Just a few hours after State Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, was sitting in the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday evening listening to Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State speech, he was locked in a cell in the Ingham County Jail.
Genetski was arrested early Thursday morning by MSU Police in East Lansing for suspicion of drunken driving after refusing to take a Breathalyzer test. After being pulled over for driving slightly above the speed limit, Genetski refused to take a Breathalyzer, believing he had passed a field sobriety test, according to a statement released Friday.
Upon being processed at the Ingham County Jail, he blew a .066. The legal limit in Michigan is .08. He then spent the night in jail and was released at 8 a.m.
Although Genetski is awaiting charges from the Ingham County prosecutor, the two possible charges both carry a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail, Genetski’s attorney Mike Nichols said.
“This has been one of the most humbling and eye-opening experiences of my life,” Genetski said in the statement. “At no time did I feel my driving ability was impaired. That is a serious thing every driver needs to consider, and they should make the choice to not get behind the wheel if there is the slightest doubt.”
As chairman of the House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee, Genetski has been a leading voice at the Capitol against MSU’s latest round of tuition raises. He has accused MSU of tampering with the definition of the academic year in a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to keep the tuition raise deceivingly low, introducing legislation that would strip the university of more than $18 million in state funding. The bill has not yet made it out of committee.
In July 2011, Genetski called MSU administrators Mark Burnham and Mark Haas to testify in front of the committee, where they defended the university’s method in heated exchanges between representatives.
Genetski said MSU actually raised tuition by 9.4 percent this year, rather than the 6.9 percent claimed by the university. State universities had to obey a 7.1 tuition raise cap in order to retain full funding.
MSU so far has kept its funding because of the ruling of State Budget Director John Nixon, who found the university was in compliance.
Genetski also is behind legislation that would explore realigning the university structure, possibly to include one university board for the entire state. President Lou Anna K. Simon has openly opposed the bill.
Genetski will have to appear in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court in about three weeks, Nichols said. He waived his right to arraignment, and the date for a preliminary examination has yet to be set.
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