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House Speaker Matt Hall has for weeks been dropping hints and feints about plans for a property tax overhaul – an issue looking to be a major political force this year and evidence once again that past is often prologue.
This week the Republican leader in the Capitol went further than he has yet on an issue that likely has big ballot relevance heading toward the November elections.
So, let’s drop a little history here and take the wayback machine to the 1990s, when public dissatisfaction with high property taxes (and taxes in general) was changing the course of Michigan politics.
In 1984, Republicans leveraged dissatisfaction over an income tax increase backed by Democratic Governor Jim Blanchard to recall two Democratic senators and flip the seats in special elections. Those elections put John Engler into the Senate Majority Leader’s office and onto a path to unseat Blanchard in the 1990 gubernatorial election.
One of Engler’s principal issues was that Blanchard’s proposals for property tax reform were too small and anemic and he would do better. That campaign pledge was still unfulfilled as Engler’s first re-election campaign approached. The question of fixing property taxes was complicated by the fact that disparities in locally controlled school funding systems were so vastly unfair that a federal civil rights lawsuit was a real possibility.
A top contender - maybe *the* top contender - to face Engler on the 1994 gubernatorial ballot was then-state Senator Debbie Stabenow. Senate floor debates during that time were rife with one-upmanship efforts to corner the other party and vulnerable incumbents into bad votes that could be used later against incumbents.
Stabenow stepped into the fray with an amendment to simply eliminate local property taxes as the primary source of school funding. It was not meant to pass, but (with some behind-the-scenes nudging from Engler) it did. The House followed suit and Engler signed it.
In short, Engler and the Michigan Legislature scrapped the school funding system without a plan to replace it.
That amendment cost Stabenow any shot at the Democratic nomination. She was booed off the stage at a teachers’ union convention. She played big casino and lost.
That set off a four-month scramble to come up with an acceptable new school funding system. The result was a choice put to voters: Stick with a bill adopted by the Legislature that relied heavily on an income tax increase or an amendment (backed by Engler) to the Michigan Constitution to drop the income tax rate and rely on a higher sales tax to fund K-through-12 schools. In a crafty bit of political marketing, the Proposal A package also included a higher tobacco tax than the alternative. The primary villain in the Proposal A campaign was Joe Camel and tobacco companies that marketed smoking to teens.
The result: Proposal A was adopted with almost 70% of the vote in a March 1994 special election and Engler cruised to reelection eight months later in November.
Fast forward to the here and now: Hall has said he would like to see a similar choice on the ballot this year (better get moving on that guys), embracing a high-risk, high reward strategy that could influence the open race for governor and control of the Legislature in an already unpredictable political environment.
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Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
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What we’re talking about at the dinner table
Swing State Presidential: Michigan is starting to see visits from presidential possibilities (and we’re not even through the mid-terms!) Former Chicago Mayor, White House Chief of Staff (etc etc etc) Rahm Emanual was in Michigan this week to talk about what he’d do if he were President. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is swinging in next month. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is still staying out of it but maybe burnishing her foreign policy cred at the Munich Security Conference – and stopped by the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games.
Federal Con-Con: A state House Committee heard testimony this week to prepare Michigan in case of a federal constitutional convention. “The plan would outline rules for the Legislature picking delegates and for what those delegates would and wouldn’t be allowed to do. Supporters argue Michigan needs at least some proposed rules ready in case a convention comes. A group tracking similar measures says so far 20 of the required 34 states to change the U-S Constitution have called for a convention,” Michigan Public Radio Network’s Colin Jackson reports.
Grab A Drink With Us: Our first Issues & Ale of the year is coming up soon and we hope to see you there! We’ll be at John Cowley & Sons Irish Pub in Farmington on Wednesday, March 4th. The event, which starts at 7:00 p.m., is free to attend but you have to register ahead of time (for in-person or virtual attendance). We’ll be joined by political pundits to answer all your pressing questions ahead of Election 2026.
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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