Posted on 12/09/2012 5:00:49 AM PST by cripplecreek
Make Michigan a "right-to-work" state: Passed 58 to 52 in the House To prohibit employers from enforcing a union contract provision that compels employees to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment. The bill also includes a $1 million appropriation to make it "referendum-proof." All Democrats voted "no" and all Republicans voted "yes" except for Reps. Forlini, Goike, Horn, McBroom, Somerville and Zorn.
, Make Michigan a "right-to-work" state: Passed 22 to 16 in the Senate The Senate vote on the same "right-to-work" measure described above. All Democrats voted "no" and all Republicans voted "yes" except for Sens. Casperson, Green, Nofs and Rocca.
, Extend "right-to-work" to government and school employees: Passed 22 to 4 in the Senate To prohibit Michigan governments and schools from enforcing a union contract provision that compels employees to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment.
, Subsidize new Red Wings Stadium: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate To allow property tax revenue "captured" by the Detroit "Downtown Development Authority" to pay the debt on money borrowed to provide taxpayer subsidies for a particular developer's new sports stadium and associated projects (Mike Ilitch). The bill would also exempt DDAs from property and other taxes, and revise details of public officials' appointments to DDA boards.
, Create Detroit streetlight authority: Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate To authorize a Detroit streetlight authority with the power to borrow money to restore the city's streetlights, 70 percent of which are reportedly out. The bill requires passage of House Bill 5705, which would let Detroit earmark current utility tax revenue to pay off the new debt, and Senate Bill 970, which would suspend a required city income tax reduction until the new debt is paid off. It also allows Detroit's city unions to bargain for the unionization of the authority's employees.
, Create Detroit regional mass transit authority: Passed 57 to 50 in the House To create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority covering Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, and potentially others. Among other powers, the authority could levy property taxes (special assessments) and higher local vehicle registration taxes if approved by a majority of voters in the region, meaning a particular community could not “opt out” of the tax increase. The authority would be specifically authorized to create “rolling rapid transit” corridors along some streets and highways, potentially with dedicated lanes that other motorists could not use. It would be run by a board appointed by the counties and the City of Detroit.
, Authorize Detroit regional transit vehicle registration tax: Passed 57 to 50 in the House To give the regional transit authority proposed by Senate Bill 909 (above) the power to impose a higher vehicle registration tax in the region to pay for buses and other public transportation. A vote of the people would be required, but if approved region-wide the tax would still be imposed on individual communities that vote against it (no local "opt-out").
, Ban abortion coverage from "Obamacare“ exchange: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate To prohibit health insurance acquired (and subsidized) through an “exchange” created under the federal health care law from including coverage for elective abortion.
, Give county officials power to halt recall as "non-factual": Passed 65 to 43 in the House To require county election commissions to determine whether the reasons for a recall petition are stated both "factually and clearly." Under current law, they must simply determine whether the recall language is clear. Note: This may violate Article 8, Section 8 of Michigan's constitution, which asserts that recallers don't have to justify their reasons, but only make them clear.
, Require parental permission to place student with "ineffective" teacher: Passed 60 to 49 in the House To require a public school district to get the written consent of a parent or guardian before placing a child in a classroom with a teacher who is rated “ineffective” under a new state rating system.
Authorize “essential services” tax on industrial plants: Passed 57 to 52 in the House To give local governments the power to impose targeted property taxes on industrial and commercial property deemed by the bill to be “especially benefited” by fire, police and ambulance services. This would replace some of the revenue from proposed reductions in the property tax imposed on business tools and equipment ("personal property tax").
, Repeal BCBS tax exemption, regulate like other insurers: Passed 61 to 49 in the House To convert Blue Cross Blue Shield into a “nonprofit mutual insurance company” (technically "owned" by the policy holders), make it subject to the same regulations as regular health insurers, and no longer exempt BCBS from state and local taxes.
, Give special treatment to firms submitting to “environmental leader” process: Passed 65 to 43 in the House To give certain businesses special treatment in awarding state contracts, eligibility for government subsidies, environmental permit and inspection mandates, and more, if the firm submits itself to a government “environmental leader” designation process. This would require a company to demonstrate that it has no outstanding permit violations or serious past ones, adopt certain practices not required by law, submit to certain additional reporting mandates, participate in “workshops,” etc.
