Legislative Affairs
& Political Action
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MRA Legislative Agenda for 2007-2008 MRA prepares busy agenda for 2007-08 legislative session:
Over the past decade, the Michigan Restaurant Association
has achieved countless victories in the public policy arena for this state’s
food and beverage service industry. But
while much has been accomplished, many more items remain on the table.
One of the most cherished core values of the MRA is free
enterprise, and the MRA has worked extremely hard to make sure that the laws of
the state of Michigan allow private entrepreneurs to compete and succeed. While the MRA recognizes that restaurant
businesses in the free market experience success and failure every day, it is
our belief that their success or failure should be the product of their efforts
and their ability to compete, not the result of burdensome and unfair
government policy in taxation, litigation and regulation.
No restaurant operator is afraid of competition. To be in this business, you can’t be. You have to be on your toes at all times and
constantly prepared for new competitors.
What we ask and strive for is the ability to allow the operators in this
industry to compete freely and fairly, unrestrained by heavy government-imposed
burdens such as high taxes, crushing regulations, and out-of-control
litigation.
In a free market economy, restaurant owners and operators
make decisions every day which will help determine whether that business will
succeed or fail. In a free market
economy, it will be those decisions that make the determination: you make the
right decisions and you are more likely to succeed; you make the wrong
decisions and you are more likely to fail.
The MRA is working every day in the halls of government to
build that free marketplace, the marketplace where restaurant operators are
free to compete and innovate and serve guests.
Here is what we have on our menu for the 2007-08 legislative session to
help achieve that goal.
Tax Policy
Replacing the single business tax (SBT) with a fair,
simple and less burdensome tax.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Continuing to defeat proposed increases in the liquor mark-up, liquor
license fees and a new state death tax.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on all of these issues.
Exempting gift certificates and gift cards from Michigan’s escheat laws.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Wage Laws
Preventing efforts to make the minimum wage and the tipped
employee wage even more burdensome with additional increases and annual indexing.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Health Care
Enacting a moratorium on employer coverage mandates, such
as a mental health mandate.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Creating and expanding new business-friendly forms of
group plans, such as health savings accounts and encouraging lower cost,
mandate-free coverage plans.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Preventing efforts to
require employers to offer health care.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Regulation of the workplace
Reforming the youth employment law to allow 16- and
17-year olds to work more hours per week while school is in session.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Continuing our success in defending the ability of
restaurateurs to decide their smoking policies for themselves without big
government mandates.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Keeping unemployment taxes and regulations down by
preventing benefit increases, loosening of eligibility criteria or lengthening
benefit eligibility.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Defending the new statewide school start date after Labor
Day from “tweaks.”
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Defeating a complicated and unnecessary regulation of
employee ergonomic movement in the workplace.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Defending against continued efforts to micromanage tipping
and disclosure policies.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Continuing to defeat attempts to require meal and rest
periods for employees.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Simplifying the menu consumer advisory requirement.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Preventing attempts
to regulate or prohibit the use of certain cooking oils.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Liquor
Creating a supplemental liquor license to allow
restaurateurs to also provide and serve alcohol at catered events.
MRA is the only food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
Creating stiffer penalties for the real source of the
drunk driving problem – drivers with very high blood alcohol content.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Defeating efforts to require liquor licensees and guests
to install breathalyzer equipment on their premises or in their automobiles.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Preventing the creation
of new types of liquor licenses – including those for public colleges and
universities – that diminish the value of current liquor licenses on the
market.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Preventing a mandatory
increase in the minimum order size of distilled spirits.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group working
on this issue.
Preventing a
mandatory charge for ordering a “split” case of distilled spirits.
MRA is the leading food and beverage industry group
working on this issue.
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