A separate bill expected to come to a vote today proposes to remove charitable status from shelters and soup kitchens that provide meals to the homeless, as well as local food banks.  Sponsors of the bill say they believe they have the necessary votes needed to pass the legislation before adjournment.

State Senator Rob D. Poor defended the measure this morning at 4:00 a.m. when contacted at his suite at the East Lansing Marriott Residence Inn.  "Listen," he said, "hard working people should not be required to subsidize lazy, unemployed bums with their tax dollars just because the Federal Government is currently headed by a dedicated Marxist determined to turn this country into a socialist hellhole."  He went on to add that "if people refuse to work they shouldn't expect the rest of us to feed them or their kids with our money.  Where I come from I call that extortion."