enate Bill 821: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 107 to 2 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a mechanism created by a 2012 legislative package enacted to distribute some state use tax revenue to local governments, which would replace revenue they lose due to reductions in the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment. The bill is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 821 to 830, which essentially replace all of the foregone local personal property tax revenue from that 2012 tax cut, rather than most of it. For any of this to happen voters must approve related changes to the state “use tax” in an August, 2014 ballot initiative; this legislative package was negotiated to forestall local government opposition to that measure.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688143
Senate Bill 822: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 104 to 5 in the House on March 25, 2014, to increase the earmark of state use tax revenue authorized by a 2012 legislative package enacted to distribute some revenue from this tax to local governments, as a replacement for revenue they lose due to reductions in the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment. The bill is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 821 to 830, which essentially replace all of the foregone local government revenue from that 2012 personal property tax cut measure, instead of replacing most of it. For any of this to happen voters must approve related changes to the state “use tax” in an August, 2014 ballot initiative; this legislative package was negotiated to forestall local government opposition to that measure.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688144
Senate Bill 823: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a “personal property tax” exemption for manufacturing facilities, which was the device used by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut this property tax imposed on business tools and equipment, and replace the foregone local government revenue with money from the state “use tax.” For any of this to happen voters must approve related changes to the use tax in an August, 2014 ballot initiative; the legislative package comprised of Senate Bills 821 to 830 was negotiated to forestall local government opposition to that measure.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688145
Senate Bill 824: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of state authorities created by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment, and replace the foregone local government revenue with state use tax revenue. See Senate Bill 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688147
Senate Bill 825: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 106 to 3 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of the August 2014 ballot initiative authorized by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment, and replace the foregone local government revenue with state use tax revenue. See Senate Bill 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688146
Senate Bill 826: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a “personal property tax” exemption for manufacturing facilities, which was a device used by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut this property tax imposed on business tools and equipment. See Senate Bills 821 and 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688148
Senate Bill 827: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a “personal property tax” exemption for manufacturing facilities, which was a device used by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut this property tax imposed on business tools and equipment. See Senate Bill 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688149
Senate Bill 828: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a “personal property tax” exemption for smaller commercial businesses, which was a device used by a 2012 legislative package enacted to cut this property tax imposed on business tools and equipment. See Senate Bill 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688150
Senate Bill 829: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 105 to 4 in the House on March 25, 2014, to replace a local “essential services special assessment” (tax) with a state version. The local version was authorized by a 2012 personal property tax reform law to reimburse local governments for lost revenue from the tax cuts in that 2012 law. Senate Bill 822 would increase an earmark of the state use tax to essentially replace all of the foregone local government revenue instead of most of it. The revenue the state gives up to the earmark would be replaced by imposing the tax authorized by this bill on some but not all of the businesses getting a tax cut. In addition, the political appointees on the board of the state economic development agency empowered to grant exemptions to particular firms they select. For any of this to happen voters must approve related changes to the state use tax in an August, 2014 ballot initiative; the current proposal is intended to forestall local government opposition to that measure.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688151
Senate Bill 830: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 105 to 4 in the House on March 25, 2014, to authorize a lower “assessment” (tax) than the tax authorized by Senate Bill 829, which would be levied on the tools and equipment of certain kinds of businesses, or ones meeting other specified criteria. See also Senate Bill 822.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688152
Senate Bill 431: Give “biobased” products state purchasing preference
Passed 35 to 2 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to require the state to give preference in purchasing and procurement to products with a higher amount of “biobased” components.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688204
Senate Bill 547: Revise consumer loan law details
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 26, 2014, to revise details in provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code that address “negotiable instruments,” including checks and similar rights to payment.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688241
Senate Bill 548: Revise consumer loan law details
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 26, 2014, to revise details of a “Uniform Electronic Transactions Act” that governs the terms and conditions under which information and signatures can be transmitted, received, and stored by electronic means.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688242
Senate Bill 549: Revise financial institutions check processing rule detail
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 26, 2014, to revise and update details in the Uniform Commercial Code that govern how financial institutions process checks.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688243
Senate Bill 551: Revise secured loan default details
