Tag: JANSEN

Sec. 3407c. (1) A qualified health plan offered through a state exchange pursuant to the patient protection and affordable care act, Public Law 111-148, and the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010, Public Law 111-152, shall not provide coverage for elective abortion. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an individual, organization, or employer participating in a qualified health plan offered through a state exchange from purchasing optional supplemental coverage for elective abortion outside of the exchange as provided in subsection (2).

Read the rest. Its as if its thrown in there to appease conscience conservatives.  Of course we don't wish to see tax dollars spent on abortion. We don't want to see abortions frankly.

However, every time a bill is crafted to capitulate with the left and its great society plans, it seems there has to be riders and subsequent action to (hopefully) silence dissent from the right.

"Last April, a bill to prohibit this in public schools and local governments passed the House with every Democrat plus Republican Reps. McBroom, Muxlow and Zorn voting "no." Inexplicably, the bill has been stuck ever since in the Senate Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee chaired by Sen. Mark Jansen, R-Grand Rapids."

Michigan taxpayers shouldn't be paying for time spent extorting Michigan taxpayers.

"The Michigan automotive supply sector is struggling because of the failed business policies of the state, and as a result, thousands of Michigan jobs are in danger," said state Republican Representative Kim Meltzer.  "More Michigan workers are employed in the supply industry than direct auto manufacturing, but many suppliers are on the verge of bankruptcy. Times are tough, and if we are to break out of this current economic slump, we have to eliminate such impediments to job expansion."

Meltzer, along with Democrat Rep. Mark Meadows and Republicans John Proos and Sen. Jason Allen, today introduced a bipartisan six-bill package to create accountability for the auto industry by:

• Eliminating permanent recording on tooling: Under the current acts, tool and die companies are required to permanently record on all of the tooling it designs.  

• Reducing the 90-day waiting period to 30 days: Current law requires companies to wait 90 days to issue a lien if payment has not been received.  A full three months is a long time for a tool and mold builder to bear the financing cost for a design, fabrication and manufacture of the tooling while the customer is allowed to continue using the tooling.

• Grant immediate possession and enforcement under general motion practice: The acts grant the lien holder the right to possession of tooling and to enforce their right to possession by any "available judicial procedure."

• Allow for the assessment of interest, damages and attorney fees: Tool and die companies are forced to spend thousands of dollars on attorney fees, court costs, etc. to enforce the lien under the acts.

• Includes language regarding the waiver of a mold builder's rights under the lien act and the application of the law of another state: Prevents any contract language that attempts to waive a mold builder's right under the lien act.

"This is a multi-billion dollar problem across the state," Meltzer said. "But it's also a fairness issue - businesses aren't living up to their contractual obligations and these poor business practices will force Michigan suppliers to close their doors."

On the other side of the Capitol, a big local event was added today to next week's schedule.

Read on...

With limited space devoted to hard news reporting, additional space being gobbled up constantly by sports, entertainment and opinion pieces (now finding their way all too frequently onto the front page) editors choose to be particularly picky about what they publish.

There are some big stories they just can't ignore.  Michigan's skyrocketing unemployment rate, for instance, generally warrants a bit of coverage.  The Ivory Tower tells us this morning that the final numbers are in across the rest of the United States and our staggering 10.6% remains the highest.  In fact, Rhode Island is the only other state even in double figures.  On the flip side, three states are under four, with Wyoming coming in at 3.4 percent.

Simple to report.  Doesn't take a lot of space.  No explicit need to mention the party affiliation of the current administration or legislature.  Run it.

Then you get a selection of stories describing local men, women and businesses and their various challenges, especially if there's a hot-button angle that gets the liberal special interests ginned up and excited.  The Associated Press reports, for instance, on a case currently before the Michigan Supreme Court asking whether the decision of twenty-one counties and three cities to ban workplace smoking is consistent with the Michigan constitution.

A handful of job makers filed suit to attempt to exert their rights as property owners and employers.  Big story pitting two big interests up against each other in the newly remodeled Dem controlled SCOMI.  Job makers v environmentalists in a no-holds-barred, knock-down drag-out.  Where can I buy tickets?

But then there are the important stories that don't get told.  Little things like the fact that yesterday in the state Senate, Republicans successfully moved through committee Senate Bill 0001.  Sponsored by Senator Mark Jansen and approved by Republican Senators Jansen, Nancy Cassis, John Pappageorge and Jud Gilbert on a 4-3 party line vote, the bill kills the hated Michigan Business Tax surcharge.

Dollars and cents, the move would save job makers and working moms and dads $166.1 million in FY 2009, $475.5 million in 2010 and $593.4 million in 2011.  That's a grand total of  $1,235,000,000 reinvested in the Michigan economy without one dollar of expanded government spending or newer, bigger government programs.

Talk about a major shot in the arm for Michigan's economy.  Alas, not everyone was a fan.  The three Democrats on the panel each voted no.  Democratic Senators Deb Cherry, Gilda Jacobs and likely 2010 Dem Attorney General candidate Gretchen Whitmer took the opportunity to once again spit in the faces of Michigan's working class.

They can't return $1.235 billion in tax cash to help stimulate the economy... how would they be able to afford their favorite pet programs?  

Not surprisingly, the Senate Democrats' website was entirely devoid of any mention of yesterday's vote for a billion dollars in higher taxes.  But, then again, so were all of the state's newspapers.

Guess it's a good thing we've got blogs and the internet.