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Not a good week for the governor

There’s an old saying in town that it’s the governor’s job to propose stuff to do and it’s the legislature’s assignment to dispose of same. But it looks like the legislature is proposing and disposing while the hapless lame duck governor watches from the sidelines.

To wit: This past week, not once, not twice but three times, lawmakers did what they wanted to do as if the governor didn’t matter.

He strongly advised the state Senate, which is run by members of his own party by the way, not to increase the personal income tax exemption to $5,000. Gov. Rick Snyder favored a more modest increase of $4,200.

But the Senate not only saw the governor’s 4,200 and bumped him another 800 smackers, they got all the Democrats to join in and passed the thing on a 37-zippo vote.

Ouch for the governor.

Then to add insult to injury the Senate on the same day and by the same vote overrode the governor’s veto of a bill to give you another tax break when your trade in your old clunker for a newer vehicle.

Double ouch for the governor.

And finally in what turned out to be a bad day at the office for Mr. Snyder, two hours later the House, again run by his own party, followed the Senate’s lead and also overrode the governor’s veto. That’s only the fourth time in 66 years that a sitting governor took a high hard one from the legislative branch.

Triple ouch for the governor.

Normally when the governor and lawmakers are at odds, Mr. Snyder slaps on his happy face and describes that as just “part of the process.” But this time that process left the clear impression that the governor, now in his last term, has lost some of his mojo.

Last summer when the lawmakers passed the tax break for car buyers, the governor warned that the cost was too high and he used his veto pen to end that debate.

But in the midst of the Detroit auto show, or auto prom as they call it in town, lawmakers ignored the governor’s fiscal responsibility mantra and passed it anyway. It’s not a windfall for consumers but it is money back in your pocket so lawmakers figured, why not?

Besides the chair of the Senate Budget Committee told everyone the state budget can handle this loss of revenue.

The governor made the same argument regarding the income tax exemption measure. It was too costly and put the state’s “fiscally conservative” track record for the last seven years at risk.

Once again a whole bunch of lawmakers ignored his warnings and did it anyway. “It’s been 20 years since the people got a tax break,” observed the chair of the Senate Tax Committee, and Sen. Jack Brandenburg wanted to remedy that here and now.

The governor could use his veto pen again to nix this puppy once the House and Senate finalize a number. But if he does, in this election year when everyone wants to look good back home, they could override him again.

Quadruple ouch in the making?

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