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 26, 2014, to revise details of the Uniform Commercial Code that governs secured loan defaults to specify limitations on the recovery available for loss to a debtor.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688244
Senate Bill 585: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to raise the minimum age for prostitution-related crimes to from 16 to 18, and prohibit local units of government from enacting ordinances that establish lower minimum ages. Individuals under this age caught violating the law would be presumed to be victims of some kind of coercion and could be taken into protective custody and placed under probate (family) court supervision.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688199
Senate Bill 593: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to require child placement agencies to give special consideration to information that a child may be the victim of human trafficking crimes, and on that basis find that the usual reunification, adoption, or other foster care services may not be suitable. Instead, the child would have to be placed in a setting that provided mental health, counseling, or other specialized services appropriate for a human trafficking victim.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688200
Senate Bill 598: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to include “enticing a female away under 18 years of age” to commit prostitution-related crimes in the “predicate” crimes that come under the state racketeering law (RICO), which among other things would allow the seizure and sale of a violator’s assets, with the proceeds going to law enforcement agencies. Unrelated to human trafficking, the bill would also add felony liquor control code violations related to the sale, delivery, or importation of spirits to the predicate RICO offenses.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688202
Senate Bill 613: Permit keeping road kill
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to allow a driver who kills or injures a game animal other than bird on the road to keep it, and give the driver first priority if more than one person wants it. The Department of Natural Resources would be required to issue a “salvage tag” if requested, which would be required to get the carcass stuffed or tanned by a taxidermist. The driver would have to keep a record of the circumstances until the game is consumed or discarded.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688205
Senate Bill 714: Adopt “collaborative law” law
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to adopt a “uniform collaborative law act” which would establish a statutory framework for using a collaborative process to resolve disputes arising under Michigan’s family laws or domestic relations laws without having to go to court.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688206
Senate Bill 758: Authorize more stringent sanctions for delinquent hotel tax
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to empower counties that choose to impose a tax of up to 5 percent on hotel and motel room charges to enforce the tax with the more stringent sanctions authorized by the state property tax law for delinquent “special assessment” levies, which include forfeiture and foreclosure. Currently, the maximum penalty permitted by the law authorizing this tax is 25 percent of the delinquent amount, plus interest, and up to 90 days in jail.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688195
Senate Bill 780: Appropriate $27.7 million for state land acquisitions and recreation projects
Passed 106 to 3 in the House on March 26, 2014, to appropriate $27.6 million from the state Natural Resources Trust Fund for various land acquisitions and recreation projects. State oil and gas well royalty money is earmarked for this fund.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688248
Senate Bill 786: Give tax breaks to aquaculture and hydroponics
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to exempt aquaculture and hydroponics production facilities from property taxes. Senate Bill 787 would instead impose a new “specific” tax equal to 25 percent of the regular property tax.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688197
Senate Bill 787: Give tax breaks to “aquaculture” and hydroponics
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to impose a new “specific” tax on aquaculture and hydroponics production facilities, equal to 25 percent of the regular property tax rate; Senate Bill 786 would exempt these operations from the regular property tax.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688198
Senate Bill 820: Revise CON health facility rationing board detail
Passed 107 to 2 in the House on March 26, 2014, to require that an individual representing “nonprofit mutual disability” insurance companies be on the board of the state “Certificate of Need” rationing commission, which requires health care providers to seek government permission to open or expand a facility or add certain capital-intensive equipment (like MRIs).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688246
Senate Bill 862: Allow alcohol at Michigan Stadium international soccer game
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to allow the sale of alcohol at the University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor during a potential soccer game in August 2014 between the Manchester United and Real Madrid international soccer teams.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688207
Senate Bill 869: Remove specific fishing season dates from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to eliminate the statutory fishing season dates for largemouth and smallmouth bass, which would leave setting the dates to the state Natural Resources Commission.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688208
House Bill 4288: Restrict use of “indirect” tax audits
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to prohibit the Department of Treasury from levying a delinquent sales tax assessment on a person or business based on an “indirect audit,” if a taxpayer has filed all the required returns and has maintained and preserved adequate records as required. The bill also establishes minimum standards for such “indirect audits”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688196
House Bill 4292: Restrict use of “indirect” tax audits
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to prohibit the Department of Treasury from levying a delinquent use tax assessment on a person or business based on an “indirect audit,” if a taxpayer has filed all the required returns and has maintained and preserved adequate records as required. The bill also establishes minimum standards for such “indirect audits”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688203
House Bill 4295: Adjust school budget projections, appropiate extra money
Passed 105 to 4 in the House on March 26, 2014, to adopt a version of the bill that does not contain $30 million in extra spending approved by the Senate for grants to schools with more “at risk” students, or $2 million the Senate added for class size reduction grants. This version also increases to $750,000 a cap on how much a single school district can get from a year-round school pilot program grant the bill funds, and does not authorize a student nutrition and behavior tracking software program for schools included in the original House version.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688254
