LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder was joined by top Democratic and Republican officials on Tuesday to denounce the proposal that would require a two-thirds legislative majority vote or a statewide vote to increase taxes as merely a special interest initiative and that would hurt the state as a whole.

“This is simply bad public policy. It is really not in the best interest of the citizens of Michigan. I say that both as your governor and a former tax professional,” Snyder said a press conference held by the Michigan Municipal League. “On the face of this, this talks about issues of raising taxes. But the way I view this, this proposal would be a huge impediment to the whole topic of tax reform.

“And even the topic of tax reductions,” he said. “If you’re doing good tax work, you’re looking at ways to eliminate tax loopholes, to make fairer, simpler tax systems. And this is a case where literally this proposal would apply and require a two-thirds vote to make a simpler, fairer tax system.”

But the Michigan Alliance for Prosperity – the group backing the proposal – alleged after the conference that the governor used state resources to advocate against Proposal 12-5, which is a violation of the Campaign Finance Act, they said, filing a complaint with the Department of State.

In its statement of facts listed in the complaint, the group points to a video that the governor shot that they say shows him advocating for voters to vote against the proposal on his blog. The group also claims the same is true regarding a media advisory sent from a state of Michigan email address yesterday to note the press conference today.

Sara Wurfel, spokesperson for Snyder, said she would consider the complaint “a diversionary tactic.”

She continued: “I would say that two things: it has no merit, that we believe and that all of the laws and all of the rules, everything that is allowed, permissible proper, was researched very carefully and we trust that we’re meeting both the letter and the spirit of the law. The governor has every intention of being out there, being visible, being transparent and to keep talking about what these proposals could mean for Michigan.”

Tuesday’s news conference, which brought together a wide range of officialdom in Lansing that spanned both political parties, marked yet another example of Snyder ratcheting up his efforts to defeat the five constitutional amendments on the ballot. He recently emphasized his position while guest-hosting a morning program on WJR-AM.

Though the governor refused to acknowledge a possible connection between the funding of the two-thirds proposal and Proposal 12-6 that would require a statewide vote to approve a state-funded international border crossing, Michigan Manufacturers Association President Chuck Hadden was blunt about the matter.

“This may be one of the most dangerous of them all because it is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing that’s going to have unintended consequences down the road,” Hadden said. “This is not a citizen’s petition going on. This is one family, down in Detroit, that has put over a million dollars into this. If you look at the campaign and the amount of money they’ve put in, there’s only another $1,000 of people’s money that’s even in there. This is one person trying to make a deal for another ballot initiative – and I’m going to call it what it is, basically – he’s made a deal with the devil and he’s hoping he gets both of them at the same time with all the confusion.”

But Lana Theis, spokesperson for the Michigan Alliance for Prosperity, said that is not the case and that she found the media’s question on the matter “offensive.”

“I don’t have the money to spend. I’m grassroots. I’m a regular citizen. That’s what I am. I’m giving everything I’ve got. A lot of people out there supporting this are giving everything they’ve got, whether it’s time or money or both,” Theis said. “We gave what we have to give. It’s just a straw argument … (The proposal) is good public policy. This is a taxpayer initiative. This is to support taxpayers. This is to help taxpayers. That’s what this is about.”

Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) also showed up side-by-side with the governor to oppose the proposal, noting the display of bipartisan agreement on the matter.

“(The conference) shows our common belief that this is misguided and dangerous and an attempt to paralyze our state and government, and it must be stopped,” Whitmer said. “For Michigan to be able to compete in a global economy, we must be able to react and adapt our policies to the changes of the world around us. We must be nimble. Proposal 5 would make that impossible. We’d be trapped in the past with outdated tax codes and rules that no longer make sense for businesses to operate under.”

She added that Snyder knows “probably better than anybody” how difficult it is to gather a legislative majority for anything, let alone on issues involving tax policy. Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), who noted that he is opposed to all of the constitutional amendments, added to Whitmer’s point.

“Two-thirds of the House and Senate is not an easy thing,” Richardville said in a phone interview. “In emergency situations … to have a two-thirds vote on an item like this just wouldn’t deal with the problems that need to be dealt with. … (This proposal) would tie the hands of the Legislature (and) would make it very difficult to lower taxes, as well as raise taxes.”

Another point of contention that Richardville said he had with the proposal is the question of whether or not state fees would be also be applicable if the proposal passed.

“Do we need a two-thirds vote of the Legislature every time this comes up and then have to have it be agreed to with the people?” he said. “In that case, it’s just going to make things much more complicated.”

The Michigan Townships Association and the Michigan Association of Counties also weighed in on the issue.

“Local control requires us work with the Legislature, but the Legislature levies over 46 taxes, many of which have a direct bearing on local government, some of which are directly funding local services,” Larry Merrill, executive director of the Michigan Townships Association, said at the event. “So we have to ensure that we have a majority rule in the Legislature. That’s how we hold the Legislature accountable and … a tax policy which is controlled by a minority in each house totally destroys the concept of accountability between a legislative body and local residents and local units of government.”

Former Michigan Association of Counties board member Jon Campbell added: “What we see happening constantly with Proposal 5 is that the state cannot pay its bills, and we predominately receive our money from property taxes and a lot from state revenue. If the state cannot pay its bills, it will simply become a tax shift.”

Michigan Chamber president and CEO Rich Studley, as well as Paul Long, vice president for public policy for the Michigan Catholic Conference also spoke out against the proposal.

Asked about trying to out-fund billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun, who appears to be the largest financer of the campaign, Governor Snyder said getting people to vote against the proposal would need to be more about “getting the word out” than about spending money.

“If you look at all the organizations that have already come out against this, if they pass that on to the people that belong to that organization in a thoughtful, concise way to say no on (Proposal) 5, that’s how you get the grassroots support doing the right thing,” he said.

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