Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on January 17, 2008, to allow a schoold 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

The vote was 88 in favor, 20 opposed and 2 not voting

(House Roll Call 421 at House Journal 49)

Click here to view bill details.

Butt out!

Now that ought to improve competition and make things better for the taxpayer! Is it the legislatures job to enrich Michigan vendors opr keep them in business by paying 10% more for products with taxpayer dollars? If they can't compete, lawmakers might want to look at the states practices that are keeping them from being competitive. No dammed wonder people are leaving Michigan. I would be one of them if my house would sell, but so many people are moving out and no one is moving into this stinking state so there's a glut of homes for sale.

Maybe neighboring states should respond with a reciprocal law stating that Michigan vendors have to beat their local suppliers bids by 10% or more. That ought to help Michigan vendors. And if they do reciprocate, let's raise the difference to 20% or more. That ought to assure that Michigan vendors have a monopoly on ISD contracts. I think these ISD budgets need to be looked at very carefully.

Why on earth would any ISD be willing to pay more to get the same supplies/services? None of the people I know in the financial department at my school district would go for this. Their goal is to get as much as possible for the lowest price. This sounds like an attempt to fix a nonexistant problem.

discrimination?

we can't afford it anymore.

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.

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.

to 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.