MI House passes bill to prohibit state university providing domestic partner benefits

This week on Thursday the MI House in a vote of 66-44 pass House Bill 4770 a little after 1pm the opening of the House session, that is to prohibit state universities from providing domestic partner benefits. The bill introduce by Rep. Agema of Grandville in West Michigan, who is the Speaker of the House as the Chair of the Majority Republicans claims its about looking at the cost to provide the benefits that cost $8M a year.

The Democrats in the House stood against the HB 4770 and HB 4771 on the Floor, and throughout the process preceding the floor vote as did the lobbying staff of EPICA Consulting and organizations such as ACLU MI, Equality Michigan, National Organization of Women of MI, NAACP to name some organizations. Additionally individuals including in the House Ethics and Oversight Committee who work at the university and are affect testified with photos of their family that are affected. Lastly it was advised this is not good policy by the MI Department of Civil Rights.

The bills introduced by Rep Agema who is the Republican Causus Chair and Speaker of the House was vetoed down earlier this year in May with a veto by Governor Synder also a Republican. That bill was to enact that any higher education institution of the state providing domestic partner benefits would get an additional 5% cut to that already higher education cuts of 22%.

Followed up within minutes was HB 4771 which stripes the state university employees of collective bargaining, which they could use to respond to this stripping of the state university providing their own employees domestic partner benefits. This many are seeing as an attack.

Currently 10 states universities provide domestic partner benefits, and had changed their policies after the state Prop 2 passage in 2006 that amended the Michigan Constitution to ban same sex marriage. The MI Supreme Court ruled that the universities could not provide same sex couples health benefits.

Since the state has given historically its universities a lot of self automanty the state coming down on this over rides the people who elected into office their state universities board members who then determine the universities employee’s copmensation including these benefits.

Executive Director of Equality Michigan & lawyer at Rainbow Law

As Emily D. who works as the Director of Policy at Equality MI, the leading LBGT organization for civil rights in Michigan, reported on the Craig Fahle show, the majority of people under this are not same sex couples living together, as many LBGT persons in Michigan do not feel comfortable coming out to their employer. In Michigan it is still legal to be fired for being or perceived by one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity in employment, and discriminated against in housing, public accommodation(s).

The exempts today being 17 municipalities of MI some 1600+ municipalities, and the state universities that have the policies.

The history of MI for LBGT rights turns to its state universities as well for these issues, with the first LBGT campus office opening in 1961 with a critical effort by Jim Toy at University of Michigan who worked at quarter time until the mid 1990s while working often vastly more hours.  Today called the Spectrum Center which turned 40 this year and hosted the MBLGTACC (Midwest Bi Lesbian Gay Trans Allies College Conference) where some 2,000 attended from around the nation.

For East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, the first non discrimination city ordinance was passed in the nation in 1962, and will mark 40 years next year. Today MI has 17 municipalities that have non discrimination ordinances and the nation nearly 200 municipalities. The Mayor of East Lansing this year at Michigan Pride stood on the steps of the Capital with the mayor of Lansing Virg Bernero who ran as the Dem Governor candidates in 2010. Virg spoke and has spoken historically for equality as his brother was a gay man who is no longer with us.

While areas of the nation are moving forward in equality efforts and focusing on growing jobs, the economy and families, communities some feel that Michigan via these bills is going backwards with attacks on the labor, unions and minority communities. We as a nation need to support MI with calls to the MI Senate to support the need to block the attacks on the labor, workers rights, local governing, educators, diversity, and LBGT / same sex couples who are banned from marriage and now from providing for partner and children in the household.

The argument against this bill being made that this is going to drain to academically talent that is in our state, and turn away recruiting new talents to our universities, and removes health benefits now for partners of unmarried gay and straight couples, as well as the children and dependents in the household. Meaning lose of preventive medical services, current necessary medical services if not paid out of pocket, and leaves less money being spent in the local community.

