Granholm’s goals go mostly unmet

Last year Gov. Jennifer Granholm made a record number of recommendations in her State of the State address.

However, the majority of the ideas Granholm pushed never became law.

Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said Granholm introduced 21 proposals.

Others tallied up to 23 because it is an inexact science.

“These are all things she called for in her State of the State address,” said Heidi Watson, one of Granholm’s press secretaries.

Ten of Granholm’s suggestions now are laws, including a minimum wage increase, which she promised would be approved.

Granholm is not solely responsible for which proposals were approved or failed.

Most of the proposals that were not approved were introduced as bills last year, but did not pass through.

The Michigan First Health Care Plan was the only proposal not addressed in the legislature last year.

The health care plan requires federal cooperation and waivers.

Granholm has been meeting with federal officials, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt last week.

“The federal government has declined to assume the additional cost, as contemplated in the governor’s proposal,” said Jack McHugh, a policy analyst who runs michiganvotes.org, in an e-mail to Central Michigan Life.

The plan would give money for health care to individuals and businesses, give businesses a discount for insuring their workers and would subsidize health care for some.

Bill Ballenger, CMU Griffin chair of American government, said health insurance was one of the biggest points Granholm made last year in her speech.

“Nothing really major happened on insurance last year,” he said.

Granholm did not get the legislature to agree on a bill form of the health care proposal.

Proposals the governor presented last year – Have they been approved?

1. Increase the minimum wage – Yes
2. More affordable heating bills – Yes
3. Corporate responsibility in state contracts – No
4. Ethics legislation for politicians – No
5. Criminal checks for nursing home employees – Yes
6. Cheaper auto and home insurance – No *1
7. Identity theft notification – Yes
8. Charges for exposing kids to methamphetamine – Yes
9. More penalties for businesses denying jobs to returning National Guardspeople – No
10. Cap national oil profits – No
11. Michigan First Health Care Plan – No
12. Michigan Health Information Network – No
13. Merit Award scholarship – Yes
14. Tougher high school curriculum – Yes
15. Employ 30,000 people through Michigan Opportunity Program – Yes
16. Institute 10 years’ worth of infrastructure programs in three – No *2
17. Remove limits on stem cell research – No
18. Increase education funding – Yes
19. Increase preschool funding – Yes
20. Keep parents informed about bad grades/attendance in K-12 – No
21. Anti-bullying legislation – No
22. Identity theft account freeze – No
23. 401K for small business employees – No

*1 – Some legislation was passed, one auto insurance company now gives a 10% discount, the main legislation went nowhere

*2 – It has not been three years, but Watson said the program was on track to meet the goal

Information based on opinions from Heidi Watson, one of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s press secretaries, Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and Jack McHugh, a policy analyst who runs michiganvotes.org, and compiled by Mike Ellis.

mellis@cm-life.com