Legislative update from Kevin McKinney

This week, CPAN continued its meetings with the identified “No” votes in the House to make sure our whip count remains accurate and we were not having House members starting to move over to the support column based on aggressive pressure from Rep. Lund and the industry.  We have almost completed these meetings and have not found any member that has dramatically changed from their current position.  The insurance industry continues to push for support of the bill as reported out of committee so at this time, there is NOT a new substitute bill being shopped around.

Given the current vote count, I do not anticipate a vote on HB 4936 in the very near future.  Please note however, many advocates that have continued to come to Lansing and meet with any and all legislators that they can, are having an adverse affect on our vote count.  We have received numerous complaints from key legislators of the aggressive and rather rude behavior of some groups and individuals in seeking a position or final commitment from the policymaker.  This type of advocacy does not always work so I would strongly caution you as to your approach, tone and messaging in meeting with your own legislators on this issue.  Again, at this time, CPAN is only targeting the indentified no votes to keep them there.

CPAN had a very good week with the filing of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on Monday in Ingham County Circuit Court.  Below, you will find a link to a short video from the MCCA FOIA Lawsuit press conference held Monday of this week.  Please take five minutes to hear the interview with Wayne State Law School Associate Professor Noah Hall and CPAN General Counsel George Sinas explaining the reasoning and background of the lawsuit against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. CPAN is suing the MCCA to gain vital information under the FOIA that will help both policymakers and stakeholders make educated decisions about proposed changes to Michigan’s auto insurance system.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, CPAN delivered to each legislator’s office a letter regarding this lawsuit along with copies of the press release, complaint and frequently asked questions. This morning a short email with links to the video below and the Tony Trupiano interview conducted today as well were also sent to each legislator.

http://www.cpan.us/announcements/cpan-legal-counsel-discuss-no-fault-foia-lawsuit

Media:

• Below is a link to an interview conducted this morning on the Tony Trupiano First Shift  show with George Sinas, CPAN General Counsel on the FOIA lawsuit.

http://www.cpan.us/announcements/george-sinas-talks-cpans-foia-lawsuit-with-tony-trupiano

• Group wants no-fault auto insurance data made public. The Detroit News, by Jim Lynch, 1.23.12 Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120123/BIZ/201230399/1361/Group-wants-no-fault-auto-insurance-data-made-public
• WJR Radio The Frank Beckmann show 1.24.12 – Interview with John Cornack and Prof Noah Hall regarding FOIA Lawsuit
  http://wjrpodcasts.com/podcasts/frankbeckmann/Insurance-012412.mp3

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings:

• February 2, Traverse City 6:30 – 8:00pm – History Center of Traverse City, 322 Sixth Street, Traverse City
• February 9^, Gaylord – 6:00pm – 8:00pm – The University Center of Gaylord, 80 Livingston Blvd., Gaylord, MI
• Late February – Date to be determined – Kalamazoo
• February 27, – Date to be confirmed – Novi

Please feel free to contact me if you would like any additional information or visit the CPAN website www.cpan.us  for additional analysis, news coverage, and articles.

Thank you to all that have sent letters, contacted their legislators, submitted article to newspapers and the like.  If you would like to submit and article to your local paper but need a little hand holding, please call and I will happy to work with you. It is because of these combined efforts that we have delayed a vote on HB 4936 thus far.