The goal of the MACPA Political Action Committee (PAC) is simple: Safeguard the CPA profession by maintaining positive relationships with the members of the State Legislature. Term limits have made this job more difficult than ever, but the MACPA’s efforts are solid and our successes are many.

Since the full thrust of term limits began to curtail the careers of state lawmakers, Michigan has had 403 different officeholders in the State Legislature. In addition to the 110 current members, 213 other representatives have “termed-out” for a total of 323 different members of the State House in the past 11 years. The numbers in the Senate are smaller, but significant nonetheless. Thirty-five members have “termed out” over the past several years and there are currently 38 members serving. Additionally, term limits have, or will, take their toll on the four Constitutional offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General.

While the last decade has been a revolving door in Lansing, this November’s election promises to be Michigan’s most noteworthy yet. All 38 State Senators are up for election; fully three-quarters (29) are termed out and will be vacating their seats. In the House, all 110 representatives are up for election; one third (33) cannot run again and will be vacating their seats. The turnover in the House will ultimately be even higher, though. Many of the Representatives who are eligible to run again are expected to vacate their House seats to run for the Senate, opening up even more seats in the House to “rookie” lawmakers. Overall, Michigan could see as many as 100 new legislators taking office after the November 2010 election.

With such massive turnover, the complex issues affecting the profession may be lost on a newly elected official. Further, term limits have put more of the burden on the CPA profession to educate these newly elected officials.

This is where your PAC contributions are put to work. Through the generosity of the MACPA PAC, the profession has a seat at the table when important issues arise. Without this opportunity, new legislators would overlook the CPAs’ often-complex issues. Because of your PAC contributions, when the MACPA invites a member to breakfast, the issue is not if the legislator can meet with our CPAs, but when.

Please contribute to the MACPA PAC today so we can continue building upon our success by forging relationships with many incoming members of the Michigan legislature.

Contributions may be made via our website here, or call the MACPA directly and give by phone at 248.267.3700.

Top