by William J. Hallan, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel
A new trend is sweeping the country, what I like to call “trickle-down legislation.”
Policymaking has moved from Congress to the states, from the states to the ballots, and from the ballots to local units of government.
Washington is in gridlock. Hamstrung by bitter partisanship, Congress has accomplished little.
That has pushed states to take action on a number of important issues, such as Main Street Fairness. In January 2015, Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation advocated by Michigan Retailers to close a loophole that allowed some out-of-state merchants to avoid collecting sales tax on merchandise sold in Michigan.
On more partisan issues, the GOP’s control of the Michigan House, Senate and governorship has prevented Democrats from advancing their agenda.
As a result, we have seen a host of Michigan ballot proposals in recent years serving as alternative vehicles to change public policy.
Many of those ballot proposals were unsuccessful. As a result, we are now seeing increased policymaking at the local level.
Patchwork Regulation
Consider the following local actions:
• In June, Washtenaw County approved a plastic bag ordinance that calls for a $0.10 tax for each disposable bag distributed at a grocery store. Muskegon County is considering a similar initiative.
• In August, the City of Ann Arbor adopted an ordinance preventing retailers from selling tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21, despite the fact that state law specifically prevents a city from increasing the age limit.
This trend is very concerning for retailers because it threatens to create a patchwork of local laws making regulatory compliance burdensome and costly.
Michigan has 83 counties and there are approximately 2,700 local units of government – cities, villages and townships. Imagine if each county enacted a unique plastic bag ordinance. A multicounty retailer would have to implement different procedures at each store.
For Michigan to be a competitive business environment, retailers need consistency.
In our state, local units of government have restrictive power, meaning that they only have the power to act if that power is granted in Michigan’s constitution or in legislation. Some examples of local power include:
• Land Use – implementation of zoning laws and ordinances
• Public Safety – providing fire, police and emergency services
• Tax Collection – property taxes and millages
• Roads and Transportation – Maintenance and regulation.
Pre-emption Legislation
While local government is necessary for the greater good, overregulation is crippling for business. Michigan Retailers Association is working hard to stop this dangerous trend, primarily through legislation that pre-empts certain local actions.
In June 2015, after support from an MRA business group coalition, Gov. Snyder signed Public Act 105 that prohibits local units of government from adopting policies on matters such as predictive scheduling, local minimum wage and paid sick leave.
MRA is also working to pass Senate Bill 853, which would prevent local governments from enacting plastic bag bans or bag taxes.
SB 853 has passed the Senate and was recently voted out of the House Commerce Committee.
With policymaking trickling all the way down from Congress to the local level, Michigan Retailers Association is committed to protect the retail industry and maintain a favorable business climate in Michigan.
