Sept. 13, 2024 | This Week in Government: Banning Radioactive Waste Dumping in Michigan

House Democrats want to let the nation know that Michigan is not a place for the country to keep its toxic waste.

“Michigan is the Great Lakes State, not the great waste state,” Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Township) said. “We’re sending a message that hazardous waste is not welcome here in Michigan, and we’re standing together … We won’t let anyone threaten our safety.”

Miller, who was joined by members of the House Democratic Caucus and elected officials from Wayne County, introduced HB 5923, which would ban radioactive waste from being dumped in Michigan.

The bill aims to block recent efforts to move radioactive contaminated soil and water in New York from the Manhattan Project to a landfill in Van Buren Township.

Shipments are expected to begin at the end of this month and continue through January.

“I’ve heard … my residents’ concerns and I’m responding with strong legislative solutions,” Miller said. “I’m willing to do what it takes to protect our community and protect our state.”

A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on imported garbage declared out-of-state trash could not be restricted under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That case emerged from St. Clair County officials attempting to prevent a local landfill from accepting out-of-state waste.

Miller said that the legislation, which is modeled off a similar law in New York, has enough support this time to effectively navigate any potential challenges.

“Will it hit snags? We hope not,” she said. “We’re positive we have enough support this time. That’s what makes the difference.”

Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City), whose district borders the location of the landfill, also spoke at the press conference.

“You would never see this type of waste stored near Martha’s Vineyard, Beverly Hills, or other wealthy communities, and we don’t want it either,” Wegela said. “We deserve better than being the nation’s dumping ground for radioactive waste.”

Michigan is home to 20% of the world’s freshwater, Wegela noted, but it’s also home to more trash in landfills than any other state in the country.

“It makes little sense to send this waste to such a populated area and to a state with such vast freshwater resources,” he said. “We must send a clear message to not only the federal government, but the rest of the country, that Michigan will no longer be the hazardous waste dumping ground for these materials.”

Local officials also made it clear they want to see the state act to keep waste out of their community.

“We don’t want this type of toxic waste in our community, and we’re going to fight tooth and nail to keep it out,” said Romulus City Council Member Alan Wilson.

If the Legislature doesn’t pass the ban, Miller said she also supports increasing the tipping fee for dumping waste in Michigan.

“Plain and simple, we’re working on that right now to see what we can come up with as a fee to raise it enough to where it discourages out-of-state waste,” Miller said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed raising the state’s tipping fee in the 2024-25 budget, but that proposal ultimately wasn’t adopted by the Legislature.

Miller said she wanted to see the Legislature get to work on the bill.

“If I had it my way, we’d do this tomorrow, but there’s a process to this,” she said. “I think we’ll get bipartisan support because this is a commonsense issue. … I’m cautiously optimistic that we will get this through.”

Considering the near elimination of the mental health and school safety line item along with the funding increase achieved through a change in retirement contributions, K-12 schools saw a median 2.1% increase in funding, a Gongwer News Service analysis shows.

The 2024-25 fiscal year School Aid budget was highly contentious, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first proposing the state cut back on its payment into the other post-employment benefits portion of the Michigan Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System.

Many school groups, which at first expressed support for this maneuver, later balked and said K-12 institutions should be the ones saving on that payment, not the state.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Legislature and Executive Office ended the budget season by routing the reduction in the MPSERS payment to schools in lieu of a foundation allowance increase. The final budget also reduced a relatively new line item for mental health and school safety from $328 million to $26.5 million.

A Gongwer analysis of most of the major year-over-year funding changes shows taking into account the MPSERS change, the mental health line item reduction, at-risk funding, and one-time payments for charter schools, the median increase among 822 public school districts (all traditional districts plus charter schools) was 2.1%.

There were just 16 school districts that saw a year-over-year reduction and they were all charter schools.

Another 133 saw an increase of 4% or more, and 364 saw a less than 2% increase.

The 11 districts with the largest increases had not previously received any grants under the mental health and school safety line item included in previous year budgets, thus they lost nothing with the 92% cut to that program.

The analysis signals that the budget was neither the cataclysm feared by schools nor as generous as the Democratic majority claimed. Several Democratic lawmakers boasted of increases of 4 to 5% for school districts in their districts that did not account for revenues lost as a result of the reduction to the mental health and school safety line item.

