April 1, 2004
More good news!
The Senate accepted the House version of SB 612 with no further amendments, and passed it today by a margin of 33 to 4!
The bill still needs to be signed by Governor Granholm before it becomes law.
We would like to thank you for all of your
hard work and lobbying efforts.
March 25, 2004
Good news!
Today, March 25, 2004, the House Energy and Technology Committee voted 17-0 on a motion to report SB 612 for a full vote by the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives then voted today on SB 612 and passed it by a 104-0 margin. It is our hope that the Senate will soon concur with the House and move the Bill to Governor Granholm for signing.
March 24, 2004
The House Energy and Technology Committee has scheduled a meeting for Thursday, March 25, 2004. Vice President Elliott will be attending this hearing on behalf of the MSUWC Executive Board. The meeting is in regards to SB 612. It is expected that the committee will vote on this issue at the meeting. We will keep you posted of any future developments.
Please continue to contact your representative
at the House and ask them to support SB 612. State Senators can be found online by clicking
here. A State Senate district map can be found
here. An online list of State
Representatives is located here.
A State Representative district map can be found here.
Click here for other government
links of interest.
March 17, 2004
The House Energy and Technology Committee held a hearing on SB 612 on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 to hear testimony. Vice President Elliott attended this hearing on behalf of the MSUWC Executive Board.
March 9, 2004
The House Energy and Technology Committee held a hearing on SB 612 on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 to hear testimony. Vice President Elliott attended this hearing on behalf of the MSUWC Executive Board.
January 21, 2004
VP Tony Elliott gave testimony in support of SB 612 before the House Energy and Technology Committee today. Future hearing dates are scheduled for January 28 and February 4, 2004. Representatives from the Council Executive Board will be attending all hearings. Please continue to contact your representative(s). To find out who your representative is, click here.
For the testimony that Vice President Tony Elliott gave before the House Energy and Technology Committee in support of Senate Bill 612 today, click here.
December 10, 2003
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the extension of the temporary waiver for ASP in its meeting of December 9. You can read the minutes from that meeting by clicking here, or read the press release from the MPSC by clicking here.
December 2, 2003
Governor Granholm has signed House Bill 5188, extending the waiver for our ASP program to July 1, 2004. The bill takes effect immediately, and Jon Robinson has prepared a request for extension to be filed with the MPSC. We expect the commission to approve this request at its next regularly scheduled meeting on December 18.
Date: November 13, 2003
From: Jim Davison, Secretary-Treasurer
Subject: Update on ASP Legislation
Last Thursday we reported that Chairman Ken Bradstreet of the House Energy & Technology Committee had laid out a longer timetable for House action. He wants to hold public hearings and a working session on the bill before it is reported to the House floor. In the meantime, he will use the House Bill as a vehicle to extend the program deadline from December 31, 2003 to July 1, 2004.
The Bill was reported from the House Energy & Technology Committee on November 5, 2003, to the full House to vote on an amendment. That amendment was passed on November 6, 2003, and sent to Senator Bruce Patterson (Chair of the Senate Energy & Technology Committee) to complete action on the extension prior to the November 13 recess.
The Senate passed House Bill 5188 with no amendments on November 12th. The next steps are for the bill to be enrolled, printed, and sent to the Governor for signature. The process of printing the bill for signature can take a few days, depending on how many bills the Legislature enacts before they recess on November 13th. Once she receives the enrolled bill, she will have 14 days to sign it.
Chairman Bradstreet will begin House hearings on HB 5188 in January and has committed to completing action on the Bill by March 31. We would then have additional time to make our decision on what to do with the program in light of the legislation's final form. In the meantime, the Company will resume customer acquisition and retention efforts as allowed within MPSC guidelines.
This extension gives us time to reconvene and develop grassroots activities targeting House members with the goal of achieving the same level of support for the Bill that we got from the Senate.
We will keep you informed as these actions unfold. Thank you for your continued support regarding this important issue.
November 6, 2003
Subject: Update on ASP legislation from Carl English and Jim Davison
As you know, Senate Bill (SB) 612, the legislation to preserve the Appliance Service Plan (ASP), passed the Senate recently by a wide majority. While we were hopeful that the House leadership would pass the bill before the Thanksgiving break, House leadership has decided not to schedule action on the bill until January.
To protect ASP in the interim, the House has passed a bill (HB 5188) that extends the MPSC's waiver for the program to July 1, 2004. We expect the Senate to pass this extension next week.
Chairman Ken Bradstreet will begin House hearings in January and plans to complete action on the bill by March 31. Once the bill has passed, we will resume customer acquisition and retention efforts.
Much work remains to be done to pass this legislation in the House. Grass roots activities will continue to be central to the effort of winning votes for the bill. The goal is to achieve the same level of support for the bill that we obtained from the Senate.
We'll keep you posted as these actions unfold. The overwhelming support in the Senate can be attributed to the strong message sent from all employees, customers and contractors regarding the need to keep ASP.
Thank you for your continued support of this important cause.
October 30, 2003 (updated November 3, 2003)
Good news! Senate Bill 612 passed by a 33 to 4 margin. Click here for more details.
October 2, 2003
Check out the pictures from Lobby Day here.
September 17, 2003
Click here for the testimony that President Steven VanSlooten gave before the Senate Technology and Energy Committee in support of Senate Bill 612 today.
August 13, 2003
The case that is going to the Michigan Court of Appeals will have its oral arguments on September 4. There will be an answer by end of November.
UPDATE: Our attorney contacted us today, August 20, 2003, and informed us that the case to be heard by the Court of Appeals on Sept. 4 is the October 2001 case, and not the October 2002 case which the Council is involved in.
We will keep you abreast of any developments and/or decisions with this case.
July 23, 2003
Local Presidents:
Appliance Service Program - Lobby Day
On July 15, 2003, Senator Laura Toy (R) Livonia, and Senator Dennis Olshove (D) Warren, introduced the Appliance Service Program Senate Bill, SB 612. The Council Executive Board requested VP Elliott and myself to work with Todd Tennis from Capitol Services to schedule a day to lobby your State Senators and Representatives. This has been accomplished and the Appliance Service Program - Lobby Day of SB 612 will be held on September 24, 2003.
Each Local will be allowed to have two members attend with the Company agreeing to pick up wages only, and expenses will be covered by the Local. Any additional members attending will be paid by the individual Locals. We will have a continental breakfast available at 8:30 AM with the program starting at 9 AM in room 402 of the Capitol Building. Another notice will be mailed in early September which will include details such as the final Agenda, where to park, etc.
Copies of the Tentative Agenda , SB 612 and request slip for those attending can be found by clicking on the blue links. These were also mailed to the Local Presidents, along with a list of the State Senators and Representatives, and a book on talking points. If you failed to receive them, or would like more copies, please contact me at the Council office.
State Senators can be found online by clicking here. An online list of State Representatives is located here. The complete text of Senate Bill 612 (SB 612) can be obtained by clicking here.
The talking points should be used when speaking to your Senator and Representative throughout the summer and on September 24, 2003 - it is important to let them know that there is support for this bill.
Please return the Lobby Day slip by August 27 to the Council, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
/s/
James E Davison
Secretary-Treasurer