LANSING – Following a press conference headlined by Governor Rick Snyder and legislative Republican leadership, held to tout their cumulative progress in the first three months of 2011, Sen. Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) said they largely missed the point of what voters have been asking of them.

“I applaud the speed with which the majority was able to send so many bills through the Legislature, but the substance just isn’t there, and not a single one of those 15 laws encourages a more job-friendly environment in Michigan,” said Johnson. “These are not real achievements to highlight. All that was missing from their press conference was an aircraft carrier and a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner flying in the background.”

A close look at all 15 bills shows a state government attacking many of the values and rights of our working families, while lacking any semblance of a jobs-oriented legislative agenda.

The list includes bills that: make it easier for large-scale farms to allow unhealthy waste runoff into our waters; bar the state of Michigan from creating its own office rules and standards – instead relying on the federal government’s decisions; and undo consumer protections that Michiganders value. The Governor’s only bipartisan plan laid out in his State of the State address, creating a new international bridge crossing in Detroit, has yet to even be introduced into the Legislature.

“Aside from the issues that drew the massive protests to Lansing over the past several weeks, you notice that the list doesn’t carry the same heft as the issues we’re facing in Michigan right now,” Johnson said. “And where there is impact, you notice it’s detrimental for much of the state.”

Senate Democrats pointed out that protesters coming in such large numbers and so often to the Capitol had truly impacted the legislative process and caused the leadership to think twice about what plans they present. Of the numerous largely unpopular proposals put forth by Gov. Snyder this year, many still remain stalled in internal negotiations due to the lack of public support.

“They’re trying to get their ducks in a row on a variety of issues like the pension tax, the billion-plus dollar corporate tax giveaway, and the raising of taxes on the state’s least affluent citizens,” Johnson said. “Our position has been clear from day one on those misguided proposals.”

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