2018
The Republican-led Senate passed an expanded personal income tax credit that is likely being eliminated due to a quirk in the new federal tax reform law. Senate Bill 748 S-1 preserves Michigan’s $4,000 personal exemption on its income tax, but increases it to $5,000 by 2021- a $200 increase over the $4,800 exemption level of the SB 748 version; Able-bodied Medicaid recipients would have to work, go through job training or perform community service in order to keep their benefits under House Bill 5317; In the state’s first gubernatorial override in 16 years, the House and Senate pushed into law an accelerated sales tax phase out on used car trade-ins that Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed in July 2017; A Special House Task Force report found 42 areas where mental health services could be improved in the state; Charter schools would receive a share of “regional improvement” property taxes on a per-pupil basis that now go only to traditional schools if legislation (SB 574) approved by the House becomes law; and analysts for the House and Senate fiscal agencies are projecting continued slow and steady growth for Michigan economy through 2020, which means the state’s $10 billon General Fund isn’t likely to keep up with inflation over the next three years and the School Aid Fund, when adjusted for inflation, should remain smaller than it was 10 years ago. These and other legislative initiatives are featured in the January 2018 Karoub Report.
The Committee to Keep Pot out of Neighborhoods and Schools was fighting a ballot proposal to legalize marijuana. Now, it is urging the Legislature to take up the initiative, amend it and pass legislation for adult recreational use; Updated revenue estimates set by state economists indicate Gov. Snyder and legislators will have a combined $500 million more than expected for this fiscal year and next fiscal year; The strictest drinking water rules for lead in the country are about complete, according to Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. The plan would eventually result in the replacement of all 500,000 lead service pipes in Michigan unless a legislative committee objects by June; Environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer is dropping his effort to put before the voters in November a ballot proposal that would raise the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 30 percent by 2030; After the U.S. Supreme Court gave the state the ability to regulate the running of a sports book for gaming operations, the Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee may schedule a hearing to permit casinos to offer sports team wagers; and Pancreatic cancer has taken the life of State Superintendent Brian Whiston. He was diagnosed with the disease in late 2017 and had officially gone on long-term disability just days before his passing. Click on the May 2018 Karoub Report for more information.
By Jennifer Gomori, MAP Editor
Melvindale Patrol Officers hadn’t been getting the help they desired from their former Union in recent years. When they heard about MAP’s responsiveness with area departments, they felt confident MAP would stand up for them when they needed help.
“About a year or so ago, I started calling around to other unions and realized there was an open enrollment period we had to wait for so when that came up this year we went for it,” said Melvindale Patrol local union President John Thompson. “We had other unions come in and they had a lot of bells and whistles, but MAP gave us an intelligent well-spoken thought out reason of why they would be a good fit for us. We talked to officers (represented by MAP), like Sterling Heights and St. Clair Shores, and they were really positive and really sold it to us.”
By Jennifer Gomori, MAP Editor
Renaissance Police Officers Association (RPOA) Employees were MAP members for 30 years when they decided to part ways with the Union in 2014 and opted to represent themselves instead. But drastic reductions in their benefits and a ‘don’t ask’ mentality led them to return to MAP this year.
“RPOA were members when MAP was formed in 1984,” said MAP Executive Director Fred Timpner.
MAP officially welcomed back RPOA when they joined the Union in July 2018, but MAP went to work for them two months prior as soon as they received a call from their new local union President Jessica Mitchell. By then the former president and vice president had already been through contract negotiations and the final last best offers had been submitted.
Mitchell became local union president in May and immediately called Timpner. “He started helping me on the side when we didn’t have anybody,’ she said. “Fred said, ‘Whether you all vote me in or not, I’m going to help you.’”
An overwhelming majority of the 90-plus member group voted in support of MAP.
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and a bipartisan group of senators recently introduced legislation to help protect children’s identities from “synthetic ID fraud,” a form of identity theft in which stolen Social Security Numbers (SSN) are paired with fake names and birth dates. A recent study found that one in every 10 children had their SSN used by identity thieves to fraudulently open bank or credit card accounts, negatively impacting a child’s credit before they even become adults. Click here for more information on this bill to prevent chiild identity theft.
- 2018 Michigan General Election results
- Democrats take top offices, but Republicans maintain control of State House, Senate in midterm election
- Unemployment drops to 4 percent, non-medical marijuana a hot topic, legislators hit campaign trail
- No straight ticket, ballot proposals set in November election