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80th District Special Election (2015), Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Fees, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Proposal 15-1, Republicans, Taxes

Omertà: The New Code of Michigan Campaign Finance Reporting

by 10x25MM • December 21, 2015 • 10 Comments

You Are Going to Know A Whole Lot Less The Next Time You Vote

The Michigan House and Senate sent a much revised and dramatically expanded Senate Bill 571 H-3 to Governor Snyder last Wednesday. Introduced by Senator Kowall as a 12 page bill establishing some esoteric campaign finance rules for various types of PACs in Michigan, this bill morphed into a 53 page political grab bag incorporating SB 638 S-2 at the very last minute. It creates a whole new way to conceal political expenditures from public scrutiny until long after an election is over. Think of it as the mafia’s code of omertà applied to Michigan campaign finance.

Michigan’s nitwit news media are decrying the limits placed upon a ‘public body’ in Section 57(3), which prevents them from using public funds to propagandize voters on local ballot questions. This limitation doesn’t go far enough. Remember how the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Association of Counties, and the county road commissions pulled out all the stops for Proposal 2015-01? No prohibition against this in SB 571 H-3, but there should be. Citizens should not have to fight their tax dollars in the political arena. Section 57(3) would be a real benefit to Michigan politics if it had been extended to state ballot questions, but it wasn’t.

Now to the really devious aspect of SB 571 H-3, which our nitwit media missed. MCL 169.233(3)(a) currently requires ‘independent committees’ to report their financial expenditures on behalf of candidates and ballot questions four times a year. ‘Independent committees’ currently have to file reports on their campaign finance activities during February, April, July, and October. This is not quite a quarterly basis, but it is fairly well spaced out through the year. MCL 169.233(1) already exempts ‘independent committees’ from the regular election campaign statement reporting schedule – immediately before and after elections – required of most other committees. MCL 169.233(5) requires ‘independent committees’ to file reports of expenditures made within 45 days before a special election, but it is easy to use prepayments and accounts payable to avoid this window during most special elections. And this 45 day reporting window does not exist for regular elections. So you are only going to get quarterly reports from ‘independent committees, except in rare circumstances.

Section 33(3) of SB 571 H-3 completely eliminates the February campaign finance report for all types of committees, including independents. This creates a bastard reporting schedule consisting of two quarterly reports and one semiannual report five months after November elections.. Most political committees have to file pre and post election statements, so their campaign expenditures and sources of funds will continue to be known on a timely basis, regardless of this change. But independent committees are not required to file pre and post campaign reports for regular elections, so they will now have a six month interval after their October reports before they have to report their finances – on April 25th of the following year.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Fees, Fees, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Fast and Loose in the Michigan Senate

by 10x25MM • December 9, 2015 • 6 Comments

Switch Subsidy Bill Passage Was A Senate Rules Violation

In their slobbering rush to deliver tax breaks for one very specific data center last Thursday, the Michigan Senate violated its own rules regarding the consideration of appropriations bills. The Knezek amendment to SB 616, S-1:

Enacting section 1. The legislature shall annually appropriate sufficient funds from the state general fund to the state school aid fund created in section 11 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963 to fully compensate for any loss of revenue to the state school aid fund resulting from the enactment of this amendatory act.

converted SB 616 into an appropriations bill according to the definition in Michigan’s 1963 Constitution, in its Article IV, Section 31.

Michigan Senate Rule 3.602 requires:

“Any bill requiring an appropriation to carry out its intended purpose shall be considered an appropriation bill (See Constitution Article IV, Section 31). Appropriations bills, when reported back to the Senate favorably by a committee other than the Committee on Appropriations, shall, together with amendments proposed by that committee, be referred to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

Senator Kowall moved a suspension of the Senate Rules after the noon recess on Thursday to bring nine bills on to Third Reading, including SB 616. From Senate Journal 106, page 1910: “be placed on their immediate passage at the head of the Third Reading of the Bills calendar.” was his motion. Senate Journal 106 indicates that his request was passed by a majority. This allowed final action and passage on SB 616 in the Senate that day.

Reading the record, it would appear that Senator Kowall was suspending Rule 3.207 to consider SB 616 and the eight other bills which had been placed on to ‘General Orders’ that morning for final passage under ‘Third Reading’, out of normal order. Senate Rule 3.207 requires a one day delay between the ‘Second Reading’ (‘General Orders’), and the ‘Third Reading’ (‘Final Action’). Suspending this prescribed one day delay is a common practice when time is of the essence.

