TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMichigan legislators vote despite conflicts of interest
Republican state Sen. Darwin Booher of Evart initially abstained from voting on a 2015 bill that proposed a $12,000 raise for circuit court judges, writing that it “could be perceived as providing a benefit to an individual to whom I am personally related” — his daughter, 49th Circuit Judge Kimberly Booher.
But a year later, the senator did vote on the raises when a House version came back to the Senate. The bill passed and became law, giving his daughter and her peers a salary boost.
Booher is not the only Michigan lawmaker who voted on bills that could potentially benefit them or their close relatives. A Center for Public Integrity analysis of more than 50,000 pages of official legislative journals logging each day’s actions found six other Michigan legislators who voted on bills even when they publicly noted their own conflicts of interest.
Currently, the penalties for voting when a conflict of interest exists are modest — and seemingly unused. Michigan’s Senate bans members from voting on bills in which they have a private or professional interest. Violators may be expelled by a committee of fellow legislators, though any actions taken would not amount to criminal charges, according to the chamber’s rule book. And not a single senator has been reprimanded under the rule in at least a decade, according to the Senate majority leader’s spokeswoman Amber McCann.
Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/24/michigan-legislators-conflicts-interest/34220393/
Michigan House passes $56.7B budget bills
LANSING, MI - The Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday passed two budget bills spending a total of $56.7 billion on everything from the state's operations to educating Michigan's children.
The omnibus budget, which lays out funds for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2017, passed 66-41. A second bill containing the education budget passed 71-36.
The omnibus budget passed by the House clocked in at 39.8 billion, lower than the current omnibus budget of 39.9 billion the legislature passed last year. The education budget at 16.9 billion came in higher than the current fiscal year spend of $16.6 billion.
The total spend approved by the House on Tuesday would be 56.7 billion, higher than the current spend of $56.6 billion.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/04/michigan_house_passes_567b_bud.html
Former Miss America Deidre Downs Gunn marries same-sex partner in Alabama wedding
A former Miss America pageant winner has married her same-sex partner in a Southern-style ceremony in her native Alabama.
Deidre Downs Gunn, who was crowned Miss America in 2005 and is now a doctor, walked down the aisle with her spouse, attorney Abbott Jones, at the Birmingham Museum of Art, People magazine reported.
"Saying our vows in front of our family and friends and making that commitment to the love of my life was the most meaningful part of the day for me," Downs Gunn, 37, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, told People.
Downs Gunn's 8-year-old son, Jack, gave his mother away and acted as best man, People said. Downs Gunn married Andrew Gunn in 2008 but later divorced.
Read more: https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/nation/2018/04/24/former-miss-america-deidre-downs-gunn-marries-same-sex-partner/545086002/
https://twitter.com/people/status/985645878269677570
Bernie Sanders Camp Says Ending Superdelegate 'Debacle' Key to Defeating Trump in 2020
It was June 2016. Former Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner was just about to go on stage to introduce the Vermont senator at a San Francisco rally she estimated drew some 30,000 people. But just before she could, she noticed a "wave of despair" overcome the crowd as everyone, almost simultaneously, looked worryingly at their phones.
Though California residents had yet to cast their ballots in the 2016 primaries, the Associated Press was reporting that Hillary Clinton had effectively won.
The AP's forecast was the result of the Democratic National Committee's superdelegate system, which meant that Clinton needed only garner support from enough party delegates to win the presidential nomination. Now, members of the Sanders camp are leading calls to overhaul the system they say continues to leave voters disillusioned with the Democratic Party.
"What happened in 2016 put a bad taste in the mouths of people who believe in fairness and transparency," Turner, the president of Our Revolution, a progressive group inspired by Sanders's presidential campaign, told Newsweek. "The general public may not necessarily get involved in the insider details of the DNC, but most voters know about this superdelegate debacle. That's not the reputation I want my party to have."
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-superdelegate-trump-2020-899161?yptr=yahoo
Trump to face protests during visit to Macomb County this week
While Trump will manage to dodge Washington's media elite when he skips the White House Correspondents Dinner this week in exchange for a visit to Macomb County — he won't escape his haters on the ground.
As anticipated, anti-Trump organizers are coordinating a protest to coincide with Trump's second visit to Michigan as president. So far, at least two events are scheduled for Saturday outside of the Washington Township location where he'll be.
