Editor’s Note: 2006 Begins with Politics Up Front; State Legislatures Tackle Auto Issues

Midwesterners have never been known to take a “back seat” on anything. Seizing the opportunity seems to come naturally to us. A case in point is the recent scramble by three Midwestern congressmen to jump into the spot of House Majority Leader Rep.Tom Delay (R-Texas), a role he vacated because of alleged violations of campaign finance laws.

Representatives Dennis Hastart (R-Ill.), House Speaker, Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) wasted no time in vocalizing their desire to take over the leadership role left vacant by their GOP colleague.

In the meantime, Ohio Congressman Bob Ney has stepped down temporarily as the chair of the House Administration Committee because of his alleged implication in charges connected to the Abramhoff scandal. With the House Administration Committee addressing lobbying reform as its top priority, you can bet many more congressmen will be fighting for this position.

Midwestern congressional officials want to be part of the “reform” measures to be viewed as wearing the white hat amidst the scandal. And GOP congressmen aren’t the only ones joining the party. Democrats are busy proposing their own plans to reform lobbying and campaign finance rules. The question is which Midwestern congressmen will emerge as players on the Democratic side on the campaign reform issue?

Outside the beltway, Midwestern state legislatures are busy gearing up for 2006 with many addressing auto-related measures.

The agendas of Michigan and Minnesota will continue to focus on the use of credit scoring in the pricing of auto insurance. Minnesota Attorney General Hatch, who is running for governor, is leading the charge on banning credit scoring. While in Michigan an unsuccessful attempt to ban credit use with an administrative rule overturned in 2004 will likely see the light of day again in 2006. Michigan Gov. Granholm’s proposal to mandate a 20 percent rate rollback for auto and homeowners insurance is not considered a serious proposal for addressing the affordability issue by industry players such as the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

Kansas will be pushing for tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and South Dakota will try again to resurrect its proposal calling for a motor vehicle financial responsibility law, a bill defeated in 2005.

Wisconsin will focus on medical costs which are rising faster than in any of its neighboring states. The Hoosiers will introduce a bill to streamline the current rate filing approval process with a commercial lines regulatory modernization proposal.

While Illinois will look at salvage titles related to flood-damaged cars, Illinois court venue reform, as well as address agent compensation issues connected tothe Spitzer investigations.

Of course, this run-down of state legislative proposals only represents a few of the hundreds of bills that will emerge. The debates will begin when all bills are filed. But then it is an election year so expect many proposals to be just for “the record.” In America’s heartland, the fun just never ends..

Topics Trends Auto Michigan