House Bill 4467: Don’t impose “insurance” regulations on extended service contracts
Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on March 26, 2014, to establish that service contracts covering the future maintenance, repair or replacement of vehicles, building or other property are not “insurance” subject to the licensure mandates and regulations imposed by the state insurance code.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688194
House Bill 5248: Waive some licensure fees for veterans
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on March 26, 2014, to waive fees charged for state-imposed dental assistant and hygienist licensure mandates if the applicant is an honorably discharged veteran who performed these roles in the military.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688245
Senate Bill 622: Clarify real estate improvement use tax provision
Passed 106 to 2 in the House on March 27, 2014, to clarify the applicability of the state use tax on “a manufacturer that affixes its product to real estate”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688435
Senate Bill 821: Revise 2012 “personal property tax” reform law
Passed 35 to 2 in the Senate on March 27, 2014, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688361
House Bill 4135: Let foreclosing banks claim homestead tax exemption
Passed 85 to 23 in the House on March 27, 2014, to grant a homestead property tax exemption for up to three years to a bank or other financial institution that has foreclosed and taken possession of a home because the borrower failed to make payments on the mortgage loan, as long as the property is for sale and not leased out (even to the former owner).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688439
House Bill 4295: Adjust school budget projections, appropiate extra money
The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on March 27, 2014, to add back the $2 million the Senate added and the House removed for class size reduction grants.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=155260
House Bill 4478: Revise voter signature detail
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to allow a voter who can’t sign his or her own name because of a disability to use a signature stamp where signatures are required on election-related documents. Also, to allow the state elections bureau and board of canvassers to craft the 100-word ballot language people will see at the polls when the legislature places a proposed law on the ballot, rather than having the legislature craft the language. This has become an issue in a personal property reform package comprised of Senate Bills 821 to 830.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688346
House Bill 4601: Name a highway
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on March 27, 2014, to designate a portion of US-10 in Lake County as the “Sheriff Robert Radden Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688430
House Bill 4646: Revise child adoption/placement details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to authorize and specify procedures under which a parent could execute an out-of-court consent to an adoption after the child’s birth. This is part of a legislative package designed to speed-up the adoption process, including reducing the time a birth-parent has to change his or her mind.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688350
House Bill 4647: Revise child adoption/placement details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to establish that three months after formal an adoption placement of adoptee who is less than one year old (rather than six months under current law), a court could enter an order of adoption, unless it determined that circumstances had arisen that make adoption undesirable. This is part of a legislative package designed to speed-up the adoption process, including reducing the time a birth-parent has to change his or her mind.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688337
House Bill 4648: Revise child adoption/placement details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to revise details of a law that describes when parental rights can be terminated and when they cannot, so as to establish procedures for when the parental rights of a mother have not been officially terminated, and the court finds that the best interest of the child would be served by granting custody to the putative father. This is part of a legislative package designed to speed-up the adoption process, including reducing the time a birth-parent has to change his or her mind.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688338
House Bill 4865: Authorize mobile dental facilities
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to allow dental services to be provided in a mobile dental facility if the state grants a permit, subject to an extensive set of regulations and restrictions specified in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688341
House Bill 4907: Revise arson law details
Passed 107 to 1 in the House on March 27, 2014, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688424
House Bill 4907: Revise arson law details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to clarify wording in the state’s law against arson. The revisions generally do not make any substantive changes to this law, except the bill would remove an explicit “intent” provision, which supporters say is already implicit in other language specifying the law applies to “willful or malicious” action.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688335
House Bill 4908: Revise arson law details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to revise and update details of state sentencing guidelines for the crime of arson. The revisions do not make any substantive changes to this law. See also House Bill 4907.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688336
House Bill 4936: Redesignate a highway
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on March 27, 2014, to designate a portion of U.S. 127 in Clinton County as the “Tim Sanborn Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688427
House Bill 5064: Name I-75 after Tuskegee airmen
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on March 27, 2014, to designate Interstate I-75 in Michigan as “Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688432
House Bill 5072: Change scenic road PR label
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on March 26, 2014, to require the proposed signs to also disclose the amount of cash subsidies and selective tax breaks the state paid to corporations and developers through its “economic development” programs, with the information posted in the same sized font.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161057
House Bill 5072: Change scenic road PR label
