A roundup of recent Michigan newspaper editorials
Lansing State Journal. Jan. 3.
Snyder must step up on social issues
Rick Snyder kicked off his second term as governor this week insisting that he will step on the gas to get things done and will not accept lame duck status just because he's term-limited.
Snyder has been a pragmatic leader willing to face down partisanship from Democrats and his fellow Republicans when the goal is fiscal reform. Michiganders should look forward to a continuation of level-headed budgeting and extra effort to resolve problems like the Detroit bankruptcy.
Yet there is room for some concern as the governor begins his next four years. A primary worry is where Snyder will stand on divisive social issues should the new Legislature - expected to be more conservative than the last one - pursue such topics.
Example: Widely supported revisions to Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act would have granted protection to the state's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens. A strong business coalition favored the change, touting such protections as essential to attracting top talent to live and work here. Lawmakers tried to piggyback a Religious Freedom Restoration Act with the civil rights expansion. That bill would have protected people with "sincerely held religious beliefs." Supporters of LGBT civil rights believed wording of the bill made it possible - even probable - that RFRA could be used to diminish LGBT protections of an expanded civil rights act.
In the end, neither bill passed. But Michigan's reputation was damaged nonetheless. Not only did the state fail to extend civil rights to LGBT citizens, but it raised the possibility of increased discrimination.
Snyder also cannot afford to let lawmakers and special interests make end runs around him the way they did in his last term with, for example, abortion insurance riders. The governor can say he vetoed the bill, but lawmakers and special interests then worked to pass it through an initiative, a method that eliminates the governor's signature - or veto.
Snyder must work actively against special interest efforts that diminish Michigan's reputation. He's shown he can do it. He did not allow conservatives to refuse aid to Detroit, fighting to get the support he needed for the deal that brought the state's largest city out of bankruptcy.
There are sound economic reasons for pushing back on those who would undermine LGBT civil rights or erode the safety net for Michigan's neediest. Snyder must fight such divisive efforts in 2015 and beyond.
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Jackson Citizen Patriot. Jan. 1.
Congress should extend federal funding for family health centers
The chief objective of the Affordable Care Act - or what's more commonly referred to as Obamacare - was to increase the number of Americans with health insurance.
On that front, at least, it's been successful.
Recent federal data show an estimated 11.3 percent of Americans are without insurance - the lowest percentage in about 50 years.
But what does that really look like?
For many newly insured Americans, it means they have coverage with high premiums for catastrophic care, but likely little help to pay for more routine health services.
That's a step forward, but it doesn't mean those who are underinsured are necessarily getting access to all of the care they need.
That's why we're concerned about the planned sunset of $5.6 billion in federal funding for the 1,300 centers for family health centers across the nation, which provide a critical safety net for our most vulnerable populations.
The Center for Family in Health in Jackson, for example, would lose as much as $1.4 million, or 8 percent, of its $20 million annual budget if federal lawmakers can't be persuaded to extend the federal funds for health care centers.
While we support Congress' efforts to be fiscally judicious, we believe dollars spent on community health care centers are dollars well-spent, and as such, approving an extension is the right move.
Consider these facts:
- The Center for Family Health served more than 27,000 patients in 2013. And while some of the center's patients have traditional health insurance, the majority have no insurance or rely on Medicaid, which is not accepted by many family practitioners because of low reimbursement rates. In other words, many of these patients have few, if any, other options.
- Jackson's Center for Family Health also fills important gaps in dental health, providing dental services to more than 10,000 patients in 2013. The center expects to grow that number significantly - particularly among adult patients - with plans this year for a new 20,000-square-foot dental facility.
The loss of $1.4 million in federal funds wouldn't force the Center for Family Health to close, but it would have to cut back.
We believe that's a move in the wrong direction.
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The Mining Journal (Marquette). Jan. 5.
Blood alcohol change for boaters, sledders a good idea
The Mining Journal supports legislation that Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law early last week, toughening the legal threshold for intoxication for snowmobilers and boaters.
The bill, which enjoyed bi-partisan support in both houses of the Michigan Legislature, changed from .10 to .08 the amount of alcohol permissible in the system of a boater or snowmobiler.
"It is vital to keep our waterways and other recreational areas safe for all Michiganders," Snyder said in a statement included in Associated Press coverage of the issue.
We couldn't agree more.
AP reported that the House in 2003 and 2005 voted overwhelmingly to make the limit 0.08 for all vehicle users, but the legislation died in the Senate, apparently in part because critics felt the only reason the blood alcohol limit for drunken driving had been lowered was because the state faced the loss of federal funding.
Rep. Matt Lori, a Constantine Republican who sponsored two of the four bills, said he was "elated" that the package got to Snyder's desk, stated AP.
There was never a good reason, politics aside, that this action wasn't taken before. We were glad to see the governor and Legislature rectify this.
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The Detroit News. Jan. 6.
Clear Wayne County's backlog of rape kits
A new initiative funded mostly by private money is underway to finally clear the more than 11,000 untested rape kits discovered in 2009 in Wayne County.
The effort should help bring justice and closure to the thousands of rape victims who have been wronged by the failure to process the kits, which were found in a Detroit Police Department storage room.
With its ongoing financial struggles, Wayne County will never have enough money to efficiently get through the remaining 10,000 kits that need testing, and it's the financial and logistical reality of the situation that private money and cooperation are needed to help clear this backlog of kits.
While it's laudable two nonprofits are dedicated to helping victims, public safety and justice enforcement are foundational roles of local government. It is the responsibility of government to provide the necessary resources to test these kits. If the county can't provide the money, the state must.
The Michigan Women's Foundation and the Detroit Crime Commission deserve an extra thanks for stepping up to the daunting task facing the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The foundation is trying to raise $10 million for the project, and the commission will act as the fiduciary for all raised funds.
In June 2014, Gov. Rick Snyder signed the Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act, which gives health agencies and police departments deadlines for handling sexual assault evidence kits. Police have 14 days to turn kits over to a lab, and labs have 90 days to analyze evidence.
The Legislature has also promised $4 million to help test the kits, but that's far short of what's needed. Additional grants have been received from the federal government and other sources.
Ultimately, the cost of testing the kits could total $20 million. Finding that money should be a priority for the 2015 Legislature.
With previous state and federal funding, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy led a pilot program to test 400 of Detroit's kits. With additional funding from the National Institute of Justice, 1,600 more kits were tested. Those 2,000 kits identified 188 serial rapists and helped obtain 15 convictions.
Those rapists had also gone on to rape in 26 other states and the District of Columbia.
Detroit's pilot program can help create a road map for other cities with backlogs to follow and establish an improved standard for how domestic violence victims are treated throughout the criminal justice system. Memphis has more than 12,000 untested kits; Cleveland, Dallas and Las Vegas around 4,000; and several other cities have backlogs of thousands more untested kits.
The neglect is inexcusable. Many rapists attack more than one victim. The faster rapists can be taken off the street, the fewer victims there will be.
Again, it's encouraging private foundations recognize the urgency of testing the kits. But the responsibility for getting the job done rests with county and state government, and resources should be committed for doing so.