Legislation watch
2008 House Bill 5639: Allow schools to pay more to in-state vendors
Public Act 540 of 2008
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- Introduced by Rep. Dudley Spade (D) on January 17, 2008, to allow a school district, charter school or intermediate school district (ISD) to pay as much as $100,000 more than the lowest bid to a firm located in Michigan when awarding a contract for the purchase of supplies, materials and equipment. In other words, if a Michigan firm was bidding, an out-of-state bidder would have to beat the in-state firm’s price by more than 10 percent to be assured of getting the contract.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on January 17, 2008.
- Reported in the House on May 6, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on May 21, 2008. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on May 21, 2008.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Tim Melton (D) on May 21, 2008. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on May 21, 2008.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jacob Hoogendyk, Jr. (R) on May 21, 2008, to tie-bar the bill to House Bill 4306, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 4306 would exempt public school construction or repair projects from the state "prevailing wage" law, which prohibits awarding contracts to contractors who submit the lowest bid unless the contractor pays "prevailing wages," which are based on union pay scales in a particular part of a geographic region. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on May 21, 2008.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on January 17, 2008.
- Passed 88 to 20 in the House on May 21, 2008, to allow a school district, charter school or intermediate school district (ISD) to pay as much as $100,000 or 10 percent more than the amount of the lowest bid, whichever is less, to a firm located in Michigan when awarding a contract for the purchase of supplies, materials and equipment. In other words, if a Michigan firm was bidding, an out-of-state bidder would have to beat the in-state firm’s price by more than 10 percent to be assured of getting the contract.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on May 27, 2008.
- Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 27, 2008.
- Reported in the Senate on December 10, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on December 18, 2008, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that does not allow districts to pay more for purchases from in-state vendors, but only allows these to be given preferrence other things being equal. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on December 18, 2008.
- Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 27, 2008.
- Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 18, 2008, to allow a school district, charter school or intermediate school district (ISD) to give preference to a firm located in Michigan when awarding a contract for the purchase of supplies, materials and equipment, other things being equal (price, quality, etc.).
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the House on December 18, 2008, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill, which does not allow districts to pay more for purchases from in-state vendors. Passed 102 to 5 in the House on December 18, 2008.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on January 12, 2009.
Comments
1) So your plan is by wilsond on May 23, 2008to give schools less money to operate thru the foundation and expect them to pay more to get things done? What planet were you folks born on?
How about instead of passing this stupid stuff you concentrate in the things that you need to fix for schools. How about you pay for your unfunded mandates (Adair) and pay equally for students.
In your household do you go to the highest bidder when getting plumbing or electrical estimates? Do you comparison shop in stores or pick the higher priced good? YOU ARE IDIOTS -- and their should be an IQ test for voting and one for running for the House/Senate.
Competition is a GREAT motivator. Go for the LOW bid. Everybody wins. The more expensive guy figures out how to do something for less to stay competitive. I don't care if the guy is in Michigan or outside of Michigan. It's the FREE market at work. Passing a stupid piece of legislation isn't going to help Michigan people get jobs or keep them-- so if that's your reason for passing this STUPID thing, you just did something reprehensible and outright silly, especially given our budget woes here in the state.
I want a part time legislature. It's the only answer. The less time you people spend in Lansing, hopefully the less trouble you can cause.
Atta Boy Dudley. Spend more than necessary to get the job done or supplies bought. The next step is to add more taxes to pay for this nonsense, driving even more people out of the state, or foreclosure. Is it the campaign money from these vendors or contractors that's driving this bill. Obama's right-we do need a change- in Lansing.
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