2003 Senate Bill 824 (Senate Roll Call 554)
Passed in the Senate (38 to 0) on November 12, 2003, to extend the Dec. 31, 2003 sunset of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) until Dec. 31, 2009, and expand the types of firms MEGA could grant benefits to. MEGA is authorized to grant tax credits to companies that promise (but are not required to guarantee) to create or retain a certain number of jobs. The bill would add a provision requiring the governor to appoint to the current eight-member MEGA board two members nominated by the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House, and essentially give these nominees veto power by requiring them to be in the majority of any actions taken by the board. The bill would also require that gubernatorial appointments to MEGA be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. MEGA beneficiary firms would be required to make a good-faith effort to use Michigan-based suppliers and vendors when purchasing goods and services, and to disclose to the state the names of corporate officers, board members, and partners. Also under the bill, responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests would require approval of the full board, rather than just the director. However the board only meets monthly, and FOIA requires requests to be responded to within five days. Financial or proprietary information about MEGA beneficiary companies is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. The bill would eliminate MEGA's power to impose administrative rules on participating businesses, and contains language authorizing tax breaks targeted at a facility in Greenville owned by the ElectroLux company which employs 2,000 workers and is scheduled to close. [History, Amendments & Comments]
The vote was 38 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 not voting
(Senate Roll Call 554 at Senate Journal 96)
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The following legislators supported 2003 Senate Bill 824:
The following legislators opposed 2003 Senate Bill 824:
The following legislators did not vote on 2003 Senate Bill 824:
Most Recent Comments
1) Yeah, right! [by Anonymous Citizen on March 4, 2004]A lot of good programs such as this one did for the soon-to-be former AB Electrolux employees.
Government should NOT be in the business of picking the winners and losers in the private sector.
This program should be abolished and the monies already budgeted towards it rolled back into the general fund where they can do more good.
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Win! Win! Win! Sign up for your MEGA credit here. Get rich!
If you are a corporation wanting to expand in Michigan, you may already be a winner!
Just fill out forms showing that you might have gone to another state, and MEDC will make sure you get MEGA tax credits and property tax abatements. Just pretend that the MEDC is responsible for bringing or keeping you here, and the endless wallets of Michigan taxpayers can be yours!!!
You can promise new jobs and not deliver! KMart and Aspen Bay did. We don't care -- it's not like it's our $37,000,000! We only take little amounts from all Michigan taxpayers, and they never notice!
But hurry and sign up today. We were going to expire, but now we are only wasting, er, investing in companies through 2009. Get yours now before it's all gone.
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Despite the very articulate response by Senator Schauer, he (and judging by the rest of the recent vote, the rest of the Michigan Senate) still fails to grasp the inherent problem with programs such as these: It is not a function of government to, in effect, assume a role of central planners in Michigan’s economy.
This bill is putting Michigan on a slippery slope, which according to history will only ruin the state’s economy in the long term.
This bill should be voted down when it comes back from the House for final ratification, the agencies covered under this bill should be closed and their budgets returned to the General Fund so that they cannot be used to implement another similar program.
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