What's New with Senator Basham?

Sen. Basham to Host Town Hall October 8th to Address Important Hunting Issues

Senator Basham announced that he will be hosting a town hall meeting in Taylor on October 8, 2008, along with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to address the current issues hunters face this season, including concerns about chronic wasting disease and bait feed bans, the use of cross bows, and waterfowl surveys.

The town hall will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8 at Gander Mountain at 14100 Pardee Road in Taylor. Sen. Basham will be joined by representatives from the DNR, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Michigan State University Extension to discuss the discovery of chronic wasting disease, ongoing efforts to test and monitor deer to determine whether the disease has spread, the related bait feed ban and other issues of concern to local hunters.

The DNR recently imposed a ban on the baiting and feeding of deer throughout the Lower Peninsula in response to the discovery of a captive deer with chronic wasting disease found in August in Kent County. It was the first time the neurological disease had showed up in Michigan. Chronic wasting disease can be transmitted between animals or from food contaminated by the saliva or feces of an infected deer. The agency hopes this action will help prevent the spread of the persistent, fatal disease to the state's large wild deer population.

 

Basham Calls on Congress to Increase Public Transit Funding in Michigan

The Michigan State Senate voted in late September to approve Senate Resolution 200, a resolution sponsored by Sen. Ray Basham that calls on Congress to support federal funding to expand Amtrak’s passenger rail capacity and number of routes in Michigan. The resolution was passed unanimously with bipartisan support before the full Senate.

Basham’s resolution urges Congress and President Bush to support funding for expansions to Michigan’s Amtrak system after the recent passage of House Resolution 6003 in Congress. HR 6003 gives states access to potentially $500 million per year in capital grant money for five years for improvements to passenger rail infrastructures.

Ridership has increased 47 percent on all three Michigan Amtrak routes in the last six years. The Wolverine route, from Pontiac through Detroit to Chicago, increased its passenger load 2.5 percent in 2007 alone. The state-supported Blue Water route between Port Huron and Chicago saw increased ridership of 3 percent in 2007, and ridership on the state-supported Pere Marquette route between Grand Rapids and Chicago increased 2.8 percent. All three corridors experienced sold-out trains in 2007, some on a regular basis, which may have limited their true earning potential. Over the first seven months of the 2008 fiscal year, Pere Marquette ridership is up 9.8 percent and Blue Water ridership has increased 6.5 percent. Revenues have grown as well, from 4.5 to 9.2 percent.

With limited routes available, Amtrak trains still contributed $500,000 of unanticipated ticket income to the State of Michigan. Trends suggest that demand for passenger rail services will continue to increase, and without the necessary infrastructure improvements, the state will not have the resources to meet the demand. Sen. Basham’s resolution requests the federal funding that is critical to expanding cleaner, greener transit in Michigan. A complete copy of the resolution can be accessed at http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2008-SR-0200.

 

Basham Supports Legislation to Create Green Jobs, Produce Cleaner Energy

Senator Basham recently supported bipartisan, comprehensive renewable energy legislation that will stimulate economic growth and the creation of “green jobs” while saving ratepayers $4.3 billion in future energy costs. This legislation, which includes Senate Bills 213 and 1048 and House Bill 5524, ensures that Michigan’s energy needs are met by clean and renewable energy resources while specifically reducing costs for consumers.

This package will:

  • Create a 10% Renewable Portfolio Standard that will encourage investment in Michigan’s renewable energy sector and create new manufacturing jobs in the wind and solar industries
  • Save ratepayers $4.3 billion in avoided costs over the next twenty years by not paying for unnecessary new baseload plants
  • Diversify Michigan’s economy as well as its electricity generation portfolio, insulating the state from future fuel crises
  • Create energy efficiency standards to reduce energy used, ultimately keeping costs down
    • Include a “net metering” law that will allow consumers to sell renewable energy that they produce back to utility companies
  • Provide an income tax credit for ratepayers to offset a portion of their investments in renewable energy for Michigan
  • Ensure that money will not be spent on renewable energy technology unless it is less expensive than new coal plants
  • Ensure that money will not be spent on energy efficiency measures unless it is shown that such measures will save more money than is being spent.

Michigan has been identified by the United States Department of Energy as one of the top eight states in the nation for potential wind production. The Department also recognizes Michigan as one of four states that will create over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in the wind sector alone. Renewable energy manufacturers are investing billions of dollars in expanding their capacities every day, and Michigan already has superior tool and die, metal fabrication, and metal working capabilities and a highly-developed manufacturing supplier network. This new legislation opens the door for the state to become a major player in the fast-growing renewable energy sector.

 

Basham Resolution to Reduce Price of Passports Passes Senate

Reducing the cost to Michigan residents for soon to be required passports to travel to Canada is the subject of a resolution sponsored by Senator Ray Basham that recently passed the Michigan Senate.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 31 was introduced in response to the pending June 2009 implementation of federal law requiring a passport for re-entry into the United States from Canada or Mexico. The Senator explained that Michigan residents have traditionally been able to move back and forth across the Canadian border with a $25 driver license or a birth certificate for identification. The new passport requirement and its $100 plus price tag will likely inhibit citizens from crossing the border and hence negatively affect our local, state and national economies. SCR 31, therefore, calls on Congress to reduce the price of traditional passports by directly lowering the cost to consumers or by offering fully refundable federal income tax deductions. The Senator, working in a bi-partisan effort with State Representative Paul Opsommer, successfully passed a similar resolution at the National Conference of State Legislators annual policy conference earlier this summer.

After being adopted by the Michigan Senate, SCR 31 was sent to the Michigan House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

Senator Basham Announces $44,500 in Arts and Culture Grants

Sen. Basham is pleased to announce that the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) has awarded three 2009 Arts and Cultural Grants to the Downriver area: $12,000 to the Downriver Council for the Arts, $9,000 to the Southern Great Lakes Symphony and $23,500 to the City of Wyandotte.

