2007 Review on Values Legislation

By Rick Jones, State Representative

Very little legislation moved through the House in 2007. The Democrats are now in the majority after the 2006 elections. They elected their leadership and the year has since slipped into chaos and dysfunction. While working on the budget problem, several tax proposals were pushed by the new leadership. For two days 11 democrats would not vote yes or no and media reports came out about all night sessions and representatives sleeping on the floor. Why did this happen? I attribute a lot of this to inexperienced green leadership and partisanship caused by term limits. In the past experienced leaders knew ahead of time that they had the votes or knew how to persuade at least the members of their own party to vote!

After all of the dysfunction and chaos several tax plans passed. I voted NO on these job killers. I believe that government spending must be reformed before more taxes are put on the citizens and businesses of Michigan. A tax on services lasted 15 hours before the House was again put into a session to stop it. Angry citizens called their representative and senators to help end this foolish tax. By the end of 2007 we have the Michigan Business Tax, a higher income tax, and a 22% surcharge on the MBT. These increases will not help jumpstart the Michigan economy and will not create jobs.

Throughout this chaotic year the House Democrats still had time to hold hearings on legalizing cloning in Michigan and on legalizing adoption to gay couples. Stem cell research is legal in Michigan. Some successes have been shown when using adult stem cells. However some groups want to take this a step farther and actually legalize cloning for the purpose of creating human beings that would be killed to harvest the embryonic stem cells. Testimony was taken in this area and also in hearings on adoption. More hearings are expected in 2008 and possibly a vote in both areas.

Several attempts have been made to control abortion in Michigan and currently the Senate is looking into again stopping partial-birth abortion with legislation following federal court rulings. It is hoped that once the Senate passes a ban on this heinous act that the House will be forced to also consider the legislation.

A Fatherhood Summit was held in Grand Rapids. Many different speakers and groups came together to push for fathers to be involved in the lives of their children. I was asked to speak on the current HB4564 for equal parenting. Divorce must be discouraged and should not be considered as an option; however, when it occurs, it is very important for fathers to remain active in the lives of their children. Prior to coming to the House I had 33 years of experience in law enforcement and I have seen the result of children growing up without adequate parental guidance. Many children now live in single parent homes with a working parent. The result has become known as the "latch key" child who is sent to school with a key hanging on a chain around their neck and returns home to an empty house. Legislation is important to make sure that judges considers both parents equally, with shared custody, unless a parent is unfit because of drug/alcohol abuse or criminal behavior.

Success is possible with the help of citizen participation in their government. Last year a soldier came home from Iraq and the custody of his son was taken away for his service to our country. Even though he had 5 years of shared custody with no problems the friend of the court considered it abandonment of the child because the soldier was in the National Guard and was called to service. I authored HB 5100 to protect custody rights of military parents. It was passed overwhelmingly because of the huge support generated by the citizens of Michigan and it became Public Act 328 of 2005. If you are a thinking citizen and a person with traditional moral values, I strongly encourage you to stay informed. Grassroots efforts are key to ensuring the values of country, faith and family are not eroded. Please get involved today!