Senator Kowall had already moved that morning, before recess, to place SB 616 and the same eight other bills then under ‘Committee Reports’ (‘First Reading’) under ‘General Orders’ (‘Second Reading’), so they could be on that day’s calendar. Also out of normal order, but again a common practice when time is of the essence.

But did either of Senator Kowall’s two suspension motions suspend Michigan Senate Rule 3.602?

Is Michigan Senate Rule 3.602 a fundamental rule as defined by Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure? Mason’s is the underlying body of rules adopted by the Michigan Senate when their own rules are mute on an issue. Fundamental rules cannot be suspended according to Mason’s and all the other accepted bodies of parliamentary rules.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Lie of the Month: “We’re talking about introducing an entirely new industry to Michigan”

by 10x25MM • December 3, 2015 • 11 Comments

Pandora's Box Has Been Opened

Actually, no. There are at least 28 third party data centers already up and operating in Michigan. The House Fiscal Agency thinks there are 40, but didn’t specify them. None of these 28+ existing data centers required the tax breaks just reported out of the Michigan House Committee on Tax Policy to get up and running. But Switch SuperNAP does? Why?

The promoters of Switch SuperNAP’s tax break package launched their campaign back in November with a heavy emphasis on the ‘new industry’ angle. This whopper seems to have been originated by Switch’s spokesman Roger Martin:

“It is a tough issue,” Switch spokesman Roger Martin said. “There’s no question about it. We’re talking about introducing an entirely new industry to Michigan, something that is the future of this country and of this world. It’s a good, vigorous debate.”

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Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Taxes

TAKE ACTION! SB 306 could raise Federal Taxes 40%!

by Norm Hughes • November 26, 2015 • 10 Comments

It sets up an interstate compact to use YOUR taxes to force a Constitutional Convention that will raise Federal taxes 40%!!!

+ Hi–Blast needed on Michigan’s SB306 (again!)…it’ll be up for a vote this time…This is a bill to bind Michigan to an interstate compact to pay a staff to force other states to option in on a constitution convention supposedly to pass a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment. There are many problems.

FIRST, there is no guarantee a ConCon will be limited to one issue, or that it will be bound by the ratification. More than 600 times it has been tried and each time dropped when folks realized the risk. Sec. of State Thomas Jefferson pursued it in 1796 and when the Jay Supreme refused the opine that such a convention could be limited to one issue. James Madison was alarmed when two states were calling for and Art V ConCon just a year after the Constitution was ratified. It dawned on him that this provision slipped through and was very dangerous. If a ConCon was too dangerous when Washington was President, John Adams VP, Hamilton and Jefferson in the Cabinet, Madison in the Senate and Jay on the Court, how much more dangerous would it be now with an electorate that chose Obama twice, and a political class that puts in congressional leadership people like Pelosi and Reid and Republican capitulators like McConnell and Boehner/Ryan? It is WAAAY too risky. The Constitution needs to enforced not gutted

SECOND, this compact allows Governors to name the delegates and binds that the delegate from first state to ratify (South Carolina) will chair the ConCon. It seeks to bind states and the Congress in ways contrary to the Constitution and Art. V and sets other criteria that will not stand up to current Constitutional authorities. Under Article V states petition but Congress calls a convention and will set criteria. The same Congress that will not limit spending.

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80th District Special Election (2015), Conservative News, Elections, Fees, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Republicans, Taxes

You Don’t Say?

by Jason • November 24, 2015 • 2 Comments

Inside Michigan Politics ranks its most conservative and most liberal legislators, and guess what?

Susan Demas, not exactly known for sympathy to conservative causes must be having fun.

Recently editing the Inside Michigan Politics scoring of conservative and liberal state representatives, she gets to shame Republicans with their own rhetoric, and as a bonus, can gloat over the self inflicted loss of true conservative voting in the Michigan house. Her report:

Inside Michigan Politics has compiled the definitive rankings of the “Most Liberal and Most Conservative” members of the House of Representatives for 2015. The rankings are based on 28 litmus test roll-call votes this year.

“Most Conservative” winners Courser and Gamrat both notched 4.8% liberal voting records. Following them is Rep. Gary Glenn (R-Midland) with a 7.1% liberal record. Reps. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and Lana Theis (R-Brighton) tied for third by posting 10.7% liberal voting records.

Snap.