Passed 105 to 3 in the House on March 27, 2014, to change the label applied to roads deemed by a 1993 law to be “heritage routes” because of their scenic, recreational, or historic associations, instead calling them “Pure Michigan Byways”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688429
House Bill 5152: Exempt voter registration-related Social Security numbers from FOIA
Passed 34 to 3 in the Senate on March 27, 2014, to specifically include the last four digits of a individual’s Social Security numbers among certain voter registration information that is exempt from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act, and establish that candidate nominating petition signatures are not valid if they do not contain the date and the signer’s street address in addition to the signature. The bill also revises details of candidate filing deadlines when an office becomes vacant.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688347
House Bill 5282: Allow deadly force to defend nuclear plants
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to explicitly allow an officer providing security at a nuclear generating plant to use deadly force if he or she “honestly and reasonably believes (it) is necessary to prevent” a person from breaking in with the intent to inflict harm, engage in radiological sabotage or steal nuclear material. This would include immunity from lawsuits.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688339
House Joint Resolution EE: Earmark some state gas and oil revenue to local roads
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on March 27, 2014, to place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment to dedicate 20 percent of the revenue from oil and gas leases on state property local road construction and maintenance. Under current law most or all this money goes to spending on recreational infrastructure projects, state parks, and to buy more state land.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163945
House Joint Resolution DD: Require state university board meetings be held in public
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on March 11, 2014, to place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment to establish that meetings of the governing boards of state universities must be held in public, and establish that the boards’ records are public documents open to public inspection.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163813
Senate Bill 890: Revise state adoption subsidies
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on March 26, 2014, to revise details of a law that authorizes subsidies for parents who adopt a child, so as to accommodate an agreement that the state would provide higher subsidies if it turns out a particular child needs “extraordinary” care that incurs extraordinary expenses.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163910
Senate Bill 891: Revise hazardous waste cleanup regulations, procedures and definitions
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 27, 2014, to revise a number of procedures and definitions in the state’s law on hazardous waste cleanups, which would generally streamline operation of the law and make it more accommodating to various types of properties, situations and circumstances. Among other things, the bill would recognize that when contaminated property (a “facility”) is split or subdivided, new parcels created by the split that are not contaminated would no longer be subject to restrictions that applied to the original parcel.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163923
Senate Bill 892: Revise hazardous waste cleanup regulations, procedures and definitions
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 27, 2014, to revise the definition of contaminated property (a “facility”) in the state’s law on hazardous waste cleanups to accommodate the provision in Senate Bill 891 revising the law’s treatment of uncontaminated property that is split off from a contaminated parcel.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163924
Senate Bill 893: Re-impose medical services tax to get more federal Medicaid money
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on March 27, 2014, to re-impose a 6 percent use tax on certain health care providers, which is designed to “game” the federal Medicaid system in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare system.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163925
Senate Bill 894: Increase speed limits
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 27, 2014, to establish that highway “school zone” speed limits are only enforceable for 30 minutes before and after school hours (vs. up to one hour in current law), and may be lowered not more than 15 miles per hour below the regular speed limit, or to 25 miles per hour, whichever is higher. This is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 894 to 898 to increase speed limits and revise related laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163926
Senate Bill 895: Increase speed limits
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 27, 2014, to establish that exceeding the speed limit by five miles per hour or less is punishable by a fine only, with no record of conviction or driver-license “points.” See also Senate Bill 896.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163927
Senate Bill 896: Increase speed limits
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 27, 2014, to increase the normal speed limit to 80 miles per hour on rural freeways, 70 mph on urban freeways, 65 mph on state highways, 60 mph on county roads, 55 mph on unpaved (gravel) roads except in Oakland and Wayne counties, where it would be 45 mph. These limits could fall or rise based on studies of observed traffic speed. The limit for trucks would be 70 mph on all freeways (vs. 60 mph under current law). The limit on unposted residential subdivision and traditional downtown business district streets would remain at 25 mph. Speed limits on city streets outside subdivisions could only be set according to the table of driveway frequency, or based on a speed study (as specified by Senate Bill 898).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163928
Senate Bill 897: Increase speed limits
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on March 27, 2014, to require that local traffic ordinances match the state-issued “manual of traffic control devices.” The bill would also revise the number of driver-license “points” assessed for various violations. See also Senate Bill 896.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163929
Senate Bill 898: Increase speed limits
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on March 27, 2014, to establish that variations from the general speed limits proposed by Senate Bill 896 can only be based on the speed at which 85 percent of drivers are found to travel in free-flowing traffic.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163930
House Bill 5421: Revise delinquent property tax interest detail
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on March 25, 2014, to allow counties to waive certain additional interest charges imposed on the delinquent property taxes of a tax-foreclosed primary residence.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163902
