MEA Legislative Accomplishments 2017

Below are important MEA Legislative Accomplishments for 2017:
 

• December’s Lame Duck session was very successful – with success being measured by what DIDN’T pass.  Working with supportive Republican legislators and the Democratic caucus, we have managed to hold off passage of the release time bills, pension bills moving school employees to a defined contribution plan, legislation that would add calendar and schedule to the prohibited subjects of bargaining list, and a significant raid on the School Aid Fund.  While many of those bills have resurfaced in the new legislative year, stopping them in Lame Duck is a major victory.  There are also many other bills you never hear about because they never receive a hearing due to work done behind the scenes to stop them.
• While passage of the pension legislation in June is not a positive, the improvements from the original legislation are significant.  Compared to the initial bill eliminating the hybrid pension system altogether for new hires, SB 401 maintains a hybrid DB-DC plan as a choice and improves the DC-only option for those new hires who choose it.
• HB 4163, the bill that adds calendar and schedule to the prohibited subjects of bargaining, is currently sitting on the House floor without a vote because there are not enough yes votes for passage.
• SB 27 was introduced which eliminates the section of the school code that determines the fate of low performing schools.  We have been working to promote an alternative to the more punitive options currently required with educational audits that will seek to identify the problems before prescribing the solutions.
• The Senate Education Committee chair has created a subcommittee on the Michigan Merit Curriculum.  We are working closely with the subcommittee, whose members are new to this subject, making us a useful resource for them.  We are working to ensure flexibility in the student’s personal credit choices and encouraging the subcommittee to hold meetings around the state for educator input.
• We continue our work to stop the erosion of School Aid Fund (SAF) revenue sources by legislative actions.  We have testified against bills that impact the SAF negatively, and have met with individual members of the committees.  We have managed to slow revenue stream cuts, but the awareness raising continues.
• The state budget passed with a K-12 per pupil increase using the 2x formula (increasing the foundation allowance between $60 and $120 per pupil).  In addition, the K-12 budget adds $25 per pupil for all high school students in grades 9-12; appropriates $26.4 million for literacy coaches, professional development, diagnostic tools, etc. to help implement the 3rd grade reading legislation; increased at-risk funding by $120 million to a total of $499 million; and includes continued funding to pay down long-term MPSERS debt.  Community Colleges received a .9 percent increase while the Higher Ed budget saw a 2.9 increase.
• Lobbyists solicit member input on complicated legislative issues.  We recently requested and received many members’ responses concerning evaluations.  This member input informs our lobbying and will help us develop legislation to address these concerns.
• “Lobby Days” are an ongoing tactic we use to influence legislators.  This is accomplished through smaller groups of members that contact individual legislators after a briefing session to deliver a coordinated message as part of our lobbying team.  Debriefing sessions provide valuable information for lobbyists to continue working on critical legislation.  We have had several with our retired members (used so that we don’t get negative feedback from legislators for pulling active members out of school), and some with active members after school was done for the year.  This program was started several years ago and has been expanded due to its effectiveness.
• We continue to build working relationships through several coalitions and look for opportunities to build more.  For example, we worked very closely with AFT Michigan and school management lobbyists on the MPSERS legislation.
• In terms of member communication on legislative matters:

• Capitol Comments is our most important source for detailed political updates.  It provides details, position and recommended action for all “priority legislation” and coordinates with MEA Facebook posts (i.e. “call your legislator”).
• Continued with real time tweets and text messages available to all members including the 802 text messages that have been sent since August 24, 2014.
• Our Tracking Summary (available on MEA website) lists of bill and positions.
• We continue to present at legislative councils and PAC meetings when possible.  We have started piloting remote legislative updates through the Internet.
• Several sessions are presented at MEA conferences (i.e. Summer Leadership, ESP, Bargaining, etc.).
• We also do member trainings on legislation concerning evaluations, 3rd grade reading and the political climate created by the Heritage Foundation, Alec and the Mackinac Center.
• We have also held many Legislative Councils to help build member relationships with legislators.