but there are still half a dozen Republicans who won't support it in the House," Hughes said.

Legislation to outlaw living wage ordinances in local communities has also been unsuccessful, Hughes said, in good part because the bill has been written so broadly that there is an effective argument that it could also be used to repeal prevailing wage. Local lawmakers that establish living wage laws require employers who have businesses in those communities to pay their employees a base amount higher than minimum wage, as a "living wage."

Moreover, Hughes said Republican moves to exempt or separate prevailing wage in order to try and repeal living wage have been quashed by ultra-conservative Republicans in Lansing. Hughes said they are apparently of the opinion that exempting prevailing wage adds legitimacy to the law - something that they are not willing to give.

Reduced campaign dollars - Republicans rammed through on the closing days of last year's session SB 759, a bill that places limits on a campaign contribution practice known as bundling.

Groups that support causes solicit direct contributions from their members for candidates who support their causes, and then send those checks to the endorsed candidates.

Passed by the Republican-controlled House on a party-line vote, the legislation would subject groups like Emily's List and similar organizations to a $34,000 contribution limit for bundled contributions in addition to the $34,000 limit on direct contributions that applies to unions, corporations and other organizations.

Emily's List is credited with raising $1 million for Democratic United States Senator Debbie Stabenow in her successful campaign to unseat former Republican Senator Spencer Abraham last year. Both the straight party voting elimination and the bundling restrictions were passed this year so that they could give an edge to the Republicans in the 2002 elections.