House Bill 5422: Allow 120 days to renew vehicle registration without late fee
Introduced by Rep. Pete Lund (R) on March 25, 2014, to not impose a $10 “late fee” on vehicle registrations submitted after the previous year’s registration has expired. The bill would only impose the fee 120 days after the registration has expired.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163903
House Bill 5423: Require MCCA rate formula disclosures
Introduced by Rep. Mike Callton (R) on March 25, 2014, to require the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to publically disclose the formula used to determine its auto insurance surcharges, and the amount charged to individual insurance companies. The MCCA is the private entity established to provide reinsurance to cover the liability of individual auto insurance companies to pay unlimited medical claims above $500,000 per incident, which they are required to pay under the state no-fault auto insurance law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163904
House Bill 5424: Accommodate and regulate charitable “millionaire game” business
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on March 25, 2014, to revise the law governing charitable “millionaire party” gambling events that include casino games, in a manner that accommodates charitable organizations contracting out operation of these fundraising events to a “charitable gaming service” that operates them for multiple charities at a single location, one after another. The bill would establish a licensing regime covering both the charities and the companies that provide the service, which would recognize a system that has evolved. Under this system, on most days of the week a person can go to a single location to gamble on casino-like games, with the proceeds going to a different charitable organization each day (or during different hours of the same day), less the cost of the contract with the service provider. The state Gaming Control Board has proposed a different regulatory regime that would restrict this practice rather than accommodate it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163905
House Bill 5425: Establish rental unit bedbug procedures
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on March 25, 2014, to give district courts “equitable jurisdiction” in cases related to the proposal in House Bills 5199 to 52101 to establish the duties of both landlords and tenants related to a rental unit that is infested with bedbugs. See also Senate Bill 657.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163906
House Bill 5426: Allow farmers market beer tastings and sales
Introduced by Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright (D) on March 25, 2014, to expand the 2013 law that authorized a special liquor license allowing small winemakers to sell wine and hold wine tastings at farmers markets, so that it also applies to “micro-brewers”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163907
House Bill 5427: Allow farmers market beer tastings and sales
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on March 25, 2014, to expand the 2013 law that authorized a special liquor license allowing small winemakers to sell wine and hold wine tastings at farmers markets, so that it also applies to “micro-brewers”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163908
House Bill 5428: Revise transportation funding detail
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on March 26, 2014, to define the liability of individual townships within a “township alliance” for state road funding for damages caused by not keeping roads in “reasonable repair.” House Bill 4015 would make these township alliances eligible for state road funding.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163916
House Bill 5429: Revise detail of securities regulation
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on March 26, 2014, to revise a provision in the state “uniform securities act” (which governs the issuance and sale of stocks) so as to clarify the escrow of purchaser funds in an intrastate offering.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163917
House Bill 5430: Revise state securities regulation
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on March 26, 2014, to create a new “Office of Securities Regulation” within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs , to which would be transferred the duty to regulate the issuance and sale of stocks that currently located in the state Office of Finance and Insurance Regulation. The bill would also create a new state “securities regulation board”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163918
House Bill 5431: Require internet safety instruction in schools
Introduced by Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D) on March 26, 2014, to require public schools to offer instruction on “Internet safety” using resources the state Department of Education would be required to make available.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163919
House Bill 5432: Revise swine definitions
Introduced by Rep. Greg MacMaster (R) on March 26, 2014, to define “feral or wild swine” as swine that have lived any part of their life as free roaming or not under the husbandry of humans, and “native swine” as swine born and raised or legally imported into this state. Shortly before the bill’s introduction a state court ruled that regulations against keeping wild boars, Eurasian wild boars and similar exotic varieties used in “sporting swine” hunting operations are too vague to be enforceable.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163920
House Bill 5433: Authorize state tax break for federal “new markets tax credits”
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on March 27, 2014, to require the Department of Treasury to report to the legislature each year on the activities of the department related to the treatment of state tax credits based on federal “new markets tax credits,” as proposed by House Bills 5434 and 5435. “New markets tax credits” is a program that subsidizes capital investments or loans to certain business entities or individuals in low-income communities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163937
House Bill 5434: Authorize state tax break for federal “new markets tax credits”
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on March 27, 2014, to authorize a tax credit based on an insurance company’s investment in an entity eligible for a federal “new markets tax credit,” which is a program that subsidizes capital investments or loans to certain business entities or individuals in low-income communities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163938
House Bill 5435: Authorize state tax break for federal “new markets tax credits”
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on March 27, 2014, to authorize a state income tax credit based on a taxpayer’s investment in an entity eligible for a federal “new markets tax credit,” which is a program that subsidizes capital investments or loans to certain business entities or individuals in low-income communities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163939
