Gongwer just reported that Gov. Rick Snyder has signed the legislation that bars local governments from making their own decisions on whether to offer benefits to adult partners of their employees. (No link; Gongwer is paywall protected.)
He did this even though he said he didn’t want the bill to apply to universities and some of its legislative backers say it does just that. Apparently, Snyder’s desire for clarity was getting in the way of his departure for his holiday break.
All snark aside, there are two ways to look at this:
1. Rick Snyder believes it is a bad idea for local governments to offer domestic partner benefits — a practice that is common among America’s most successful corporations. To my knowledge, Snyder has not offered any data or evidence for why Fortune 500 firms are being so foolish on this issue.
2. Snyder doesn’t like this idea, but he signed the bill because he’s afraid if he doesn’t, certain individuals in the Legislature who want gay public employees and their families treated as second-class citizens will not support his tax, regulatory and budget agenda. This is in spite of the evidence that the Legislature is not exactly eager to please Snyder — DRIC, transport funding come immediately to mind.
I’m not sure which explanation is worse for Snyder’s reputation.
I am sure this is bad news for Michigan.
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