Page 3
Legislator proposes tax
wri� otttor lottery losses
By K tberi e Weaver
Capital �w Service
LANSING - MiChigan Lot
tery players - if they - could
write off flo es on their state
income taxes if proposed legis
I tion by Rep. John Strand, R
pp r, "comes to the top of
the pit ."
Since legislation pa se a
fe y� rs ago that allowed lot
tery winnings to be taxed,
Strand said no provision has
been made for losses when
winning.
Sir nd aid hi bill would
alto a player' to lower income
taxability of the winnings by
saving receipts and proving the
amount of money lost in the
lottery. He said it would not
allow blanket deduction from
10 e. Strand said a federal
provi ion to deduct 10 e from
winning. on the federal tax'
forms, but the state of
Michigan doe not allow it.
"1 had a call from a tax
preparer in my district telling
me hi client" had won a couple
hundred dollar," Strand said.
"He sa id s he had the lottery
receipt to prove her 10 ses and
that he should be permitted a
deduction from her st te in
com tax she was under the
federal revenue code.· Bu the
Michigan Department- of
Treasury told h r no, and that
she had to claim her winnings,
and could not claim any of
fset," he aid.
"TO THE EXTE T you
think you can show that you
pent a few hundred dollars or
whatever it is, you should be
permitted the losses a an of
fset of your winnings," Strand
aid. "If the Feds allow it, I
think it's a matter of faime ."
The problem is the bill
hasn't gone anywhere.
The bill has been in the
House Taxation Committee
since 1 t July but Strand said
it till hasn't been acknow
ledged by the chairman of the
committee, Rep. H. Lynn Jon
dahl, Q-Okemo�.
Black will head
White House
Press Association
ASIIlNGTO •. D.C.
Sheridan Broadca ting et
work reporter Bob Elli on last
eek be arne the fir t Black to
head the pre ugiou White·
Hue Correspondents As
ociauon. The a ociation i
comp ed of tho e reporter
ho cover 'he Whit H on
a r gular ba is.
The 47-year-Old Elli on aid
he ees th po t a a It i nal
that th door to Journalism for
'African-Americans and other
minoritie i ajar."
'The majority vice-chairman
of the Taxation committee,
Rep. James Kosteva, D-Can
ton, said the bill has not come
up because it's not an i sue.
He said there are more impor
tant tax i sues, such as equi
table school funding and
property taxes.
But Strand contend ther i
a different reason.
"It's difficult to get the
chair to lake up any bills that
the chair thinks will lose
money for the tate of
Michigan,": Strand. aid. "It is
clear that thi wi II lose some #
money for the tate treasury. It
. think it' a negligible amount.
I think in all fairness the bill
should be enacted."
STRA D S ID THE prob
lem is the chairman is usually
reluctant to take up any bill not
liked by the Department of
Treasury. Strand said he
doesn't think the Department
of Treasury has agreed to this
bill yet.
The Department of Treasury
I
in prtson threa e
s guar
, .. . .
By Stephen Dravl
Capital News Service
LANSING - A fight break
out on the cell block. Two
prisoners are having it out, and
knives are drawn.
A guard goes to break
things up - fully aware that
he or she could be sliced, as
could one of the inmate.
Added to the already
threatening ituation is th pos
sibility that one of the
prisoners could be carrying th
AIDS virus, and the guard
could be injected with the
deadly disease. .
Michigan pri on guards
could face a slrnilar snuation
every day they go to work ..
MICHIGA , prisoners
who test positive for AIDS are
treated like all other inmate
situation a policy
Michigan's correction
employee union find in-
tolerable.
Compared with other state
around th country, Michigan
is quite conservative in dealing
with AIDS-carrying inmates,
said Renee Canady of the
Department of Correction '
Bureau of Health Care Ser
vice.
"We do not autom ucalty
egregate AIDS victim ," she
aid. The department policy
involve regular medical treat
ment and coun eling but not
medical I olation for pri oners
who have ie ted HIV po itive,
officials have not returned any
calls concerning the bill.
All money netted by the
ta te from the 10 tte ry goe to
th School Aid Fund, al though
it provides only 7 percent of
th total co t of operating the
public schools, according to a
report by the Michigan Depart
ment of Education. If the Lot
tery were the only source of
state funds for K-12 education,
the profits would operate all
Michigan school districts for
11 days.