An event called Protest Trump: No Hate In Our State, will be hosted by the Metro-Detroit Political Action Network, Great Lakes AntiFa, By Any Means Necessary, and several other groups. That gets underway at 5 p.m. outside the Total Sports Park, where Trump supporters are to gather starting at 4 p.m. for the president's evening speech. BAMN has also created a Facebook event for a smaller protest to start earlier in the day, at 2 p.m.
"Macomb County is once again being targeted as the GOP turning point for Michigan," the "No Hate In Our State" event invitation reads. "We all will be showing up in demonstration that most in our state do NOT support the Trump agenda. All decent people regardless of political affiliation have reason to attend and speak out with a unifying voice: NO HATE IN OUR STATE!"
Read more: https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/04/23/trump-to-face-protests-during-visit-to-macomb-county-this-week
Michigan Democrats Search for a Young Black Leader for Lieutenant Governor
Former State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, who is running fo governor, has a problem in Detroit: name recognition. Many people don't know who she is.
So the Michigan Democratic Party leaders are scouting for a young black leader for the lieutenant governor post who could energize younger voters in the city, particularly those of color, writes Chad Livengood of Crain's Detroit Business.
He writes that some of the old guard like Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, who is interested in the job, may not inspire young voters in the city. Napoleon's name also surfaced in a Detroit News report on an FBI corruption investigation's list of "target subjects."
In January, Napoleon issued a statement : "I have been in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and I have been assured that I am not the target or subject of any federal corruption investigation."
Read more: http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/19712/michigan_dems_search_for_a_young_black_leader_for_lieutenant_governor#.Wt7snX8h3RY
Trash titan Chuck Rizzo gets 5.5 years: 'I've let many people down'
In the end, he got a break.
Trash mogul Chuck Rizzo, a onetime farm boy who bypassed college to grow his lawn business into a garbage empire, was sentenced to 5½ years in prison Monday for crimes that could have landed him behind bars for a decade.
The judge took into consideration Rizzo's cooperation and guilty plea. So did the prosecution, which pushed for 75 months — though Rizzo got nine months less than that.
Before he learned his punishment, Rizzo broke down sobbing in the courtroom, saying he was sorry for hurting his family, his business and the residents of the communities where he paid bribes.
"There is no doubt that I have let many people down and disappointed my family, as well as business associates, my employer. ... For all of that, I am genuinely sorry and I apologize," Rizzo said in court, struggling to get his words out.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/macomb/2018/04/23/chuck-rizzo-bribery-fraud/542445002/
Kent State professor charged with lying to FBI, suspended by university
A Kent State University professor has been accused by federal prosecutors of lying to the FBI, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony announced Monday that Julio Pino was charged with making a false statement to law enforcement.
Kent State University suspended Pino on Monday after the charges were filed.
“The university has also prohibited him from coming onto any Kent State campus,” KSU spokesman Eric Mansfield said. “The university continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice on this matter, and all inquiries about this case should be directed to that office.”
Read more: https://www.ohio.com/akron/news/kent-state-professor-charged-with-lying-to-fbi
Ohio GOP lawmakers want to toss 30% of government regulations
Arguing that Ohio has too many regulations, some legislative Republicans want to require state agencies to erase current rules before creating new ones.
An upcoming proposal, expected to be introduced in both chambers, is designed to reduce regulatory restrictions by 30 percent by the end of 2022. It would require that agencies not meeting the threshold eliminate two regulations for every one that is added.
The plan also would require state agencies to review, compile and inventory their regulatory requirements, and provide the information to lawmakers and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.
“It is clear Ohio is not doing all it can to foster a pro-growth regulatory environment,” said Rep. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. “We owe it to our constituents ... to make it as simple and efficient as possible to do business in our state.”
Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180423/ohio-gop-lawmakers-want-to-toss-30-of-government-regulations
Gov. John Kasich wants fix now on Ohio loophole that could help felons get guns
COLUMBUS - Gov. John Kasich wants to eliminate gaps in Ohio's background check system that allow convicts to obtain guns, but neither he nor lawmakers have outlined consequences if officials lapse in updating the database.
Kasich on Monday ordered a new review of whether local officials were reporting the names of people banned from owning guns.
Courts, for example, have this responsibility when someone is convicted of a felony. But an Enquirer investigation found dozens of courts have gone months without uploading any names to the national database for gun background checks. Some clerks said they were too busy to submit the names. Others couldn't find the paperwork or lost their passwords.
The result? Individuals banned from owning a gun could easily pass a background check and purchase a gun.
Read more: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/23/gov-john-kasich-wants-fix-now-loophole-helps-felons-get-guns/541385002/
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