All I wanted for Christmas, besides for Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh to win the Heisman (#defensewinschampionships #offensewinstrophies), was to be able to enter a bar without coughing (#smokingbanforthewin). While Mark Ingram went home with the trophy, I did get my smoking ban.
Since I’m batting .500, I’ll go ahead and revise my list and add on another early gift: for the companies I do business with to not retain the explicit, legally-gifted (#CliffTaylorFail) right to screw me out of my money.
Well, thank goodness: Senator Gretchen Whitmer has just thrown her name and her support behind the House of Representatives’ plan to give the Michigan Consumer Protections Act some teeth again. The House will pass the plan this week.
That’s fabulous news, especially (#clichealert) in this economy. In all seriousness, the problem is real. Nearly 75% of the over 13,000 consumer complaints received by the Attorney General in 2008 weren’t covered by the Michigan Consumer Protection Act due to the gutting of the legislation by the Supreme Court. Oh, the irony!
The plan the House is set to pass this week would restore the Consumer Protection Act and apply it to all the businesses and industries it originally covered, giving folks like us the tools we need to hold companies and businesses accountable. It also levies stiff fines on businesses engaging in fraudulent practices (#punishment).
I may have gotten robbed this past Saturday, when the dominant Suh was passed over for college football’s biggest award, but as long as the Senate does the right thing and passes these bills, I’ll have some recourse next time a business tries to pull the reverse on me (#can’tfoolmetwice).
Let’s hope the Senate continues the trend it started with the smoking legislation and continues to pass laws that benefit all Michiganders.