In an effort to be "family friendly," state Democrats are opening the 89th Michigan State House with The Quality of Life Act of 1997.
The package of bills includes proposals for tax credits to families supporting children and dependent elderly, poor families and households that use child care services.
State Rep. John Freeman (D-Madison Heights) plans to propose legislation to give the working-class poor a tax refund. The bill is modeled after the federal earned income tax credit.
"If the federal government wants to encourage the policy of independence, we at the state level should also," Freeman said.
Under Freeman's legislation, recipients of the federal earned income tax credit may receive a state tax credit equal to one quarter of the federal credit.
"People's wages aren't going up all that much," Freeman said. "This will help."
Freeman said he hopes the Republican-dominated state Senate will also support this bill because it encourages working-class people to find alternatives to welfare. "They ought to embrace it," Freeman said. "If Ronald Reagan embraced it, I don't see why the Senate shouldn't."
But some Republicans see Freeman's bill and the entire package as simply partisan politics.
"This is pandering to politics at its worst," said state Sen. Mike Rogers (D-Brighton). "(The package) sounds good, but it's fluffy and they have not talked about how they're going to pay for it. I think it's irresponsible."
State Reps. Karen Willard (D-Algonac) and Dennis Olshove (D-Warren) are sponsoring bills to give tax credits to families with dependent adults and sick children.
Olshove's bill provides an income tax refund of up to $2,400 to families supporting incapacitated children, mentally-ill relatives and invalid elderly family members.
Olshove said he began working on the legislation after he campaigned door-to-door and discovered many households caring for sick family members.
"You'd be surprised how many people have hospital beds in their homes," Olshove said. "This bill is a way of easing the cost."
Willard's bill gives families tax exemption for adults who depend on their family for more than half of their support.
"You're basically taking care of an adult who requires time, support and also money," she said. "It's often difficult for people to care for their loved ones."
Willard said the Republicans who do not support her bill are contradicting a family values platform.
However, some Republican senators said they support the legislation because they believe it will ultimately save the state money.
"It is less expensive for states to provide income tax credits for people to take care of the sick at home rather than in an institution," said Sen. Bill VanRegenmorter (R-Jenison). "It reinforces a strong family values concept."