Michigan Environmental Scorecard [state Senate] - 2003-2004

Scorecard

Legislative

Michigan

Organizations are listed for identification purposes only.

Joan Wolfe Michigan LCV

Anne Woiwode Sierra Club

Jeff Padden Public Policy Associates

Mike Moore Michigan LCV

Brian Imus PIRGIM

Noah Hall National Wildlife Federation

Donna Stein Michigan United Conservation Clubs

James Clift Michigan Environmental Council

Rich Bowman Trout Unlimited

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PINKNEY, MI Permit #823

Michigan League of Conservation Voters

2003

This scorecard was printed on recycled paper using soy based ink

Joint Planning Commissions Enabled (HB 4284, Sent to Governor) The Joint Planning Act, recently signed into law by Gov. Granholm is the first step that the legislature has taken to enact the recommendations of the Land Use Leadership Council. In order to develop cooperative solutions to regional land use issues, a "Yes" vote on HB 4284 enables multiple units of government to create joint planning commissions. Passed 38-0. Water Use Regulation Weakened (SB 289, PA 148 of 2003) This bill seeks to monitor and regulate water use in Michigan for the first time. Unfortunately, special interests won exemptions from the law and weakened the reporting requirements for agri-business, one of the largest water users in Michigan. In an effort to fix the legislation, Sen. Brater offered an amendment to require agriculture to report their water use. A "Yes" vote on this amendment would have strengthened weak reporting requirements for agriculture and protected the public's right to know. Defeated 16-22. Great Lakes Coastline Damaged (HB 4257, PA 14 of 2003) Recent drops in water levels have exposed coastal wetlands along the Great Lakes shoreline. These wetlands are an important spawning habitat and are essential to controlling erosion. HB 4257, allows property owners to mow, level, and remove vegetation in these emerging coastal wetlands. A "No" vote on this bill would have protected these natural, sensitive areas, owned by the people of Michigan. However, the bill passed 38-0 and was signed into law by Governor Granholm. Imported Trash Reduced (SB 498, passed Senate) SB 498 was part of a package of bills introduced to stem the flow of trash into Michigan. A "Yes" vote on SB 498 sponsored by Sen. Birkholz, would ban beverage containers from Michigan's landfills. Passed 36-0.

B

Party and Home Town

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Score

PLE N

A +

100 % 100 % 100 %

Imported Trash Reduced (SB 498, passed Senate) SB 498 was part of a package of bills introduced to stem the flow of trash into Michigan. A "Yes" vote on SB 498 sponsored by Sen. Birkholz, would ban beverage containers from Michigan's landfills. Passed 36-0.

Overall Score: Lawmakers earn 0 points for an anti environment/conservation vote or an absensce or abstention and 1 point for a pro environment/conservation vote. Votes for which a lawmaker was not in office are not scored.

Vote Result: ' + ' means this was a pro conservation/environment vote; ' - ' means this was an anti conservation/environment vote; ' A ' means an absence and counts as a negative vote. ' N ' means the person was not in office for that vote; it does not count in the Overall Score.

M ic hi ga n is a sp ec ial p lace w it h t rem endo u s nat ura l reso urces t hat are uniqu e wo r ldwide, i nc lu d in g t h e G reat La k es - a n ex panse o f f reshwater unr iva led o n t his p l a net . Alo n g t hes e G reat L ak es stretc hes th e wo r ld's l a rg est inla n d co a s ta l d un es and a var iet y of wo r l d-c l as s fi s her i es t hat d raw in t h o us a nds o f si ghtseer s and sp o r t f is hers. M i c hig a n is a l so ho m e to t h ree Nat io na l Par ks, t he l arge st st ate fo res t a nd pa r k s ys tem e a s t o f t he M is si ssi ppi R iver and so m e o f t he m o s t p r is t i ne fo res t s in t he nat io n. M i ch iga n is a p ara d is e fo r b o ater s, hu nter s, c amp er s, and nat ure lovers ! We a ll have a res p o n s ib il it y to p ro te c t th ese val uab le el em ent s t hat m a k e M i ch iga n a un iqu e an d sp ec i al n ex us o f natu ral wo nder s. Ea c h o f us m u st s ta nd up fo r c le an wate r, c lea n air, a nd hea l t hy, li va bl e co m m un it ies.

