Senator Nancy Cassis :: 15th District

Senate Republican Priorities
and Achievements

Budget: Right-sizing government and Growing Michigan's Economy

The first step to government's economic recovery is an honest acknowledgement of the crisis. Denial is no longer an option, and reliance on tired old solutions and political rhetoric will not change our fortunes. Staying the course is only going to make matters worse and prolong our journey to the road to recovery. (more)

Elimination of MBT Surcharge

Senate Republicans sent a message this year to Michigan job providers to let them know how important they are to re-energizing our state's economy. We encouraged them to keep their businesses here with our recent passage of a bill to eliminate the onerous Michigan Business Tax surcharge. Senate Bill 1 phases out the 21.99 percent MBT surcharge over a two-year period - cutting the surcharge by half to 11 percent in 2009 and eliminating it by 2010. (more)

Workforce Training and Jobs

With our state's unemployment rate nearly 50 percent higher than the rest of the country, we must do everything we can to help put people back to work and facilitate job creation. Michigan has been in a one-state recession for the past six years and our state's economy is undergoing a change that is fundamental and long lasting. As this process plays out, the need to have a trained and capable workforce will grow and remain a top consideration for employers and entrepreneurs deciding where they want to locate. (more)

Health Care Reforms

Currently, Michigan is home to an estimated 1.1 million residents who do not have health insurance, which is equal to 11.5 percent of the state's population. This number is likely to increase unless the economy improves.

Michigan Senate Republicans understand many residents are afraid that they may not be able to afford health insurance. In the last legislative session we tried to address these concerns before they became an issue for the people of Michigan, but unfortunately, the House did not agree. (more)

Eliminate Bureaucracy

Senate Republicans will continue to do everything to make our state a leader in the nation for job growth. One of the most important factors a business considers when deciding where to locate or expand its operations is the time, cost, and ease of compliance associated with a state's regulatory climate.

Senate Republicans will continue our fight to eliminate bureaucracy and make Michigan an inviting place to do business. We will work with job providers to reform the regulatory structure in Michigan and to put pressure on the administration when the actions of a department are costing us precious jobs. (more)

An Agenda for Strong Schools

Senate Republicans firmly believe that the success of our great state will depend almost entirely on whether Michigan has the kind of education system that provides our children and future generations with the skills to succeed in the fiercely competitive and ever-evolving global economy. Literally and figuratively, we simply cannot afford an education model that has grown out of a 20th century industrial and agrarian society. Just as we must diversify our economy, we must challenge ourselves to innovate and to create a diverse and comprehensive approach to educating our children. We are focused and committed to a long-range plan to build strong schools that reflect a dynamic, efficient and high-performance 21st century learning environment. (more)

Protecting Water and Natural Resources

Michigan's natural resources are one of the state's most valuable assets. It is imperative that they be preserved and protected. Senate Republicans will continue our strong leadership role in protecting our water and our environment.

Efforts to conserve Michigan's natural resources are not new for Senate Republicans. For more than five years, we have been leading the way to develop proactive legislation to protect the Great Lakes, promote alternative energy, and expand recycling in Michigan. (more)

Keeping People in Their Homes

Senate Republicans will take action to ensure families are not taxed out of their homes in these tough economic times.

Property values in Michigan have declined steadily over the past two years. Most homeowners have seen the values of their homes drop 15 percent to 25 percent. Property taxes, however, have actually increased over the same period.

We will lead the charge to fix the constitutional provision that allows property taxes to increase while the value of your home decreases. (more)

Making Neighborhoods Safe

Senate Republicans served on a bipartisan workgroup comprised of members of the governor's administration, the House, and the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center to determine how the state might reduce corrections spending while reinvesting in measures that will make communities safer and stronger. The workgroup produced a bipartisan package of policy options that gives Michigan a real chance to achieve needed cost savings and prevents crime at the same time. (more)

From the Senate Floor

Michigan Senate Republicans Floor Statements

Senator Cropsey refutes false statements by the governor and other democrats that the Senate has not acted on revenue generating legislation for the K12 budget.

Recent Blogs from Senate Republicans

The leaves have all fallen from the trees, the temperatures are dropping and soon the snow will be flying it must be time for one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. (read)

Michigan film credit offers little hope of reward, penalizes small businesses

Thursday, June 12, 2008

by Senator Nancy Cassis

Senator Nancy Cassis is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee and represents Michigan’s 15th Senate District (Oakland County).

Michigan’s unyielding one-state recession continues to challenge the best efforts of lawmakers and the administration searching for solutions. In our rush for answers, however, we mustn’t make unwise fiscal decisions on the false promise of an economic boon.

Unfortunately that is exactly what happened this spring when Governor Granholm signed into law the most generous film tax credit in the nation. Perhaps the governor was star-truck because she wasn’t thinking clearly when she sold this “incentive package” as a “jobs growth” opportunity. Just ask the millions of the state’s owners and employees of small and medium-sized businesses, who will end up paying the tab.

The film tax break is a credit for film production companies of up to 42 percent of their production costs incurred in the state. According to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, the credit will bring $17 million into Michigan through income and sales taxes in fiscal year 2009. Yet due to the payouts to film companies, the credit will reduce the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) revenue that year by $127 million—for a net loss of $110 million. One reason for this loss is that the film credit is a “refundable” one, which means that if a company’s credits are more than its tax liability, the state will send the company a refund check. Such credit “cotton candy” may be sweet, but it provides no real nourishment to our economy.

The film credit does not pay for itself. We have to rob Peter, the hard-working Michigander, to pay Paul, the Hollywood tycoon. To fund these millions of dollars in payouts, we must use money from the state’s General Fund budget—and in turn reduce some other budgets. Which budgets are we going to cut by $110 million?

Through the MBT and its surcharge, we have already raised the taxes on the job creators in the state, our small and medium-sized businesses. Thanks to several committee hearings, we are just now beginning to formulate solutions to this unwanted result of the business tax. We certainly cannot burden these businessmen and women with more taxes. Regrettably the film credit does just that.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Jelinek and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. George Cushingberry, Jr. have expressed concern recently over the unanticipated costs of the credit, and they have indicated a willingness to make some prudent changes. Cushingberry said the credit should be capped at $50 million annually.

There has also been some recognition by the Senate of the need to remove refundability through the passage of an amendment I offered to Senate Bill 1196. The amendment will eliminate the state from issuing a refund if the tax credit for a service station converting or installing pumps for E-85 ethanol is greater than their tax liability.

This is certainly a good start. I wish I hadn’t been the only Michigan legislator to vote against this credit. Sen. Jelinek and Rep. Cushingberry have now sounded warning bells that I had struck weeks ago. I hope more people are listening.

Nancy Cassis
State Senator, Novi