Would the public actually
use the tax deduction?
State Lottery Commissioner
Michael Carr thinks they
might.
"IT CERTAI LY
ouldn't hurt. Purely from a
lottery stand point, it would be
advantageous," Carr said. "We
- would be able to gain dollars
in sales and it would help in
the marketing of the Lotto if
. people thought they might be
able to deduct taxes from their
, winnings through their los es."
she said.
"Barring any misconduct,
they will be kept in the general
prison population," she said.
I f an AIDS-i nfected
prisoners is involved in an of
fense which could transmit the
di ease (such as using needle
drugs or engaging an sexual
contact), then he or she would
be isolated, Canady said.
THE UNIO WHICH rep
resents prison guards and other
employee maintains that
segregation after a misconduct
is not enough. Corrections
employees favor mandatory
medical i solation for inmate'
with AIDS, said Fred Parks,
executive director of the
Michigan Corrections Or
g nization.
He said the problem with
keeping HIV-infected
prisoners in general population
i that no one can identify
th m.
"Officers don't know which
one have AIDS and which
on don't," Parks said.
Guard" constantly have to
. deal with ituations wh re ex-.
po ure to th� viru. i po ible,
he aid. .
Pri on per onn I can't be
expected to work around in a
gown and gloves like ho pital
employees, Parks aid.
TH R ORE, the union
believes medical I olation i
the best way to prote t it
members, he ald.
REV, G EO RG E STALLI GS - founder oft elm ni Temple
in Wa hln to , D.C., broke aw y from the Roman C thoUc .
Church under nre I. t ye r for demanding reco nltlon of
et nic and cultural dive ity during church ervlces . Rev.
St llin announced on a We t Co st tour he wil I. be
con ecr ted a bi op under. the Old Catholic Churc ,
faction of Roman Catbollci m wblcb renounces tbe Pope'
claim of infallibility nd recognize i root with Pope Leo
XIII. tailing met witb the Mo t. Rev. Richard Rridge (left),
Archbi 'hop Prim te of the Afric n-Amerlc n C tholic
Congregation, who will perform the con ecratlon ceremony
In Washington, D.C. on M y 12,
ut an expert who ha
100 cd at prison policie
nati nwide 'aid the Michigan
poli y of not automatically
isol ting AIDS-infected in
mat� is fairly progressive.
"lhey (Michigan) have an
extr mely good policy of case:'
by-e cae sment for housing
decision," aid Ted Hammett,
Seni�[ re earch analy t for Abt
Assvtiate.
A t i a Ma achusetts firm
that as conducted urvey of
priso policies for the National
Instit te of Justice.
A other part of th problem
is de ermining which inmate
have IDS.
does ot regularly test current
inrnat for the AIDS'virus, but
doe screen all incoming
pri 0 ers. About 16 percent of
those inmate coming into the
state ri on y tern te t po i
tive r AIDS, Canady aid.
Th yare monitored clo ely,
and hen their while blood
cell c unts fall below the level
appro ed by the U.S. Food and
Drug dmini tr tion, they are
treate with th IDS drug
AZT.
Second, a physician can
order an inmate to be tested for
purpose of diagnosis.
FINALLY, a p�isoner may
be creened for AIDS if he or
she is th source of a po ible
exposure to a memb r of the
pri on staf .
"The staff per on can re
quest a test (for the prison r),"
he said. I
P rks, though, aid that
che king prisone only in
thos situation do sn't olve
th problem.
T at tale shout use man
datory te ting for II pri oner
on a regular basi , � said.
"I think it would have to be
om thing every six months
ever year," Park aid.
Still, Michigan is in the
rnajo ity nationwide in terms
of n t regularly testing i in
mate population, according to
Hammett.
o LY IS PRJ 0 sy-
tem in th United State use
mandatory te ting of any kind,
ev n for new commi ,he aid .
Pan 0 the problem with
handling th i ue of AIDS in
th pri on 1 that mo t pe pie
don't understand how seriou
the treat of expo u t in a
pri o�, Par aid.
"0 the treets, y u're talk
ing a out ca ual co tact," he
aid.
" e ' re concerned about
more dctlberate kind of con
tact."