2003 B oard of D ire c tors Iren e M cD o n ne ll Ca hi l l Pres id ent J ef f Pa dden V i ce Pres i dent L is a Wozn i a k S ec ret ar y M i c h ael D. M o o re Im. Pas t Presi dent J o hn Ca r ver B i ll B o bi er

As c i ti zens o f M i chi gan, we e lec t S en ato r s a n d R ep res entat i ves to sp eak on o ur b ehal f, to ac t in o ur b es t interes t s in L a ns i ng. We t rust t hese leg isl ato rs to p ro tec t t he water we d r in k, t h e a i r we bre ath e, and th e co m muni ti es w here we l ive a nd ra i s e o ur c hi ldren . Un for t unatel y, at t im es p o li t ic s, lo b by i s ts, a nd " d ea ls " wi n over o ur b est i nterest . The go a l o f th is sco rec a rd i s to edu c ate M ic h iga n's c it i ze ns how t h eir lawm a k er s a re a c t in g o n envi ron me nt al i ssue s. The s co rec a rd p rov id es i nfo r m at io n to he lp vo ter s dec ide if thei r el ec ted o f fi c ia l i s a c t in g i n th e i nterest o f cl ean a ir, c le an wate r, a nd t h eir co m m unit y.

Da li a G arc i a M a rc ia G er sh en so n M i k e G r i ff i n Tony I nfa nte Dan Lu r i a J im O l so n L an a Pol l ac k B i ll Ru s te m B i ll Sto u g h

In a ddit io n to inc l udin g k ey vo tes o n env iro n m ent a l is s ues, thi s sco rec a rd t ak es i nto co nside rati o n th e l ea der sh ip o f i nd ividu a ls i n the H o use and S enate. The l ea der s hi p c ateg o r y o ffers a "b ehin d t he scene s" ap pro ac h to t ho s e in d ivi d ua ls w ho have e it her t ak en a st an d fo r th e enviro n m ent i n co nt rovers ia l t i m es, o r have go n e o ut o f t heir way to des troy envi ro nm ent a l p ro te c t io n a nd enfo rce ment . To g et d et a il ed i nfo r m at io n o n t hese l eader shi p sco res, vi sit w w w.M ic hi ga nLCV.o rg a nd c li c k o n " Sco rec ard. "

J o a n Wo lfe

Sta ff J eff I r w i n E xec u ti ve D irec to r B e ck y Vo g t Pro g ram M a na ger

M ic hi ga n Leag ue o f Co ns er vat io n Vo ters i s ded i c ated to t he p r in ci pl e th at pro tec t i o n o f p u bl ic hea l t h a nd co n s er vat io n o f o ur n atural reso urce s by b i - pa r t is a n lea d ers h ip i s a to p p r io r it y. We h op e th at yo u wi ll jo i n u s - w it h renewed vigo r - s o t hat a co ll ec t io n o f wel l- me ani ng a nd wel l- i nfo r m ed c it i zen s c a n m a k e a p o si t ive di f ference fo r M ic hig a n.

www.MichiganLCV.org

Vote Description: This brief text describes what this particular vote was about and why it is important to environmentalists and conservationists. It corresponds to the Vote Number (see Item D). Votes results are listed with Yes votes followed by No votes.

G

Bill Bobier Earthscape Resources Management

Lawmaker's Name

Scorecard Committee

W h y t h e Sco r ecar d?

