Current Legislation

The state House Oversight, Reform, and Ethics Committee today passed legislation that would limit how much public employers can pay for employee health care.

Under House Bill 4572, public employers could pay up to $5,000 for single coverage, $10,000 for two-person coverage, and $15,000 for family coverage.

MEA opposes the bill because local units of government, including schools and universities, should decide through collective bargaining how to manage health care costs. The bill offers a one-size-fits-all approach to employee health care, without regard for regional differences in costs or availability of physicians or health care facilities.

Jeb Bush continued to spread the story of the “Florida miracle” in a press conference with Gov. Snyder after his presentation to a joint meeting of the Senate and House Education committees. 

Art Przybylowicz, MEA General Counsel, and Mary Aldecoa, Fowlerville teacher and EA president, testified before the Senate Education Committee on the four-bill tenure proposal passed by the House last week.

He pointed out that we can have tenure reform that is fair, less time consuming and expensive and still provide due process for the dismissal of ineffective teachers.

Przybylowicz spoke in opposition to House Bills 4625-4628 which amend tenure and dismantle collective bargaining calling them “poorly conceived, apparently hastily drafted, and based upon a faulty premise—the infallibility of building principals.”

How did your Representative vote on tenure legislation?

Find out how your state Representative voted on House Bills 4625, 4626, 4627 and 4628.

The House Appropriations Committee heard testimony today on HB 4701 and 4702 which would gut the state employees retirement health system and shift the $14.5 unfunded liability of the plan onto the backs of employees.

The Michigan Senate is the next stop for a four-bill package designed to unravel collective bargaining and tenure laws, legislation that would impact all public school employees.

Last week, the GOP-led state House passed House Bills 4625, 4626, 4627, and 4628 with bipartisan opposition after heavy lobbying from MEA members and staff. MEA will have an increased presence at the Capitol beginning Tuesday, with members and staff stepping up efforts to work with moderate senators willing to consider alternative ideas, including MEA-backed reforms to streamline the process of disciplining or discharging ineffective teachers with tenure.