Here is a Huge Side-benefit of "Right-to-Work" Efforts

The Democrats are not cooperating. On anything. They have sent the message to the governor that because of the apparent push for passage of labor freedom legislation, they will not give the governor anything else he wants. Here is a report from Crain's Detroit Business:

House Democrats this afternoon refused to support a bill they largely support — one that would create a regional transit authority — and not enough Republicans were willing to vote for it, forcing the GOP to pull the bill from consideration before it was voted down.

Earlier this afternoon, the Democrats on the House Transportation Committee abstained from voting on passage of the measure, Senate Bill 909, as their first salvo to keep their promise of not supporting key legislation as a protest to a potential introduction of a right-to-work bill. Read full story here.

Here is how michiganvotes.org describes the bill:

Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 26, 2012, to create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority (previously called DARTA) covering Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties, and potentially others. Among other powers the authority could levy property taxes (special assessments) and higher local vehicle registration taxes with the approval of a majority of the aggregate of all votes cast in an election (meaning a particular community could not “opt out” of the tax increase). The authority would be specifically authorized to create “rolling rapid transit” corridors along some streets and highways, potentially with dedicated lanes other motorists could not use. This is part of Gov. Rick Snyder’s road and transit tax proposal. Read more here.

So, you see, this is paying some real dividends. A new taxing authority that will be allowed to assess residents on southeast Michigan for empty buses has been short-circuited. What great news!