IT, i \ j - Canton Public Library

6A* The Obsener MONDAY MAY 31, 1993 The Observer/ MONDAY. MAY 31, 1993 * 7 A
Corrections from page 6A
Lawmakers fail to curb state corrections spending
BY TLM RICHARD
STAFF WRITER
Hold down soaring prison costs,
the state house of representatives
warned Gov. John Engler iast
week a9 it passed a record corrections
department budget.
The vote was 78 to 18. Conservatives
tried many amendments
and succeeded on two.
"The fastest-growing category
of state government in the last
decade was corrections." said
freshman Rep. Greg Kaza, R-Rochester
Hills, a "no" vote
"Corrections spending increased
from about $200»milHt>n
in the early 1980s to $1.15 billion
in this appropriation. This trend
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"So why is Lansing spending
$1.2 million on free college education
for maximum security prisoners
when so many law-abiding
families need tax relief to pay for
their own offspring's education 11
Why are we debating today how to
make it easier for prisoners to
receive welfare upon their release,
when so many working men and
women need tax relief to feed
their families' 1 " said Kaza.
Rep. Kirk Profit. D-Ypsilanti,
voted no for different reasons. "I
do not support using 37.1 percent
of all new revenues for * fiscal'
1994 for the department of correc-
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tions," said Profit, one of the inner
circle of Democratic leaders,
Profit said the new money
should go for "job creation efforts,
environmental protection, educational
opportunity, mental health
and other, more positive, investment-oriented
state efforts.'
Engler warned
On final passage, all area
lawmakers but Kaza voted yes
and sent the bill to the Senate,
The real battle was over
amendments.
Profit and Republican Bill
Martin of Battle Creek won voice
approval of an amendment to restrict
prisoner workers: "The de-
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partment shall not allow prisoners
to perform any work that
would require a license if performed
by anyone other than a
prisoner "
A second Martin and Profit
amendment warned Gov. John
Engler and Attorney General
Frank Kelley not ito) enter into
a consent decree or judgment concerning
the operation of a correctional
facility without prior approval"
of legislators. It passed by
a voice vote.
It was the lawmakers' way ot
saying they were angry that $84
million in new spending was imposed
by federal courts.
Vorva, Jamian lose
Freshman Reps. Jerry Vorva.
R-Plvmouth. and John Jamian.
RBloomfield Township, lost
their efforts to amend the bill.
The House rejected Vorva s
amendment to require the corrections
department to "implement
programs to recover the cost of
imprisonment and education' by
"recovery of costs from tax refunds,
wages, judgments' and
other payments.
The vote was -44 to 50,
Yes votes were cast by Republicans
Penny Crissman of Rochester.
Jamian. Kaza, Vorva and Deborah
Whyman of Canton.
No votes were cast by Republicans
Lyn Bankes of Livonia, Barbara
Dobb of Union Lake. Jan
Dolan of Farmington, and Shirley
Johnson of Royal Oak. and Democrats
Maxine Berman of South-
field and Richard Young of Dear
born Heights.
Missing the vote were Demo
crats Justine Barns of Westland
and William Keith of Garden
City.
Jamian, a second-term mem
ber, teamed with David Jaye, R
Utica, in a losing effort to add: "If
a prisoner performs tutorial ser
vices for another prisoner, half of
the funds appropriated . . shall
first be used to pay any amount of
restitution owed by the prisoner
or used to reimburse the cost of
the prisoner's incarceration.
Jamian's amendment failed, 52
to 48, with 55 needed for passage.
Yes — Republicans Bankes,
Crissman, Jamian. Kaza, Vorva
and Whyman.
See CORRECTIONS, 7A
McNamara saves tax dollars
in commission contract snafu
BY RALPH R. ECHTINAW
ST\FF WRITER
«* Tear Here.
M >ouf U»e
Enter to win our Grand Pnze and it could mean the challenge ot a lifetime
You could win a three-da\ professional competition course at the >kip Barber
Racing School in Sears Point. California.
