Gov. John Engler appointed former state Treasurer Doug Roberts to take over his old post Thursday.

Roberts will replace current Treasurer Mark Murray, who was selected to become Grand Valley State University’s next president. Murray is a former vice president of finance and operations at MSU.

Roberts, who served as treasurer from 1991 to 1998, has been a top executive with Lockheed Martin, IMS since January 1999.

“His experience and professionalism have served Michigan well, and he will - once again - be a welcomed addition to my Cabinet,” Engler said in a written statement.

Rollback on the odometer tax

An amendment to the Michigan Department of Transportation budget will prevent further spending on odometer tax studies.

Michigan is one of nine states that contributes to a study being conducted by the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa to find ways government can track the number of miles driven by motorists using a satellite system.

Motorists could then be taxed based on that mileage.

State Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Twp., said such monitoring is an invasion of privacy.

“Collecting a tax from people based on the number of miles they drive is also ludicrous given that we already collect a tax from people every time they fill up their cars,” Peters said in a release.

DNA database to expand

Legislation introduced Thursday in the state Senate would expand the requirements of the Michigan State Police to store DNA profiles of those convicted of felonies and assault-related misdemeanors.

The State Police already stores such information from individuals convicted of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. William Van Regenmorter, R-Georgetown Twp., said there has been an increase in identifying suspects based on DNA testing nationwide.