The Downriver Council for the Arts grant will help with upgrading their marketing and promotional materials, which will include producing a newsletter and other program development. The grant to the Southern Great Lakes Symphony will fund five subscription concerts, four Culinary Concertos, a concert in Taylor for all third, fourth and fifth graders in the district, and traveling for chamber groups to visit 19 schools. The City of Wyandotte will use their grant to implement the Wyandotte arts incubator project and install an elevator in the Masonic Temple Building.

MCACA awarded more than $7.9 million in the form of 290 arts and cultural grants in 53 counties. All grant applications were evaluated through a process of peer review. Panels, consisting of arts and cultural professionals from throughout the state, evaluated and judged each application based on published review criteria. This process resulted in recommendations for funding consideration to the council. Projects funded by MCACA must be completed within fiscal year 2009, which begins Oct. 1, 2008, and ends Sept. 30, 2009.

A complete list of grant recipients can be found a www.michigan.gov/arts.

 

 

Tune Into The Basham Report

October Topic:

Senator Basham interviews Terri Miller, Director of Help Eliminate Auto Thefts (H.E.A.T.), on issues regarding H.E.A.T.’s statewide auto theft prevention program.

Schedule:

Wyandotte Cable – Channel 15 on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Comcast Cable (Allen Park, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, Riverview, Southgate & Taylor) – Channel 20 on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Comcast Cable (Wayne & Romulus) – Channel 25 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m.

 

 

Mark Your Calendar

Wednesday, October 8: Senator Basham Hosting DNR Town Hall Meeting on Hunting Issues, 6:00 pm - 8:00pm, Gander Mountain, 14100 Pardee Road, Taylor, MI.

 

 

News You Can Use

Department of Human Services Hosts Voter Registration Fairs

The Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) will be hosting voter registration fairs in 57 counties across Michigan to help individuals register to vote. Representatives from League of Women Voters of Michigan, city, township, and county clerk offices will be at the locations to assist individuals attending the events. At some sites, an AutoMark machine will be available to individuals who would like hands-on practice casting a ballot.

Voting gives every Michigan resident a voice in the political system and provides the opportunity for an individual to participate in all levels of government. If you cannot attend one of the scheduled voter registration fairs, you can register to vote at one of the DHS local offices during their regular operating hours.

For more information on dates, time and places of the Voter Registration Fairs, please visit this link.

 

Turn That Music Down

Make sure you turn down your stereo when you drive through Riverview. The City of Riverview adopted a new Noise and Music Ordinance late last year that some citizens think should be the norm for all Downriver communities. It addresses the practice of loud, earth-shaking bass that some experts say causes some negative health problems beyond the annoyance and disturbance.

The World Heath Organization has recognized and published reports on the health problems associated with loud and irritating noise in the world. The Riverview Ordinance was borrowed from other cities that adopted this new ordinance. It has been vetted in the courts where it was found neither too broad nor overly vague. For information on the ordinance call the City of Riverview at (734) 281-4201.

 

MPSC Encourages Michiganians to “Change a Light” to Save on Their Electric Bills

Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) Commissioner Monica Martinez today encouraged Michigan electric customers to reduce their electric bills by switching to energy efficient lighting products that can result in big savings.

Thanks in part to a grant from the MPSC, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are available for as little as 99 cents per bulb statewide at participating Meijer, Menards and Kroger stores, as well as seven Lansing area and three Upper Peninsula Ace Hardware stores. Many other retailers will also have CFLs on sale during the month of October.

Martinez encouraged Michigan residents to support energy efficiency by taking the “Change a Light” pledge by visiting the Energy Star website here and selecting “State of Michigan” as the organization that referred them.

Martinez noted that ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime; use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs; last up to 10 times longer; can be used in most incandescent fixtures already in the home; and offer bright, warm light.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, so it is important to dispose of them properly. The Michigan Department of Community Health has a helpful fact sheet that contains information on proper disposal, available here.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

 

AIG Policyholders Should be Careful if Approached to Replace Policies

AIG's insurance companies are financially sound, with substantially more in assets than they need to pay all valid present and projected claims, the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) today reassured Michigan’s AIG policyholders. OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross explained that the trouble with AIG is largely with AIG's non-insurance parent company, which is not regulated by the states and therefore not held to the same investment, accounting and capital adequacy standards as its state-regulated insurance subsidiaries. The insurance subsidiaries are solvent and able to pay their obligations.

“Replacing or liquidating a life insurance policy or an annuity can have significant hidden costs and tax consequences. That’s why Michigan insurance laws require that consumers get all the information they need to make an educated decision,” Ross added. “If someone tells a consumer to replace any policy because an AIG insurance company is in trouble, that is not only untrue, it’s against the law.”

If consumers have a life insurance or annuity policy and someone tells them to replace it because of the troubles at AIG's parent company, they should immediately call OFIR’s toll-free hotline 877-999-6442.

 

Spay Your Pet

Pet owners looking for an affordable way to get Fluffy or Fido “fixed" in Michigan will now know where they can go after the launch of Spay Michigan, the first statewide pet spay and neuter hotline.

By calling 888-5SPAY-HELP toll free, Michigan pet owners will get information from a live operator about affordable spay and neuter services available throughout the state, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Michigan is one of only 13 states to offer such a program.

Michigan faces a pet overpopulation crisis resulting in the needless killing of thousands of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens every year in shelters across Michigan. The state’s poor economic conditions make it difficult for many pet owners to afford sterilization and as more pets are being abandoned at local shelters. Information can also be found at www.allaboutanimalsrescue.org.