A reminder BTW, that such ‘diehard’ conservatives Glenn, Runestad, and Theis all voted yea on the expulsion of Gamrat, and the expected expulsion of Courser prompted him to resign prior to expulsion. Gosh, they could have used a vote or two of support on HB4736, as each voted correctly to deny the government beast more of our kibble.

Hello Birthday Tax.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Switch SuperNAP Michigan Data Center: Chaos in the Offing

by 10x25MM • November 18, 2015 • 10 Comments

A Few Details Michigan's Legislators Might Want to Consider

Michigan’s nitwit media have been gushing over the announcement last Thursday that Switch, LLC will purchase the erstwhile Steelcase Pyramid southwest of Grand Rapids and convert the site into one of their state-of-the-art SuperNAP cloud computing data centers. The ‘information economy’ has been touted as Michigan’s future by no less than Michael Dell. He was in Detroit to address the Economic Club after his company purchased EMC Corporation, another major data center operator with three facilities in Michigan, in a blow out $ 67 billion buyout. Switch SuperNAP promoters, notably The Right Place, Incorporated, are touting 1,000 new jobs in Gaines Township, but this should be regarded wth the same skepticism as any other MEDC clone employment prediction. No one has said anything about financing, but there is good reason to believe that Michigan will be asked to ‘participate’ here as well.

Steelcase vacated their distinctive Corporate Development Center in 2012 and sold it to to Norman Properties in May. Norman Properties, in turn, has agreed to sell this property to Switch LLC, pending the approval of State tax breaks. Those tax breaks have been introduced in the Michigan House by Representatives VerHeulin, Yonker, and Schor. Identical tax break legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Hildenbrand, Schuitmaker, and MacGregor. These legislators are targeting quick passage in the legislative session which convenes after their Thanksgiving break. They might want to consider a few details before they lunge further forward.

This being RightMI, you might think this post is about those tax breaks. You would be wrong. There is actually a critical flaw in this project which will injure Consumer’s Energy electricity customers all across West Michigan. A couple of other issues exist as well, but they pale in comparison to the electricity consumption of this project. Those tax breaks are a lost cause in American politics today – not even worth protesting.

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Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy

Humpday Around Michigan – Islamic Invasion Edition

by Jason • November 18, 2015 • 2 Comments

Don't hold your breath on Rick Snyder's commitment to protecting Michigan citizens.

Paris happened, but it is not spectacularly unique as has been chronicled since 911.

These are some takes from around the state on the federally assisted invasion of high risk into our state.

The Shekel – The Governerd Begins To Get A Clue “That he thought it was a good idea in the first place shows rather terrible judgment on his part .. ” Indeed.

The Michigan Review (April 02) – From One Direction to ISIS: The Zayn Malik Story Boy band to propaganist recruiting tool.

Muskegon Pundit – The Way Black Lives Matter Responded to Paris Attack Will Boil Your Blood – Comparing Paris to Mizzou? yeesh. Remember CMU too!

Muskegon Pundit #2 – Is his plan national suicide?—–Obama sticks to his plan for at least 10,000 Syrian refugees — unvetted! Unlikely to change really.

Muskegon Pundit #3 – This entire “refugee resettlement” scam is ALL ABOUT MONEY and MUSLIMS. Not compassion!—–Must see! (only 4 min) Ann Corcoran on Refugee Resettlement Truth. must see then call our governor.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

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Conservative News, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Opinion

You DON’T say…

by KG One • November 16, 2015 • 2 Comments

Apparently, the idea of picking up his wife and three children from the county morgue is weighing a little too heavily on the mind of one “Relentlessly Positive” Governor.

According to this mornings Detroit Free Press, Gov. Snyder has reversed course from his earlier ill-conceived decision to allow Syrian “refugees” into Michigan following the Islamic Terrorists attacks in Paris that have claimed at least 129 lives as of the latest count.

Gov. Snyder is quoted as stating, “Michigan is a welcoming state and we are proud of our rich history of immigration. But our first priority is protecting the safety of our residents.”

Better late than never. But in this case, no damage has been done through Gov. Snyder’s actions.

Naturally, this has the proponents of the original scheme up in arms over a “perceived” overreaction.

From the same Freep article, Maged Moughni, an Arab-American advocate said, “It’s doing what ISIS wants. … He’s just basically buying into what ISIS wants: Muslims against the West … Gov. Snyder is buying into the rhetoric.”

Again, the families of at least 129 victims of Islamic Terrorism have a different take on that.