House Bill 5436: Require school bus seat belts
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on March 27, 2014, to require new school buses to be equipped with seat belts for each passenger.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163940
House Bill 5437: Authorize 5-mill “sinking fund” property tax for school buses
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on March 27, 2014, to allow school districts to use a “sinking fund” property tax to buy school buses. Under current law, schools may levy up to 5 mills for 20 years for a “sinking fund,” which is a permanent fund that may only be used only for land purchases and the construction or (major) repair of school buildings.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163941
House Bill 5438: Mandate drivers ed include cycle awareness lesson
Introduced by Rep. Terry Brown (D) on March 27, 2014, to require drivers education classes to include classroom instruction on laws related to bicycles and motorcycles, and to emphasize awareness of their operation on roads.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163942
House Bill 5439: Permit growing industrial hemp for research
Introduced by Rep. Kevin Daley (R) on March 27, 2014, to allow the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and/or a Michigan college or university to grow or cultivate industrial hemp for research purposes. The bill would also authorize creating a segregated state fund to provide grants for this research.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163943
House Bill 5440: Permit growing industrial hemp for research
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on March 27, 2014, to revise the law that defines marijuana as an illegal drug so as to exclude “industrial hemp” grown or cultivated for research, which House Bill 5439 would authorize.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163944
House Bill 5152: Exempt voter registration-related Social Security numbers from FOIA
Passed 84 to 24 in the House on March 27, 2014, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill, which also repeals a ban on residents of another state collecting signatures on a ballot initiative or candidate nomination petition.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688412
House Bill 5152: Exempt voter registration-related Social Security numbers from FOIA
The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on March 25, 2014, to adopt a version of the bill that also would repeal a ban on residents of another state collecting signatures on a ballot initiative or candidate nomination petition.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161385
House Bill 5441: Repeal local road agency fringe benefit reporting mandate
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on April 17, 2014, to repeal a law that mandates local road agencies certify to the Department of Transportation that their employees and their contractors’ employees get fringe benefits meeting certain specifications in that law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163972
House Bill 5442: Revise victim notification of offender’s prison alternative
Introduced by Rep. Brandon Dillon (D) on April 17, 2014, to require that the notice sent to the victim of a crime that the offender may be placed in a special alternative incarceration (”boot camp”) program must inform the victim of his or her right to submit a victim impact statement to the judge.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164049
House Bill 5443: Give some state employees early retirement incentive pension increase
Introduced by Rep. Scott Dianda (D) on April 17, 2014, to authorize a retirement incentive for Department of Transportation employees whose age and years of government employment add up to at least 70 and who retire before Dec. 1, 2014. The bill would increase the multiplier used to calculate the retirement benefits of these employees from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent, which would increase the cash portion of their post-retirement benefits by 16.7 percent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164050
House Bill 5444: Revise foster care trust fund details
Introduced by Rep. Peter MacGregor (R) on April 17, 2014, to revise details of a state trust fund supports college or career training programs for foster care children who “age out” of the system. The bill would cap the administrative expenses the Fund could incur, revise membership of the fund board, and require the board to “collaborate” with state colleges and universities to “assist current and former foster care students who have unmet financial education needs and assist in the effort to create sustainable futures for those foster care students”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164051
House Bill 5445: Establish rape kit evidence regulations and procedures
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on April 17, 2014, to establish regulations and procedures that law enforcement agencies and health care providers must follow when collecting and using sexual assault kit evidence.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164052
House Bill 5446: Establish failed school district dissolutions procedures
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on April 17, 2014, to place in statute specific criteria and procedures for reorganizing a school district dissolved because it is no longer financially viable or for other reasons. Essentially, the bill would give the local Intermediate School District the duty and authority to transfer the students and territory of the failed district to other conventional school districts within the ISD’s jurisdiction, and determine the allocation of revenue and liabilities to them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164053
House Bill 5447: Designate road after murdered corrections officer
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on April 17, 2014, to designate a portion of U.S. 41 in Marquette County as the “Earl DeMarse Memorial Highway”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164054
House Bill 5448: Ban certain retroactive municipal water use billings
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on April 17, 2014, to prohibit a municipal water system that installs a new water meter from charging the customer for any water use that was not previously detected or billed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164055
House Bill 5449: Designate “Blanchard’s cricket frog” as official state amphibian
Introduced by Rep. Matt Lori (R) on April 17, 2014, to establish in law that henceforth the “Blanchard’s cricket frog” (acris crepitans blanchardii) shall be designated as the official State of Michigan amphibian. At present, Michigan does not have an official state amphibian. Past bills have proposed designating the northern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer), the marbled salamander (Ambystome opacum) and the eastern gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor). Note: The Blanchard’s cricket frog is named after a herpetologist, not a former Democratic Michigan Governor of the same name.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164056
