Legislative Creatures

Jan. 15, 2016

The creatures might not have been stirring in our homes just before Christmas, but they were plenty busy down at the Michigan Legislature. Or not.

Thanks to the legislature and Governor Snyder, local government entities will no longer be able to communicate with the voters in any way within 60 days of an election impacting them. No explanation of the ballot issue, no advocacy, not even a copy of the actual ballot language or simple information about the location and hours of polling places. Nothing.

Opponents are free to dispense whatever information or misinformation they want without fear of contradiction for two full months before an election.

Governor Snyder, immediately after signing the legislation, said sure, the thing was flawed but he’s confident the legislature will fix it right away. He might be the only person in the state who believes, or at least openly says, the Michigan Legislature can do the right thing quickly.

That same law also now prohibits companies from allowing payroll deductions for employees wishing to contribute to their union Political Action Committee (PAC). Payroll deductions for contributions to a corporate PAC are still allowed. Union, no; corporation, yes.

As a bonus, the law also eliminates the requirement for annual consent for those corporate PAC payroll deductions, something that had always been required for union PACs.

Earlier they passed a law eliminating straightticket voting. No more just voting “Democrat” or “Republican” and walking out. Sounds reasonable enough, given that we all claim we vote for the person and not the party.

But who does such a law benefit? Let’s see... most straight-ticket voting took place in southeastern Michigan in Macomb and Wayne Counties. About 60 percent of voters there used the straight-ticket option. How did they vote? Overwhelmingly Democratic. And the legislature that changed the law? Overwhelmingly Republican.

A naked attempt to discourage Democrat voters, this will also mean longer lines at polling places for everyone.

There are common threads here. Discourage voters in Democratic strongholds. Make it more difficult for employees to contribute to PACs that traditionally support Democrat candidates and issues, while making it easier to contribute to those that traditionally support Republicans and their causes. Eliminate the flow of information to voters to make it more difficult to ever raise taxes, pass a millage or float a bond.

These laws solve no problem and provide no benefit to the people of Michigan, but greatly benefit Republicans already in office or wishing to be in office.

As onerous as all that was — and passing laws discouraging voting or the dissemination of information should outrage everyone — it wasn’t the legislature’s worst moment.

They did nothing on the one issue on which they absolutely had to act. Flint still has poison water.

Flint is broke and run by an Emergency Manager. He and the powers that be decided back in 2014 that the city should stop withdrawing their municipal water from the Detroit River and instead begin withdrawing it from the Flint River.

The dirtier, more polluted and much more corrosive but cheaper Flint River water.

From the beginning, residents complained the water was discolored and distasteful only to be reassured by state officials that their brown, stinky water was just fine. It was not.

The sediment laden Flint River water was abrasive enough in Flint’s old lead water pipes to deposit ridiculously high levels of that lead into the drinking water. That would be the water coming out of their taps and into the mouths of children.

This problem has been documented for more than a year but Flint, though now returned to Detroit River water, is still plagued with tainted drinking water in their system. The city has handed out a few thousand tap filters to about 5 percent of the population.

The city is not providing safe drinking water. The state is not providing safe drinking water. The feds are not providing safe drinking water. The only safe drinking water has to be purchased at a store, obtained from a food bank, taken from one of a handful of churches trying to help or at fire stations that now distribute water and filters provided by the United Auto Workers.

Governor Snyder says Flint and the state are going to work closely and come up with a plan soon. That would have been a real good idea about a year ago when this problem first became known.

The delays, obfuscations and misinformation inflicted on the people of Flint, already suffering from a nearly 40 percent poverty rate, are appalling, if not downright criminal. People, especially children, have been put at real risk as a result of incompetence followed by more incompetence followed by inaction.

The creatures at the legislature were stirring, all right, except when they should have been.