October 24-28 Includes airfare car rental
and accommodations
Oops'
It was recently discovered that
the Wayne County Commission
approved a contract in February
with Belle Tires of Allen Park for
a service the county already had a
contract for with RAO Wholesale
of Detroit.
All it took to set this error in
motion, according to an April 23
agenda for the Committee of
Roads, Airports and Public Services.
was "a change in staff assignments"
in the Purchasing Division.
The three-veer .5217.000 RAO
T7T3
Wholesale contract was approved
in April 1992. But. according to
commissioner Bryan Amann, D-
Wayne. someone erroneously
posted a one-year "purchase order"
for the contract.
A year later, another purchasing
division employee noted the
soon-to-expire purchase order, assumed
the contract was of oneyear
duration, and set the wheels
in motion to accept bids for another
contract
Then last Feb IS. just 10
months after the RAO contract
was put in effect, a second contract
for the same thing was approved
with Belle Tires.
Luckily for county taxpayers,
county Executive Edward
McNamara hadn't signed the new
contract when "RAO said, 'Hold
it. We've got a three year
contract," " Amann said.
Deputy Executive Michael
Duggan said "the mistake wacaught
before it did any damage
The county commission is ex
pected to officially rescind its approval
of the Belle Tire contract
at its next meeting.
Amann, an attorney, said the
commission can rescind the contract
without fear of a lawsuit
from Belle Tires becau--
McNamara never signed the contract.
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Race ran- range in age and v lai •.
grounds, from high-pow ered H>j-^
men and women to father- and v;i> -
living memone- ot pa-t generaiio- - • '
racing legend- The anrav.n>»n of lin!
car racing -eem- to -tem fr. »m in-ide r u:
tan> and isn't definable b\ gender : K
or social -tatu- commenied M*.l ibe
The dsversin of the audience it-el' pl.r -
a major role in the -ucce— of racing
Met abe hope- track condition- . v
tinue to be a> tav arable a- in pa-t vear-
ofticials assisted
volunteer- in rescuing the bev\ildered
animal
George Hart
nette told a packed hearing
room last week. "Every mile I
travel in Michigan is empty
coming back."
To Honigman, that regulation
was wasteful — millions of
miles traveled burning fossil
fuel with no return cargoes.
"Five thousand operating authorities
have been issued since
1982," countered Farmington
Hills attorney Bob McFarlane
for the Transportation Lawyers
Association. "His (Vannette's)
is the only one I'm aware of
where an application has been
denied since 1982."
Ron Thompson, traffic services
manager for Spartan
Stores of Grand Rapids and
Plymouth, said the grocery
chaiir's trucks log five million
empty miles on return trips.
Honigman asked McFarlane,
"What's your rationale for making
Spartan Stores go back with
empty trucks?"
"By making Spartan more ef-.
ficient, you make other companies
less efficient," said McFar-
Helps minorities
John James of OJ Transport
in Detroit, a certified minority
auto parts hauler, said "Regulation
helps minorities compete
with the large companies. Big
companies can't use predatory
pricing to put small companies
out of business."
James said Michigan would
do more for trucking by cutting
workers compensation rates and
taxes. He said Michigan truckers
pay 2.5 times as much for
workers compensation than Indiana
truckers. "Ohio and Illinois
(truckers) don't pay sales
tax on the equipment used in
interstate commerce," James
added.
Honigman liked those ideas.
"We'll have you back when we
do workers comp, unemployment
comp and the single business
tax," the senator said.
Honigman argued that Michigan
regulations make it cheaper
for a trucker to cross a state line
for an interstate trip than to
ship entirely within Michigan.
"Georgia Pacific Co. showed
it pays 20 percent more to move
goods from Detroit to Grand
Rapids (149 miles) than from
Toledo to Grand Rapids (174
miles)," he said.
Honigman said a small Lansing
moving company. Two Men
and a Truck, was hit by complaints
from nine big truckers
when it sought PSC approval to
expand beyond Lansing. "Unable
to afford the expensive legal
fees to fight those challenges,
Two Men and a Truck
backed off," he said.