Further down, Sean de Four, vice president of child and family services with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan had this to say,

“I certainly understand and appreciate Gov. Snyder’s desire to be cautious and put the safety of Michiganders first. But the State Department already uses an overabundance of caution in its screening of refugees before they gained entry into the United States. In fact, refugees spend an average of five to seven years in refugee camps being screened and background checks before access to any country.”

If I were Mr. de Four, I’d reexamine the validity of his argument.

Most people know that I don’t agree, with oh about 99%, of what Gov. Snyder rams through, mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t adhere to anything even remotely conservative when he does so.

This time around, and perhaps the very likely possibility that he might appear on a future casualty list himself directly due to the actions of those he blindly lets into our state, he finally gets things right for a change.

Let’s see how long that lasts.

Hopefully not coming to Michigan anytime soon!

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Conservative News, Michigan

What HE Said.

by Jason • November 14, 2015 • 2 Comments

Glenn urges Gov. Snyder to reverse call for Syrian refugees.

Michigan State Representative Gary Glenn has stepped out in front of this, and sends a message to our naive governor.

We called for this to happen earlier, and specifically from my own rep. From a press release only moments ago:

Midland, Mich. — Michigan state Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Midland, in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris by Islamic extremists carrying Syrian passports, Saturday called on Gov. Rick Snyder to reverse his call to relocate Syrian refugees in the state.

“I respectfully urge the governor to act cautiously and conservatively to fulfill what in the sad reality of today’s world is the most fundamental responsibility of state government, to protect the public safety of our families and our communities here at home,” Glenn said. “We should not rush to offer an open door to the high-risk importation of individuals from a known hotbed of Islamic extremism who security officials say cannot be safely screened to identify and block jihadists masked as ‘refugees’ who’d love to bring suicide vests and grenades to Ford Field or Fisher Theatre or Great Lakes Crossing.”

Glenn disputed Snyder’s earlier assurances that Syrian refugees can be safely vetted to block terrorist threats, citing testimony last month by FBI director James Comey, who told the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee that “we can only query against that (data) which we have collected. And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there would be nothing show up because we have no record on it. You can only query what you have collected.” (Video: http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/fbi-no-way-to-screen-refugees-coming-to-u-s/#ooid=ZqNGpjeDrxjmhlHEDNbae70T1uHSPvqj )

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80th District Special Election (2015), Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are!

by 10x25MM • November 5, 2015 • 8 Comments

The Election's Over, Your 10 Days Are Up, File Your Damned Campaign Finance Statements

Richard D. McLellan

A scratch corporation named Michigan’s Voice (LARA 71630M) was registered with Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department on 26 October by a connected lawyer, Richard D. McLellan. He signed the Articles of Incorporation on 15 October.

Michigan’s Voice Flyers

Just in time to mail two obnoxious, lying flyers knifing Jim Storey, the second place finisher in the 80th House District special primary held on 03 November. The address used for the Michigan’s Voice LARA filing and printed on the flyers was not Richard McLellan’s, rather it was that of Eric E. Doster’s law firm Doster Law Offices, PLLC.

Close Up, Michigan’s Voice Flyer

The Michigan Campaign Finance Act, PA 388 of 1976, requires all committees engaged in Michigan politics to file a Statement of Organization within 10 days of being formed. MCL 169.221 Section 21(9) also requires all committees to designate a Treasurer before receiving and disbursing funds. MCL 169.232 Section 32(9) further requires all committees to report late contributions [those received after 18 October in this election] be filed with the SoS within 48 hours of receipt as well. Michigan’s Voice has done none of this.

Committees are defined in MCL 169.203, Section 3(4) as:

“a person who receives contributions or makes expenditures for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of the voters for or against the nomination or election of a candidate,………., if contributions received total $500.00 or more in a calendar year or expenditures made total $500.00 or more in a calendar year.”

The word ‘person’ in this act is used in the legal sense and most definitely refers to a corporation registered at LARA, fiddling in politics. Michigan’s Voice is assuredly a committee under the MCFA.

Michigan’s Voice Articles, Page 1

Twenty-one days have passed since Richard McLellan signed Michigan’s Voice’s Articles of Incorporation and 10 days have passed since those Articles of Incorporation were officially filed by LARA. I received the first Michigan’s Voice flyer on 28 October, so arrangements and payments must have been made days before that. Arena Communications of Salt Lake City, the Michigan’s Voice mailings’ designer and printer, isn’t that quick and the U.S. Postal Service certainly isn’t. So the MCFA 10 day grace period has been sorely abused.

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