Capitol Chaos, September 18

News of the Day

Public Hearings Continue on HB 5345

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan testified Thursday before a House panel considering House Bill 5345, a proposed mandatory state-run health plan for public employees. Asked if forcing workers into a state-run insurance program would save $900 million, as purported by bill sponsor Rep. Andy Dillon, Flanagan pegged the savings as "between zero and $900 million."

Flanagan told the House Public Employee Health Care Reform Committee that public schools might be able to further cut spending by consolidating services and wringing other efficiencies, though other expert witnesses have questioned the alleged savings in this proposal. Flanagan also told the panel that he didn't want to see his teacher-daughter lose her health benefits -- and, he said, collective bargaining helps public employees.

"I think people would be screwed if they weren't represented by unions," Flanagan told lawmakers.

Brian Morris, a senior consultant at Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co., said based on the information he's seen in the revised white paper, he doesn't have an estimate on the possible savings.
Mr. Brian Morris, who is a health care actuary who works with public employers, told lawmakers he does see a potential for savings, particularly the part about administration of benefits, but savings are lowered when there are more than "tens of thousands" of benefit recipients in the pool.

Wayne Cass, chair of the Coalition of Labor Organizations at Michigan State University, said there is no guarantee that some employees won't see benefit reductions. The proposal doesn't address the real issue of rising health care costs.

The committee's next public hearing is Sept. 24.

Budget Drama

Budget Discussions Move to Committee

House and Senate leaders have named conferees to all appropriation subcommittees in order to reach agreement on the budget. It is reported that members of each of the conference committees will be working over the weekend with hopes of having consensus on the budget by Tuesday.

Serving on the K-12 School Aid Conference Committee are: Reps. Terry Brown, George Cushingberry, Chuck Moss and Senators Ron Jelinek, Cameron Brown and Mickey Switalski.


Just the Facts

Speaker Dillon’s Proposed Mandatory Government-run Health Plan (HB 5345) would end local control and eliminate collective bargaining over health benefits, gutting labor law protections that ensure employees have a voice in choosing the health insurance plan and doctor network that works best for them in their local areas. (Sec. 16)

More than MEA upset with Dillon

More and more labor leaders are calling Dillon out for his health care plan and his stance on the budget. Mark Gafney (state president of the AFL-CIO) is the latest to claim that Dillon is using public employees to launch a run at the Governor's office next year.

Once again, it appears that our elected leaders use (or abuse) public employees to advance their political careers.

Capitol Chaos...September 16 update

News of the Day
Budget Talks Continue

With only two weeks left before the start of the state’s fiscal year (and almost three months since school districts started their fiscal years), Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and House Speaker Andy Dillon settled on a “process” to break a logjam and address a $2.7 billion deficit. Several sticking points remain.

Issues that remain in contention between House and Senate negotiators include: cuts in college Promise scholarships; state aid to local governments; Medicaid; and the K-12 school aid budget. Senate Majority Leader Bishop continues to express strong opposition to new revenues. Speaker Dillon told Gongwers News Service that Democrats were “fighting to maintain funding for critical areas such Medicaid, early education, revenue sharing, and the Promise scholarships.” Avoiding Senate-passed reductions would require a deal between the House, Senate and Governor on new tax revenues – either by raising taxes and fees, reducing tax breaks, or trying other ways to generate more money. Senate Republicans would likely insist that any deal on new revenue include some form of “government reform.”

This afternoon, joint House-Senate conference committees were given the green light by legislative leaders to start meeting to begin negotiations to work out differences between the two Houses.

The chairs of the K-12 conference committee are Rep. Terry Brown and Senator Ron Jelinek.The other four members of the conference committee have not yet been announced.

Indications are that there is disagreement on how to approach the lack of revenue and how to make cuts if cuts have to be made.

Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Tell your state representative to just say NO to the disastrous Senate budget cuts.

Just the Facts
Speaker Dillon’s Proposed Mandatory Government-Run Health Plan

HB 5345 expands state government power over patients’ medical care and puts state government between patients and their doctors. Sec. 12(e) of HB 5345 mandates the use of “clinical advocates” with wide-ranging powers to review and approve (or reject) diagnoses and treatment plans agreed on by patients and their doctors.

Committee Notice
Public Employee Health Care Reform Committee

More testimony is scheduled to be heard on HB 5345 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. or after committees are given leave by the House to meet, whichever is later. The hearing will be held in room 519 of the House Office Building in Lansing. See attached list of committee members.

Testimony will be given by the following:

Mike Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Dept of Ed
Brian Morris, Senior Consultant, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co.
Richard Cauchi, Health Program Director, National Conference of State Legislatures
Wayne Cass, Chair of the Coalition of Labor Organizations at Michigan State University


Breaking News
Bouchard Names Land

Republican Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard announced in Detroit that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land will be his running mate in his quest to win the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Granholm Recall Moves Forward

The Ingham County Elections Commission voted two to one to authorize a recall of Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Michigan Corrections Officer Paul Pache received the okay during his fourth appearance before the election panel.

Granholm’s attorney is considering an appeal even though he concedes that it will be very difficult to gather the 950,000 signatures necessary to put the recall before Michigan voters.

Reminder
Use of School E-mail
Many districts have policies about communicating with legislators on school time and equipment, so wait until you are away from school to contact your legislators or use your personal cell phone when you are off duty. To stay informed at home, sign up to receive the MEA Votes e-newsletter at newsletter@meavotes.org.

Stay tuned to your Inbox every day for updates or go online at http://www.myMEA.org for archives of all the materials.

Senator Whitmer stands up for kids!

Watch Senator Whitmer's (D-East Lansing) speech on the budget that Senate Republicans are pushing for this fiscal year. It is refreshing to hear a senator stand up for kids and students.

Contact Senator Cropsey and urge him to do what is best for the his constituent's children.

Say no to this budget that harms schools

House leaders are reportedly ready to approve the Senate budget that cuts more than $1 billion from the state budget. They are rushing to do something rather than taking the time to do the right thing.

For K-12 public education, per pupil funding would be reduced by $110 and almost all categorical funding would be eliminated -- a total slash of almost half a billion dollars.

Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Tell your state representative to just say NO to the disastrous Senate budget cuts.

• Tell them to maintain funding for public education -- the only way to ensure our long-term economic recovery is to prepare our students for the jobs Michigan needs.
• Our leaders in Lansing must stop the political maneuvering around other issues (such as the mandatory health plan for public employees and ill-advised school reforms) -- it's time to focus on fixing our budget.

The only way to fix our budget is to update our antiquated tax structure and bring in revenue from the areas of our economy that are growing (such as services).

As always, when contacting your representative do not use school computers, email addresses, or fax machines. Use your home email address and cell phone when sending emails and making calls

Another white paper

Last week, Speaker Dillon released another white paper on his website. This is the second attempt to try to explain the "savings" behind his health care proposal.

Video and transcripts of the testimony given at the hearings on Public Employee Health Care Reform is available for your review here

Budget solutions at the expense of schools

I ran across this article over the weekend discussing ideas to correct all that is wrong with the State of Michigan. Out of the 16 points listed in the article, 8 referred to changes to the k-16 educational system.

This is just another reason to become politcally active and contact your state representative and senator. Another budget crisis at the State level shouldn't be resolved at the expense of the K-16 system.