There are hundreds of line items in the School Aid Fund budget and the Gongwer analysis did not include key funding streams like special education money and the Great Start Readiness Program. The analysis relied on two documents from the House Fiscal Agency, one that calculated the year over year change accounting for what happened in MPSERS, At Risk, and a handful of other school funding categories and another with the year over year change in the mental health and school safety program.

The mental health and school safety program also has considerable nuance. Not all districts applied for it and thus were not hit by the reduction. Some monies from the previous fiscal year will lapse into the new one.

Some districts with minimal increases include Baldwin Community Schools in Lake County at 0.19%, North Branch Community Schools in Lapeer County at 0.95%, and Brighton Area Schools at 0.95%.

Schools with larger increases include Northport Public Schools in Leelanau County (11.4%), North Huron School District (6.46%) and Saugatuck Public Schools (6.28%).

Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, called the final impact of the budget a mixed bag for districts. He said some were left in a decent position while others struggled to finalize their budgets.

“It left schools scrambling, there is no question about that, but educators do what they always do, making it work the best they can,” he said.

Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Township), chair of the Senate Appropriations Pre-K-12 Subcommittee, said schools are unquestionably getting more money this year than they did last year, they’re just receiving it in a different way.

“Schools received more money. Point blank,” he said. “We’ve sent more money than any other Legislature ever back to school districts. This year was no different. We just did it in a different manner.”

Camilleri said that after the May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, the Legislature knew that there was going to be less revenue for the School Aid Fund than what was originally forecasted.

“That loss of expected revenue had impacts,” he said.

What is key moving forward, McCann said, is the Legislature passing a policy bill to make the MPSERS reduction permanent. The House passed SB 911 in June but did not transmit it to the Senate before both chambers adjourned.

The House and Senate are expected to conduct minimal voting this month before the election in November, and the bill could potentially see final action.

“Our biggest push over the summer is let’s get this MPSERS issue fixed,” McCann said. “That would take this budget from being problematic … (and) make it a lot better immediately. And obviously give clarity going forward for them. We are hopeful that can get done when they are in session this month.”

Camilleri said he’s had lots of conversations with schools, stakeholders, and lawmakers during the past few months, and though the budget process has been frustrating to explain at times, he said that he feels everyone is on the same page now.

When the Legislature returns this fall, Camilleri said he hopes to quickly move on a policy bill that will make the changes to MPSERS permanent.

“The question is can we get final agreement between all the chambers. I feel good about the direction we’re going,” he said. “We just needed that time to have those conversations this summer.”

Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) said school groups made it very clear where they’d like to see money in the budget.

“They got what they asked for,” she said. “Some school lobbyists got superintendents, principals, very worked up and didn’t paint a full picture of what’s happening. … Money is money, it’s just in a different line item.”

Rep. Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) said her caucus was extremely disappointed with where the School Aid Budget ended up.

“Since 2010 or 2011, there has been at least a foundational per-pupil increase every year,” Greene said. “Everything in my world costs significantly more, and I can imagine that everything is costing significantly more in the world of education. So, to not even keep time up with the rate of inflation is disappointing.”

As of August, the Detroit Consumer Price Index showed inflation over the past 12 months was 3.5%. Only 155 of the 822 districts saw year over year increases of 3.5% or more, according to Gongwer’s analysis.

“When the Legislature doesn’t direct the money to specific places, it usually never goes there,” Greene said. “If we, as a state, are so concerned about school safety and mental health, then that should be our priority … How I understand budgets is you put your money where you think your priority is, and that’s where it gets spent. We only put, what, $26.5 million toward school safety and mental health which was previous $300 million? So, to me, that says our priority is not school safety”

Greene said schools in her district are concerned about how they’re going to continue to fund mental health programs, such as school psychologists, guidance counselors, and even school resource officers.

“That whole world has been rocked, and they’re concerned about how they’re going to fund it,” she said.

On the potential for a supplemental, McCann said he is unsure where that stands and if more funding would be allocated toward mental health and school safety in the 2024-25 fiscal year. He said schools in general are making the decrease work in their current budgets.

Moving forward, however, he said decisions will have to be made if it remains funded at the $25 million level (the remaining $1.5 million was labeled one time).

“Longer term, some of these things are not sustainable,” he said. “You cannot have a 98% cut to a mental health and safety fund without consequences long term.”

Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday that strengthening price gouging protections for consumers is a fall priority and they hope to gain bipartisan support for law changes they said are several years in the making.

“The reality is, is that we have left Michiganders vulnerable for way too long, and it’s long overdue to strengthen Michigan’s price gouging statute,” said Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield).

During a Tuesday roundtable discussion inside the Capitol on price gouging with reporters, Moss, other bill sponsors and Attorney General Dana Nessel stressed the need to protect consumers from businesses and individuals seeking to take advantage of residents during emergency situations.

Moss said the issue for him goes back to a March 2017 windstorm that knocked out power for many state residents. He referenced constituents telling him of a local hotel in his district that was reportedly gouging residents, charging up to $400 per night for what was typically advertised as $59 per night rooms.

He said the governor later used the framework of bipartisan-sponsored legislation introduced in March 2020 for an executive order addressing price gouging during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We still have to codify the framework of that into law, because it was demonstrated to be effective and it was used as a safeguard for consumers from unreasonable price increases during the pandemic,” Moss said.

Moss and Sen. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Township) introduced SB 954, SB 955, and SB 956 on June 26.

Collectively, the bills would set a 10% cap on price increases during a state of emergency before an individual or business would be liable for price gouging, with exceptions. The bills focus on lodging, the cost of goods, and emergency supplies as well as energy products including gasoline.

The exception for lodgings is if the owner of the lodging can prove the increase is due to the increased cost of goods and labor in conducting business or a regularly scheduled seasonal adjustment. For the other products, the exception is if the person selling the items can prove the cost increase is based on the cost of bringing goods to market.

Individuals who commit violations under the bills would face a maximum misdemeanor penalty of one year’s imprisonment and a civil fine of $10,000, while business owners would face a maximum misdemeanor penalty and civil fine of $1 million.

The attorney general could also under the bills bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of those affected by price gouging to recover actual damages or $100, whichever is greater.

A similar House package (HB 5895, HB 5896, and HB 5897) was introduced on July 30 by Rep. Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield) and Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia).

The legislation is similar to a bipartisan Senate bill package introduced in March 2020 during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic (See Gongwer Michigan Report, March 27, 2020).

Hoskins said 34 states and Washington, D.C.,have some form of price gouging laws in place. The Michigan bills are drawn from language from multiple states across the country.

“I think we have a piece of legislation that we can all be proud of, and I think would truly protect consumers around the state,” Hoskins said.

Cavanagh said the proposed changes are much-needed improvements in statute.

“This legislation not only sends a clear message about the values of our state, but also around consumer protection but also gives the government the tools necessary to take on those bad actors,” Cavanagh said.

Pohutsky called the early months of the pandemic “a case study in the weakness of our laws.”

“There have been countless emergencies during my time in office, and each time there are consistently bad actors that engage in price gouging and take advantage of an already vulnerable situation,” Pohutsky said.

Nessel said existing law only covers investigations and enforcement involving single sellers in which they raise their prices excessively above those of comparable sellers in the surrounding area. When a community of sellers is involved, she said it renders her office toothless.

“In the bills package, we equip the state attorney general’s office and local county prosecutors with additional investigative enforcement authority,” Nessel said.

Working with students and teachers to tailor high school classes to a student’s postsecondary goals through a personal curriculum can help increase the likelihood of graduation, Department of Education officials told the State Board of Education Tuesday.

MDE consultants and educational support staff informed the board during its September meeting that the use of a personal curriculum, which allows students to receive credit toward graduation from experiences outside of school and testing out of or waiving certain classes for others can empower young people to take control of their education and improve their outcomes.

Opportunities for students to model their high school schedules based on their goals for after graduation are built into the Michigan Merit Curriculum statute and have been available to students since 2006. Since 2017, MDE data shows that the number of students using personal curriculums has mostly increased steadily, only flattening slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rashell Bowerman, a consultant in the Office of Educational Supports, said the options were designed to help students feel that their high school education directly prepares them for postsecondary goals.

“The MMC law was intended to establish a set of content standards that would provide students with the foundation of cross content knowledge and skills, regardless of what the student may want to do after high school,” Bowerman said. “With that being said, the law also gives many options for flexibility in waiving requirements for individual students.”

Providing additional support to schools to help students and their families form personalized schedules could have tangible impacts on students’ motivation and success in the classroom.

