Published August 17, 2004
Amtrak, bus plan struck down
Budget office rules proposal is unconstitutional
By James McCurtis Jr.
Lansing State Journal
On the Web
• www.amtrak.com
• www.indiantrails.com
Michigan officials cannot enforce a proposal to divide state money equally between Amtrak and competing bus lines because the amendment is unconstitutional.
After reviewing the amendment - part of a bill intended to adjust the money agencies receive this fiscal year - the State Budget Office concluded that it's unconstitutional, spokesman Greg Bird said.
"The state already gave Amtrak $7.1 million," Bird said. "Placing these types of conditions on spending such as we have here in this language is not enforceable."
The proposal, approved by the House and Senate and sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her signature, was designed to level the playing field between Amtrak and bus companies, such as Indian Trails Inc.
Sen. Shirley Johnson, R-Royal Oak, wrote the bill and heads both the Senate appropriations and transportation committees.
The provision could have forced the train line to cancel its state-subsidized routes, Amtrak officials said, including the one through East Lansing.
Amtrak is slated to get $7.1 million this year from the state Department of Transportation, which it will now not have to share; Indian Trails gets $500,000 a year to help buy equipment, but does not receive state money for operations. In return, its buses must travel certain routes.
So far this fiscal year - which runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 - 76,754 people traveled on the Amtrak line from Port Huron to Chicago, spokesman Marc Magliari said.
Owosso-based Indian Trails serves about 300,000 passengers a year statewide, said Kenneth Henry, vice president of operations.
"I'm not an attorney," Henry said. "But what I do know is that it's not fair for a private enterprise to be forced to compete with a government entity."
Johnson does not plan to introduce another amendment on the issue, said Brian O'Connell, Johnson's chief of staff.
"It's a technical error that we made," he said. "We're not going to contest it. We want to bring it to people's attention that we need fairness, and maybe this will bring everyone to the table."
Granholm is expected to receive the appropriations bill next week and will have 14 days to sign it, Bird said.
The bill would probably include a passage stating that Johnson's amendment would not be enforced, he said.
"That's good news," said Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak. "We look forward to working with concerned lawmakers and other parties interested in a balanced transportation system with multiple choices for Michigan travelers."
Contact James McCurtis Jr. at 377-1046 or
[email protected]