Hart said the federal trend
toward deregulation has cost
trucking more than 160,000 jobs
since the early 1980s and result-
No — Republicans Dobb, Dolan
and Johnson; Democrats Berman,
Keith and Young.
Democrat Barns missed the
vote.
3 new prisons
The budget measure funds the
opening of three new prisons that
had been built but mothballed for
lack of operating revenue.
It also was a one-year appropriation,
though Gov. Engler had
proposed a two-year budget.
Jaye, the Utica conservative
known for his desire to upset the
Lansing applecart, cited a long
list of objections to line items in
the bill.
"The budget gives Michigan
prisoners free college education
with no repayment requirements,
provides a $500,000 indoor exercise
facility at each prison, provides
for $200,000 annually for
each prison to operate an electronic
law library, free health
care, free room and board, free
laundry services and free entertainment.
"Civilian food testers ensure
A
Medical Staff Member
• St Mary Hospital
• William Beaumont Hospital
that mashed potatoes are served
hot and Jell-0 is served chilled.
"Michigan convicts are overloading
court dockets and squandering
$5 million annually with
hundreds of frivolous lawsuits
against the state. A rapist actually
claimed he lost a clearinghouse
sweepstakes because the state
mailed his entry form too late . . .
Over 34 state-paid attorneys handle
4,008 inmate lawsuits now
pending."
• TIMHOMM rejected
Rtp. J*rry Vorva's
th# corr#ctfloM d#parteHt
to "hapU
m+*t pro|rans to rtcovor
tfc* cost of \m-
odocatloo" by"rocov- ory of costs ifroai froa tax
refunds, wages, judgments"
and otteer payments.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are
moving to curb court appeals by
inmates. The senate has approved
a constitutional amendment lifting
the automatic right to appeal
of convicts who have pleaded
guilty.
The house has yet to act. If
placed on the 1994 ballot, voters
will decide whether to limit pris
oners' court appeals.
M a u r e e n E. F l e m i n g , M . D .
Obstetrics and Gynecology
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Athletes who drive
Athletes come in many shapes and
sizes, yei constant visions of physically
superior "super-beings" pushing themselves
to the limits seem to plague the
minds of mosi Americans. This fallacy
has led to the
exclusion of
many deservingathleticgroups.
one
being race
car drivers
Tbe
ing a test of
athletic ability 0 The car expends all of
the energy, not the driver '
The rationale becomes clear when
you examine the word "athlete " An
athlete is someone who takes part in
competitive sports No one can deny
that racing cars is a competitive sport
So although race car drivers like Scott
Brayton, for example, may not be able
to run a mile in under five minutes or
bring in the winning run in the ninth
nung. they can make hundreds of life-
threatening decisions throughout a
challenging three-hour race, displaying
a level of concentration w orthy of any
athletic event
Brayton set his sites on car racing
early in life The son of former Indv car
driver Lee Brayton. Scott has been
racing cars since he received a go-cart
for his fifth birthday Scon moved up
from racing go-carts to open-wheel
formula cars and the Formula Ford
series In 1981, Brayton. who hails
from Cok
Brayton started his Indy car career by
driving partial campaigns almost exclusively
for his family's team However,
he made his mark in 1985 when he set
a track-record lap time of 214 99 mph
and qualified with a four-lap average
speed of 212.354 on opening day of the
Indy 500 This year. Scott, sponsored
by First of America Bank, will drive
No 72. Amway's Winning Spirit Tndy
Car in the Detroit PPG Indy Car race,
the Indianapolis 500, the Milwaukee
200 and the Michigan 500
*»
Jason
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If driving excitement is what you cravr. Free Prix Day at Befle hie Part is the place to be. It's on June 11. the first day of the ITT Automotive Detroit Grand
Pnx weekend We're inviting all ofT)etroi1 to be there on us lor practice and qualifying, to see the same cars and champion drivers competing in Saturday's and
Sunday's big races. The Grand Priie drawing will be held Friday. And you wont want to miss First of AmeriahspooMred Scott Brayton driving No. 22.
Amway's Winning Spirit Indy Car For Saturday and Sunday Grand Prix ticket information, call 1-25WRDC.
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