Governor Synder has veto this earlier this year and the governor is a republican, who during his campaign ran with he wants to run MI like a business. The argument today can be held that many Fortune 500 companies today do have domestic partner benefits provided to retain and recruit the best talents. MI needs this as our universities are one of our best economies, as Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) of Ann Arbor outlined, his district home of University of Michigan has the best employment rates in all of MI with as low as 3% versus the state nearly 10%, due to the university that has lead in diversity, civil rights, and a international ranked research institution.

The battle is not over, the next step is taking action in the Senate as the bill will go to the Floor to be read upon a senator to introduce the bill.

Then it will be voted to be moved to a committee which is yet not known, and civil rights lobbyist around Michigan and the nation are watching to keep the community up to date for actions.

At that committee we the people can give public comment, testimony why not to pass this bill and EPICA Consulting will be there. Anyone from the public is welcome to attend during this time to give testimony or to be in the chambers and submit their organization, business or self as opposed on record without having to give testimony.

It is there we can hope to shut this down by calling our State Senators and the Governor’s office to ask to veto this bill if it comes to his desk.

If it passes out of the Senate Committee that it is assigned then it will become the third reading of the bill to go before the Senate Floor for vote where we would have to strongly as a state react with overloading the emails, mail and phone lines and media with our set message of opposed to this bill. If it passed that senate floor vote it would go to the Governors Desk where he can sign it or veto it. If signed we are then left to legally challenge it like California is still with 2008 Prop 8 that is still in debates today in court.

So CALL the MI Senators today, email, mail, meet in district, meet in Lansing even, and write your local paper.

Senate Majority Speaker (R) Senator Randy Richardville office is 517-373-3543 a moderate who has voted with the anti bullying bill that included sexual orientation and gender identity/expression and is likely to be open to dialogue on this issue, so stay with why this could harm our state and ask for the vote to oppose this when it comes to the Senate.

Senate Minority Speaker (D) Senator Gretchen Whitmer office is 517-373-1734 who represents the Lansing and East Lansing area home to Michigan State University. Senator Whitmer is a stanch defender of education and is the leader of the Dem Caucus in the Senate and will know more about the happenings, and very likely to be opposed to this bill.

Senator Rebekah Warren office is 517-373-2406 who represents Ann Arbor area home of University of Michigan and is a stanch supporter of education, and of LBGT issues in the community, having worked with second parent adoption, Elliot Larson the MI State Hate Crime bill still tied up, and with the state anti bullying bill to include sexual orientation and gender identity also still tied up. It is very likely Senator Rebekah Warren will be opposed and to be a leading voice on opposition to seeing this bill pass the Senate.

To contact your other state Senators you can find their information at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ampnw055uyq1fc2e4sb3qoa2))/mileg.aspx?page=legislators

Take the ACTION proactively to call the MI senators and tell them:

- Your Name

- Address

- Phone number

- That you are opposed to the House that bill would prohibit the state universities from providing domestic partner benefits to its employees.

- Insert your personal story, of how it affects you in work, housing, relatives, friends, coworker, this turns you away from studying, living, traveling, working, family, etc in MI.

- This is unconstitutional to powers granted to the state universities to self govern with their locally elected board who determine the state university’s employee compensation.

- This attacks labor, and workers

- That business today give these benefits, and the Governor a Republican has already veto this before.

- This will cost the state legal issues and costs the state money that is tax payers

- This removes health care to children in these households

- This attacks the labor and workers of public services once again who keep taking the cuts in Michigan

- That this is an attack on LBGT community that during this economy time should not be our focus!

Thank them for your time and ask them directly can I count on your vote to block this from passing in the Senate? If they dont give a direct answer follow up quickly when will you know for me to call back?

You can also meet with the State Senators in their home districts at coffee hours, events, or write emails, letters with that information on their page, again the link to the MI Legislators for that information: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ampnw055uyq1fc2e4sb3qoa2))/mileg.aspx?page=legislators 

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