Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012
LANSING, Mich. ? Lt. Gov. Brian Calley today released a series of YouTube videos and a blog post to detail his positions on the Nov. 6 ballot proposals.
"The ballot proposals citizens will vote on have potentially negative consequences for our state, and could roll back much of the progress we are making to reinvent Michigan," Calley said.
Calley said Proposal 1, however, is necessary to keep the state's emergency manager law. The law has helped numerous communities and school districts throughout Michigan to turn around financial crises and get those local units of government back on a solid footing for the future.
"The emergency manager law serves as a critical tool and an early warning system for local governments and school districts that have fallen in to financial distress," said Calley. "It is necessary to ensure children's education and services for citizens, and plays an important role in our state's comeback."
There are six proposals:
- Proposal 1 will decide whether or not to keep Public Act 4 - the emergency manger law, which was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder to help financially struggling cities and schools efficiently and effectively get back on a solid financial footing.
- Proposal 2 would put in the constitution the right to organize and bargain collectively through labor unions, eliminating hundreds of existing labor laws in the process. Collective bargaining already works and is protected in Michigan and this proposal would benefit few Michiganders if approved. It would roll back important reforms that help get control of deficits and out-of-control spending and that make sure schools can keep functioning, and that fire and police departments can keep protecting citizens.
- Proposal 3 would force Michigan to have 25 percent of its electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2025, despite the state already having an unmet goal of generating 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2015. It would cost billions to implement, raise electric bills and make Michigan businesses less competitive.
- Proposal 4 would undo a law signed by Snyder and force Michigan's 60,000 home health care aides to join a labor union. Those workers would be forced to have union dues withheld on top of the $30 million that was already taken previously. Improving health care and protecting seniors and the disabled is important but this will be bad medicine for the people of Michigan.
- Proposal 5 would require that any future increases of the tax rate or tax base be approved by either a two-thirds majority of the Legislature or a statewide vote. The two-thirds amendment would be detrimental and could stand in the way of reforms that would help reinvent Michigan. It could actually prevent significant tax cuts like the recent replacement of the job-killing Michigan Business Tax with the simpler and fairer Corporate Income Tax. It would give special interests more power and influence and make it more difficult to fund schools, fix our roads, or make sure that our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to protect us. It might also negatively impact bond ratings agencies, which could raise Michigan's interest costs and make the state look less attractive to job creators.
- Proposal 6 could force a statewide vote on the New International Trade Crossing between Detroit and Windsor. It is really about protecting the monopoly of one special interest to the detriment of the rest of the state, and the costs could be immense. Building a new bridge to Canada at no cost to Michigan taxpayers will help reinvent and bring more and better jobs to our state. The proposal could also force a statewide vote on any bridge or tunnel project that may be needed in the future.
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