[nfbmi-talk] all about the state plate

[joe harcz Comcast]

>From the March BSBP Commissioners meeting in Rodgers own words....It is clear the destruction of the MCB was in large part all about the priority (which still exists by the way) over the State Plate and of course to purloin some federal funds....

This is from the transcript and is verbatim:

15                        MS. MOGK:   Anything else about the training

 

16        center at this point?   Okay.  Good.   Thank you very much.   The

 

17        next item on the agenda is Ed Rodgers discussing HR 4256, to

 

18        just explain to us all what it means for the Business

 

19        Enterprise Program.

 

20                        MR. RODGERS:   Thank you, Madam Chair.   This

 

21        will be really brief so I won't hold up your schedule for the

 

22        day.  The bill was introduced -- this is the same bill

 

23        basically that was introduced last session of the legislature,

 

24        and through some behind the scenes activities we were able to

 

25        make sure that it didn't get to the top of the calendar, and



 

 

 

 

 

1        never really saw the light of day.    It just kind of sat there

 

2        and, of course, it dies.   Every two years we have a new

 

3        legislature, and then the old legislature goes out, then all

 

4        bills that are pending die.

 

5                        So this was a reintroduction of a prior bill,

 

6        and I am terrible at remembering numbers per se.     So I don't

 

7        remember what last years was, but it's basically the same

 

8        bill.   I have been working with the head leadership of the

 

9        House and the House staff, along with the Deputy Director of

 

10        the Department of Budget, DMB -- DTMB.    I never get used to

 

11        combining those two.   Also, working or having consulted with

 

12        the Attorney Generals Office as well as working with Mike

 

13        Zimmer, our Chief Deputy Director who I report to, and we

 

14        believe that the bill is the same that it was last year in

 

15        terms of it's a shot across our bow.

 

16                        If we are successful in the project that we are

 

17        working with, the House leadership and filling the Anderson

 

18        Building, the old State Plate facility, with a new operation

 

19        that will be fruitful and be successful, we don't think then

 

20        that the bill will have much "legs" in terms of being passed,

 

21        okay.  There clearly doesn't appear to be a lot of motivation

 

22        against the majority of House members.    And when I get to my

 

23        regular report, we'll go into a little more detail about the

 

24        state plate, but at this point I've been reassured by people

 

25        at the House of Representatives that not to worry about this



 

 

 

 

 

1        bill.  And I take them at their word because they're also

 

2        involved in this project with me for the state plate.

 

3                        MS. MOGK:   Would you just briefly tell

 

4        everybody with the contents of the bill is.

 

5                        MR. RODGERS:   All right.   The bill basically,

 

6        in about two sentences, would remove what I call our BEP

 

7        preference.   If you'll recall under Randolph-Sheppard and

 

8        state law, the BEP program has preferences in State and

 

9        Federal buildings between the two statutes, and as such we're

 

10        supposed to be entitled to that preference so that we can have

 

11        blind or partially sighted, legally blind individuals running

 

12        stands, cafeterias, restaurants, et cetera in the various

 

13        Federal and State facilities.

 

14                        We also, of course, as most people know, have a

 

15        vendor program along all State and Federal highways.     And as

 

16        such, this would remove from those laws the preference as to

 

17        it applies to the State legislature itself.    As we're taught

 

18        in 8th grade or 9th grade in government or civics, whenever we

 

19        have that class, I'm so old I think I had it in 9th grade but

 

20        now-a-days they probably teach it in 7th or 8th grade, the

 

21        legislature can pass laws which exempts themselves from

 

22        anything they want.   Up until now they have not exempted

 

23        themselves from the Randolph-Sheppard or the State Acts in

 

24        terms of the BEP program, but the bill is aimed at doing that.

 

25        Because there are certain buildings that are under control of



 

 

 

 

 

1        the legislature, the Anderson Building, which houses the State

 

2        House of Representatives and their staff, the Farnum Building

 

3        which houses all the Senate members and their staff, the

 

4        Capital Building, and I think the Romney Building is under

 

5        their control technically.

 

6                        There may be one or two more that I'm missing.

 

7        So basically this bill would say, we don't have to have a BEP

 

8        operator in here, we can put anybody we want in here because

 

9        it's our building.   So it's aimed at that.   And, like I say,

 

10        that's why I think it's a shot across our bow.     I'm reassured

 

11        that it's probably not going to go anyplace, if we finish

 

12        successfully what we want to do with the State Plates

 

13        operation.

 

14                        MR. HUDSON:   Mike Hudson.

 

15                        MR. RODGERS:   Go ahead, Mike.

 

16                        MR. HUDSON:   Is it safe to surmise then that

 

17        perhaps one of the motivations for such a legislation would be

 

18        they want a quality cafeteria in their midst and somebody has

 

19        got to deliver that?

 

20                        MR. RODGERS:   I think you just hit a home run,

 

21        if I can use -- I'm always using sports examples.     That's

 

22        right.   What they want, and their biggest complaint before

 

23        that facility was closed in December of 2011, was that they

 

24        were not receiving what they believed to be quality service,

 

25        that the BEP program was not delivering, and to a certain



 

 

 

 

 

1        extent the operators who were in place at that time were --

 

2        and there were also some disagreements by the House leadership

 

3        and the BEP operators.

 

4                        There is a history there of conflict.    I don't

 

5        want to get into all the details before my time.     And so some

 

6        of the stuff that's relayed to is by way of hearsay, but

 

7        clearly the public relations between the two groups, the BEP

 

8        program and the legislature, broke down.    And I have been

 

9        working tirelessly since October 1st to repair that, quite

 

10        frankly.   And I have -- I've been complained of by certain

 

11        members of the EOC, which is the Elected Operators Committee,

 

12        and certain members in the community who are either BEP

 

13        present or past operators that I'm being real secretive.

 

14                        And to a certain extent, I confess to that.

 

15        Because we are in very delicate negotiations that have borne

 

16        some fruit already.   And once we're in a position that we can

 

17        carry out our plan, then we can make it public and everybody

 

18        will be aware of what it is.    But, yeah, clearly that's their

 

19        way of pushing us.   I mean I already had my marching orders

 

20        when I took this position to do something with the State

 

21        Plate.   So that was one of my first -- I think my first day on

 

22        the job I dealt with three or four phone calls dealing with

 

23        the State Plate.   So this is probably to hold my feet to the

 

24        fire a little bit, as well as all the other parties involved

 

25        in the negotiations.



 

 

 

 

 

1                        MS. MOGK:   Okay.  Thank you.   Are there any

 

2        other questions or comments on that topic?    No?  Okay.  We'll

 

3        just proceed with Ed and your vision for the future.