by Gongwer News Service
May 23, 2008

After months of across the aisle negotiations in the legislature that heeded Governor Jennifer Granholm’s call for an “unprecedented era of cooperation,” this week’s inability to compromise over a ban on so-called partial birth abortions, as well as insurance market reforms and a public smoking ban, put an abrupt end to relatively harmonious, bipartisan workings at the Capitol.

Lawmakers had taken a hiatus from their fighting ways early this year after a grueling budget session that included late nights and even sleepovers under the dome. Their recent compromises included legislation to rescue homeowners from overwhelming mortgages and tighten up the lending industry and legislation to make Michigan the most competitive place to make films, both with uncharacteristic speed and congeniality.

But the gloves were back on Thursday in the House when it seemed that the two sides of the partial birth abortion ban were deadlocked over passage of the ban and the compromise bills that would give women more access to emergency contraception.

House Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit) said he came to session hoping to find areas of agreement, but the level of compromise present at session fell short.

Some lawmakers grumbled that those meetings weren’t productive because they were too few, saying that leadership was trying to squeeze months’ worth of negotiations into a few hours of talks.

The smoking ban bill, now in the hands of the House after a surprise Senate vote two weeks ago that erased all exemptions, is expected to be amended to restore provisions allowing smoking in the three Detroit casinos as well as cigar bars.

Unwilling to move without a compromise firmly in place, Mr. Tobocman stalled voting on all the measures while key lawmakers moved in and out of meetings throughout the day on the abortion measure, the smoking ban and insurance bills.

The delays, some lawmakers complained, left many of them in the dark about the status of the bills, a throwback to last fall’s contentious budget showdown.

Republicans, who said they expected the Democratic-led House to take up a vote on the abortion bill, issued a public admonishment of Democrats for their “inability to make a commitment to protect the unborn,” after abruptly ending session late Thursday without resolving the bill.

House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) said in a statement: “Everyday that this partial birth abortion ban doesn’t move is another threat to Michigan’s future generations.”

While all sides went into a media blackout after session, Mr. Tobocman did say that lawmakers were negotiating behind the scenes on the smoking ban bill (HB 4163), Blue Cross reforms (HB 5282 and HB 5283) and the partial-birth abortion measure, although a deal would not involve moving all three measures.

Those negotiations likely won’t result in a clear compromise anytime soon, as the House will probably only be available for a long session day on Tuesday, since the rest of next week the focus turns to attending the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual conference on Mackinac Island.

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