In November 2012, Michigan voters will decide six ballot proposals that will impact the state’s future. Governor Rick Snyder is speaking out on those proposals and their consequences:

PROPOSAL FIVE – The Two-Thirds Amendment

Proposal Five amends our state Constitution to change the rules of the game for how we make laws in our state, requiring a two-thirds vote on legislation that could help us reinvent Michigan. It’s a bad idea for our state.

It requires that any future increases of tax rate or tax base be approved by either a two-thirds majority of the legislature or a statewide vote.

On the face of it, this concept may sound appealing; but the problem is the damage that the two-thirds amendment would likely have on tax reforms that make our system simpler, fairer, and are net tax reductions.

Here’s one example. If the two-thirds amendment would have been in place a few years ago, we couldn’t have repealed the job-killing Michigan Business Tax. We couldn’t have made the reforms we needed to scrap it and put a better system in place. We couldn’t have taken the steps we did to improve Michigan’s business climate to bring more and better jobs to our state.

What’s does this proposal mean for you and me? It means that special interest groups and even a small group of lawmakers could stop our ability to make the necessary policy changes we need in Michigan. It means that it would be more difficult for us to pay for our schools, fix our roads, or make sure that our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to protect us. Also, it will be viewed as negatively by bond ratings agencies which could raise our interest costs and make us look less attractive to job creators.

The two-thirds amendment causes more problems than it solves, and it’s a bad idea for Michigan.