Lansing Michigan governor ready to launch fall agenda

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Poor health, bad roads and joblessness are on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's check list as he heads into the second half of his first year in office. The Republican governor is preparing to launch a series of fall initiatives that build on his efforts earlier this year to revamp Michigan's tax system, put a fiscally conservative state budget in place and demand cost-cutting from the state's thousands of local governments and school districts. Snyder could unveil his health and wellness initiatives as early as this week. Michigan ranks as one of the least healthy states on a number of indicators, coming in 10th highest in the percentage of obese adults, sixth in the rate of adults with asthma, and eighth in estimated new cancer cases. Nearly 14 percent of residents don't have health care coverage. Among other topics, Snyder is expected to talk about how new state-run health exchanges will work as part of the federal health care law. In October, the governor plans to lay out a plan for improving the state's roads and public transit. In November, he plans to promote better ways to better tap Michigan workers' talents through more targeted job training. "He believes those are issues that definitely tie into Michigan's economic development and recovery and that will help lay the foundation for the future," Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said Tuesday. It's all part of the governor's efforts to "reinvent" Michigan since he took office in January. With Republicans in control of the House and Senate, Snyder has gotten GOP votes even for unpopular moves such as taxing public pensions, a move whose legality will be argued Wednesday before the Michigan Supreme Court. Whether that GOP unity continues through the fall, however, is anyone's guess. Some lawmakers might be fearing repercussions from voting for Snyder's agenda. One GOP lawmaker who pushed through a number of Snyder-backed changes to teacher tenure laws could face a recall election in November. The Michigan Education Association has circulated petitions to recall Grand Blanc Rep. Paul Scott. "They've all got a feeling, 'You know, we really walked the plank for the governor here, and it's not really made us heroes in our own home town,'" said Bill Ballenger, a former GOP lawmaker and Capitol observer. "It's not as though Snyder himself is in the stratosphere in the polls. Polls have shown he's dropped like a rock." One area of difference is the need for a new bridge linking Detroit and Canada across the Detroit River. Some Democratic lawmakers favor a span separate from the existing Ambassador Bridge, as does Snyder. But despite months of lobbying by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, the governor still doesn't have enough GOP votes to create an authority that would oversee the building of the bridge. Getting enough votes could involve a lot more horse trading with Republicans and Democrats than the governor has had to do in the past. Then there's the issue of fixing up the state's roads, bridges and other infrastructure. If Snyder wants to raise more revenue for that job, he's likely to face resistance from the many GOP lawmakers who have taken a no-new-taxes pledge. Rich Studley of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce hopes the governor will propose more transportation revenue in October, but acknowledges earlier efforts have been unsuccessful. "We do need to invest more and more wisely in our entire transportation system," the chamber president and CEO said Tuesday. "Like a lot of the country, we still have parts of our transportation infrastructure that are crumbling." The fall session also could bring potentially divisive topics such as right-to-work laws. Some Republicans have discussed introducing bills that would ban compelling a person working in a union-covered position from having to join the union. No specific bills have been introduced, but tea party groups and some county GOP groups in Michigan have passed resolutions urging lawmakers to pass such laws. Snyder has said such legislation is not part of his agenda, and it's unclear how many Republican lawmakers would support the bills. But it's another potential friction spot between the governor and conservatives in his party, as are potential reporting requirements for universities conducting embryonic stem cell research. Katie Carey, spokeswoman for Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer of East Lansing, said Senate Democrats are willing to work with the governor on new proposals but want to see what the details will be. "We remain helpful that the solutions he proposes will be bipartisan," Carey said. Published: Tue, Sep 13, 2011