H ow to Us e This S corec a rd C A

SAM

Leadership Recognition: the tree represents environmentally-friendly leadership; a smokestack represents an anti-environmental leader. For details visit www.MichiganLCV.org. Vote D Number

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Leadership

L. Brater D - Ann Arbor S. Tobocman D - Detroit H. Walker R - Traverse City

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Imported Trash Regulated (SB 502, passed House and Senate) SB 502 was part of a large package of bills introduced regarding the importation and regulation of trash in Michigan. A "Yes" vote on SB 502 prohibits any waste into Michigan's landfills that does not meet Michigan's public health standards. Passed 103-3.

E

F

213 West Liberty St., Suite 300 Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 222-9650 (734) 222-9651 (fax) www.MichiganLCV.org

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7 6 5

Polluter Permit Fees Partially Funded (SB 252, in conference) The state requires a permit to dump wastewater into Michigan lakes and rivers. Currently, the state charges nothing for these permits, meaning that taxpayers foot the bill for polluters and enforcement is lax. Major municipal and industrial dischargers are only inspected once every four to five years. Moreover, almost every state in the nation charges a fee for dumping in public waterways and Michigan is the only Great Lakes state that continues to subsidize polluters. A "Yes" vote would be a step towards holding polluters accountable, by ending the practice of free permits to pollute in Michigan. Environmental Dispute Resolution Unfunded (HB 4087, PA 177 of 2003) Similar to SB 289, HB 4087 would set rules to resolve disputes over groundwater uses. Unfortunately, the bill contained no funding to allow the DEQ to fairly resolve disputes over the use of groundwater. Sen. Brater introduced an amendment to provide the DEQ with the resources necessary to carry out the intent of the new law. A "Yes" vote would make groundwater dispute resolution a real alternative to expensive and lengthy court battles. Defeated 17-21. Sunday Hunting on Public Land Restored (HB 4599, PA 224 of 2003) HB 4599 repeals local acts restricting hunting on Sundays in Tuscola, Lenawee, Hillsdale and St. Clair counties. Hunters deserve full access to enjoy state land reasonably and this access should be protected against local rules seeking to exclude. A "Yes" vote on this bill increased access to public land for hunters on Sunday. Passed 33-5.

State Senators in Michigan serve four-year terms. This scorecard reflects votes for the Senate term beginning in January 2003. Not voting counts as a negative in the score. If you do not know who your senator is, you can find him or her at the Michigan Senate website: www.senate.mi.gov. For fuller details on the Leadership rankings, visit the Michigan LCV website at www.michiganlcv.org. J. Allen J. Barcia R. Basham V. Bernero P. Birkholz M. Bishop L. Brater C. Brown N. Cassis D. Cherry I. Clark-Coleman H. Clarke A. Cropsey R. Emerson V. Garcia T. George J. Gilbert M. Goshcka B. Hammerstrom B. Hardiman G. Jacobs R. Jelinek S. Johnson W. Kuipers B. Leland M. McManus D. Olshove B. Patterson M. Prusi A. Sanborn M. Schauer M. Scott K. Sikkema T. Stamas M. Switalski S. Thomas L. Toy G. VanWoerkom

57% 71% 86% 86% 57% 57% 71% 57% 57% 86% 71% 71% 43% 86% 57% 57% 57% 57% 57% 57% 71% 57% 71% 43% 71% 57% 86% 57% 86% 43% 86% 71% 57% 43% 86% 86% 57% 57%

R - Traverse City D - Bay City D - Taylor D - Lansing R - Saugatuck R - Rochester D - Ann Arbor R - Sturgis R - Novi D - Burton D - Detroit D - Detroit R - DeWitt D - Flint R - Howell R - Kalamazoo R - Algonac R - Brant R - Temperance R - Kentwood D - Huntington Woods R - Three Oaks R - Royal Oak R - Holland D - Detroit R - Leelanau D - Warren R - Canton D - Ishpeming R - Richmond Township D - Battle Creek D - Detroit R - Wyoming R - Midland D - Roseville D - Detroit R - Livonia R - Norton Shores

Leadership

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The Michigan Senate