Flint water crisis dominates State of the State Address
Gov. Snyder gave his sixth and biggest State of the State speech on Tuesday, addressing not only Michigan residents but a national audience interested to hear his take on the Flint water crisis. There was a somber tone as the governor apologized for the various missteps that occurred at the state, federal and local levels and resulted in the current high lead levels in Flint water.
True to his style, the governor did not focus on assigning blame but rather on solutions. He proposed several appropriations to fund interim water resources, stabilize the system and prevent this from happening in any other part of the state. The House approved the first of several funding requests on Wednesday, unanimously voting to appropriate $28 million.
To help with the Flint water crisis, residents and business owners are encouraged to visit: www.helpforflint.com. Replacement water filters are item most needed, since they must be replaced every 3-5 weeks. If your business is already assisting residents in Flint, please let MRA know so that we can share retail’s story with legislators.
The governor also spoke about the severe financial problems in the Detroit Public Schools system. He pointed out that bankruptcy would not provide the needed academic reforms and would be a more costly option than state assistance.
House panel holds hearing on Chip & PIN
The House Financial Services Committee held an informational hearing Wednesday to discuss the differences between new credit cards issued with a chip and a signature (Chip & Sign) vs. those with a chip and a personal identification number (Chip & PIN). Card issuers are primarily issuing Chip & Sign cards, which include the chip microprocessor and are authorized by the card owner’s signature rather than a PIN. The PIN serves as a second level of encrypted protection. It is much harder to guess or duplicate a PIN that is unique to the card owner than to forge a signature.
MRA testified as to the importance of issuing the more secure Chip & PIN cards and the impact Chip & PIN has had around the world in reducing fraud. There is compelling evidence of the reduction in fraud in countries primarily using Chip & PIN cards. Legislators also heard from representatives of the Michigan Bankers Association and MasterCard, both of whom downplayed the fraud reductions possible under Chip & PIN. While a move to Chip & PIN is important, there are few actions the state can take to ensure Chip & PIN is the minimum standard for newly issued credit and debit cards.
To learn more about the differences between Chip & Sign and Chip & PIN, check out www.chipandpinsecuritynow.org.
Other items to note:
GROCERY/CONVENIENCE:
- Resort SDD licenses: A bill to eliminate the distance exemption between SDD licensed establishments for a resort SDD license was introduced as SB 712. Currently, a resort license can be established in an area to stimulate economic development and the tourist/convention business once the quota of existing licenses has been reached. A resort SDD license can be considered even if it is within 2,640 feet of an existing SDD license. The bill was referred to the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee.
PHARMACY
- Biosimilars: The Senate Health Policy Committee held the first hearing on HB 4812, the biosimilars bill that includes a notification requirement. The committee took testimony from individuals and groups supporting the bill in its current form and will take testimony from those opposed to the notification requirement in a few weeks. Committee members asked some tough questions of those supporting notification, and it appears the committee is leaning toward removing that language.
REGULATIONS
- Fireworks: SB 698, to allow local governments to restrict the use of fireworks except on the Fourth of July, was introduced last week. The bill was referred to the Government Operations Committee, which is a sign that it likely will not see any movement.
- Drones: Legislation to severely regulate the use of drones over private and public property was recently introduced as SB 699–700. The bills give private property owners the right to the airspace within 300 feet above their property and ban the use of drones over public land unless the entity that owns the land has passed a law or ordinance allowing the use of drones. The bills were referred to the Senate Transportation Committee.
OTHER
- Dog collar removal: Legislation introduced last week would make it a misdemeanor for someone other than the owner or an authorized agent of the owner to remove a collar from a dog. HB 5215 was introduced in an effort to prevent someone from removing the collar with tracking device from hunting dogs (done frequently by some anti-hunting groups). MRA is seeking clarifying language to ensure grooming and other services performed at pet stores are exempt.
- Snowplow services: HB 5230 would prohibit indemnity agreements in snowplow and de-icing service contracts. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
