Thank you for your patience while I get you the ACTUAL insurance legislative update. Please take a look and consider supporting our effort. We will get this done this year with your help and support. No, we can't compete with the lobbying efforts of UBER/LYFT. Transit, or the Trucking industries, for the first time in a long time, we are advocating for our industry. Your support will go a long way to sustaining this effort.
THE UPDATE:
Although the recent lame duck session ended with no further action on House Bill 5718, this past year has proven great strides for our industry! Thanks to your help, we have been successful at raising the alarm with our state's legislators and the Governor's Office about our crippling insurance rates and we have brought much needed attention to this issue.
As a quick recap, HB 5719 (and HB 5718) were introduced back in February of 2022 by then-Representative Roger Hauck and Daire Rendon and referred to the House Committee on Rules and Competitiveness. This bill introduction was followed by countless policy meetings attended by your fellow business owners to educate legislators on the state of our industry, on our dire need for help, and on why this bill package was so necessary. Slowly but surely, we grew interest in and commitments to support the bills. A springtime committee resulted in a mobilization of our industry and so many of you stepped up to provide your support, input, and outreach to Legislators on these bills. Disappointingly, we soon learned that the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) formally opposed this bill package and seemed unwilling to provide alternative options or assistance. Despite this huge headwind, we were successful at getting the bill voted out of Committee in early May.
Once the bills passed out of Committee, we continued our work and policy meetings to build as much support as possible on the House Floor. Despite numerous roadblocks along the way, HB 5719 (Hauck) finally saw a full House vote in mid-June, the bill passing with some bipartisan support and heading over to the Senate, a feat many political insiders had said may not be possible.
In the Senate, the bills were referred to the Committee on Insurance, where we faced an even bigger challenge with doubting Members, an extremely limited session schedule, and an impending election. Despite many positive strides, only two formal session days occurred between July 1 and the election, leaving almost zero time to address our issue.
The election was followed by another period of extremely limited session days and a very light lame duck. With Democrats taking full control of the State, there was very little both parties could agree on before the end of the year. The lame duck session adjourned with few policy bills and no agreement on various state issues.
Although we are disappointed with the ending of 2022, we celebrate the huge success of our industry in bringing attention to this massive insurance issue and to the irreplaceable value that our businesses bring to this State. We are not quitting and we are not giving up on this valuable momentum we have built.
The 2023 legislative session kicks off this week Wednesday, January 11th, with committee assignments expected sometime later this week as well. As next steps throughout the winter and spring, our Coalition will be meeting with new Members and with the newly formed Committees to continue to educate on this policy push and on the challenges we are facing. Given the new Democratic majorities, we are working to identify a bill sponsor with enough influence to help guide a new bill through the legislative process. We have also received some positive initial feedback from DIFS, with a seemingly renewed interest in taking a look at this topic.
We have come so far and continue to need your support! Please reach out to your Legislator to talk about your business and about the insane insurance costs we are facing. Please join the Coalition and support us in any way you can! Every outreach helps and every dollar helps as we reset for this new legislative session and continue to build on our momentum.
If you want a voice, please consider supporting the Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition. Our Membership Levels are affordable for operators of all sizes.
Membership level
Industry Partners - $2,500.00 (USD)
- Partner Level members pay one annual fee, get additional updates and invites to legislative briefings and events, and posting on our website.
Large Charter Operations - $100.00 (USD)
- Subscription period: Monthly
- Automatic renewal (recurring payments)
Small Operator - $50.00 (USD)
- Subscription period: Monthly
- Automatic renewal (recurring payments)
If you have any questions or are interested in supporting the Coalition in any way, please reach out to the MI-PTC at 734-531-7882 michiganptc@gmail.com
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Sean Duval, CEO Golden Limousine International
sean@goldenlimo.com
734-668-8282x1208
Chad Cushman, President Indian Trails, Inc. and Michigan Flyer
ccushman@indiantrails.com
989.723.9600
Kyle Fenton Partner -EVP KIG
kylef@getkig.com
248.765.6565
Samantha Zandee, MSW, JD
Associate Vice President
Governmental Consultant Services, Inc. (GCSI)
120 N. Washington Sq. #110
Lansing, MI 48933
Office: 517-484-6216
Cell: 517-275-6757