MDE Deputy Superintendent Delsa Chapman said promoting options like the personal curriculum and ensuring school staff can help students through the process is one aspect of the state’s concentrated effort to increase graduation rates.

Bowerman said in her work with school districts on the personal curriculum, she’s seen students become more active participants in their education after they were given the agency to shape their high school experience around their own goals.

“By removing credits that a student does not need to fulfill after-high school goals, the PC can make high school make sense for many students, and potentially impact the level of engagement in their learning, increase attendance and possibly increase chances of students graduating,” she said. “The PC allows the courses they take and their learning experiences to be better aligned to their strengths, passion, and future plans. As such, students can find joy in their learning when they see the relevance to what they are doing every day by aligning their time in school to what they want to do in adult life.”

Bowerman cited an example of one student whose personal curriculum allowed her to earn visual, performing, and applied arts credit from an internship at a local theater company. Another example she said she sees regularly are students who participate in sports not offered at school who are able to receive physical education credit for their playing time.

One challenge facing schools trying to implement personal curricula for their students is ensuring that students receive g credit-equivalent experiences, which requires time and manpower to verify. Often, the task of facilitating the curriculum falls to a guidance counselor who may serve several hundred students at a time.

Still, Bowerman said, it’s important that the process of approving a personal curriculum is conducted thoroughly.

“The PC is not a way to remove courses and credits that are too hard for a student or that a student does not want to take,” Bowerman said. “It is also not a replacement for interventions or good teaching. The PC should not be implemented as a blanket policy or one size fits all. It is not meant for a last-minute attempt to help students graduate. It must be intentional and proactive.”

The options for waiving credits, testing out of classes, or establishing a personal curriculum are linked to a school’s understanding and implementation of the Michigan Merit Curriculum. MDE officials already work to increase awareness of merit curriculum provisions and students’ options within the curriculum but told board members there is still room for improvement.

Board members voiced their support for MDE’s efforts to promote merit curriculum modifications and agreed that allowing students to personalize their learning is a critical part of achieving the state’s goal for graduation rate improvements.

“I do think that there should be more personal individualization of education and as much as possible, quite frankly,” Board Member Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) said. “And I really would prefer to have standards that are more rules of thumb and a higher level of essential standards. I think there’s way too much detail (in curriculum statute) and it inhibits this kind of personalization and individualization.”

Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice said the increase in students using personal curricula is a positive reflection of MDE’s work on the matter.

“You’re looking at 3,200 more young people who have had personal curricula in a five-year period of time, which is an increase of about one-third, and that’s terrific. It gives more children more opportunities to pursue what they need to do in life,” he said. “The more of this that we do, the more we’re tailoring education to our young people. There have to be standards, of course, but there also has to be some measure of flexibility so that kids can follow them to some degree as well.”

State tax collections during August were nearly exactly in line with projections for the month, the Senate Fiscal Agency stated in its monthly revenue report issued Thursday.

Total collections to the state’s major taxes and net lottery revenue were $2.8 billion during August. This was up 5.3% from the same period one year ago and about $12.4 million above the projection for month based on the May 2024 consensus revenue estimate.

For the fiscal year to date, General Fund collections are up $310.4 million from the consensus revenue estimate while School Aid Fund collections are up $126.7 million.

During August, General Fund collections were $30.6 million less than anticipated and School Aid Fund collections were up $34.9 million from expectations.

Net income tax revenue for August was at $965.2 million, which was up 12.4% from the same period the previous year as well as $28.5 million less than projected. Withholding payments that make up the majority of gross income tax revenue were 13.6% higher than one year ago but were $21.3 million below agency estimates for the month.

Sales tax receipts were at $971.9 million during August. This was up 4% from the same period last year and $55.7 million higher than expectations. Use tax collections totaled $231.3 million during the month, which was down 12.1% from last year as well as $26.4 million less than estimates.

For the fiscal year to date, sales tax collections were down 1.1% and use tax collection are up 3%.

Sales tax collections from motor vehicle sales during August totaled $145.1 million, the highest yet recorded for a single month.

Net revenue from the repealed Single Business Tax, the Michigan Business Tax, and the Corporate Income Tax was $31.3 million during August. This was down 22.9% from one year ago but $8.9 million more than anticipated.

State Education Tax Collections during August were 14.9% above August 2023 levels as well as $26.2 million more than expected.