House Bill 5450: Permit mail-order purchase of air rifles and BB guns
Introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey (R) on April 17, 2014, to revise a detail in the wording of an existing exclusion of air rifles and BB guns from the state law governing the sale, purchase, possession and carrying of firearms. The change is said to allow .177 caliber air rifles and BB guns to be purchased by mail order.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164057
House Bill 5451: Authorize National Guard member tuition subsidies
Introduced by Rep. Bruce Rendon (R) on April 17, 2014, to authorize annual college or vocational education tuition subsidies of up to $4,500 per year for a current Michigan National Guard member. The bill does not specify where the money would come from.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164058
House Bill 5452: Increase overweight and oversize truck fees
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on April 17, 2014, to increase the fee for permits required to operate a vehicle or trailer that exceeds standard highway size, weight, or load restrictions. This is part of a road funding increase proposal announced by House Speaker Jase Bolger.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164059
House Bill 5453: Increase overweight truck fines
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on April 17, 2014, to increase the fines imposed on trucks whose weight exceeds state limits. This is part of a road funding increase proposal announced by House Speaker Jase Bolger.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164060
House Bill 5454: Revise ambulance licensure detail
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on April 17, 2014, to revise the law imposing licensure and detailed state regulations on ambulance operations, so as to exempt advanced life support operations in small rural counties and communities from certain staffing and related requirements.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164061
House Bill 5455: Increase fine for selling untaxed cigarette
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 17, 2014, to increase the fine for selling a cigarette separately from a package from $500 to $1,000, and up to $10,000 for multiple violations. Sixty percent of the fine revenue would go to the local police agency that issues the citation, with the rest split between the state and the court.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164062
House Bill 5456: Ban insurance rate hike for pothole damage
Introduced by Rep. Marilyn Lane (D) on April 17, 2014, to prohibit auto insurers from increasing a person’s rates due to damage caused by a pothole.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164063
House Bill 5457: Revise large county commission membership detail
Introduced by Rep. Marilyn Lane (D) on April 17, 2014, to change the number of county commissioners authorized for a county with 600,000 or more people, from the current “25 to 35” to “not more than 35.” This would apply to Kent, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164064
House Bill 5458: Give state money to communities that had frozen pipes
Introduced by Rep. Scott Dianda (D) on April 17, 2014, to appropriate $10 million for Upper Peninsula communities whose water pipes froze in the winter of 2013-14.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164065
House Bill 5459: House Speaker road funding package
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on April 17, 2014, to earmark sales tax collected on gasoline sales to road projects. This is part of a road funding increase proposal announced by House Speaker Jase Bolger.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164066
House Bill 5460: House Speaker road funding package
Introduced by Rep. Dan Lauwers (R) on April 17, 2014, to require local and county road authorities to get full replacement cost warranties from contractors for road construction and preservation projects they perform. This is part of a road funding increase proposal announced by House Speaker Jase Bolger.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164067
House Bill 4781: Revise motorcycle “learner’s permit” detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 22, 2014, to revise details of a motorcycle operators license “learners permit,” which applies to license applicants who have not yet passed a motorcycle skills test and have not taken an optional safety course. Under current law the 180-day “learner’s permit” only allows riding under the supervision of a person who has a regular motorcycle license (“indorsement”). The bill would prohibit more than two such “learners permits” in a 10-year period.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689114
House Bill 5154: Revise criminal prosecution preliminary procedures
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on April 22, 2014, to authorize and establish procedures for “probable cause” conferences in advance of the criminal prosecution “preliminary examinations” required under current law. The subject matter would include possible plea bargains, bail, procedural aspects of a case and more. These conferences could be waived if both sides agree. This and House Bill 5155 would also revise “preliminary examination” procedures, and timetables for both types of proceeding.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689112
House Bill 5155: Revise criminal prosecution preliminary procedures
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 22, 2014, to authorize and establish procedures for “probable cause” conferences in advance of the “preliminary examinations” authorized under current law for criminal prosecutions. The subject matter would include possible plea bargains, bail, procedural aspects of the case, and more. These conferences could be waived if both sides agree. This and House Bill 5154 would also revise “preliminary examination” procedures, and timetables for both types of proceeding.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689113
Senate Bill 444: Revise aquatic nuisance species control regulations
Passed 26 to 12 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to revise details of the law restricting and requiring permits for chemicals used to control aquatic nuisance species; increase the permit fees (by extending the sunset on their authorization); revise the duration of permits and make them transferable; and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689234
Senate Bill 664: Revise “debt management services” regulations
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to revise and update various definitions and prescribed procedures in a law that imposes licensure and regulations on “debt management services.” The bill would also increase license fees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689235
Senate Bill 873: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to authorize the designation of a trail as “Pure Michigan Trail” if it contributes to a statewide trail network that “promotes healthy lifestyles, economic development, recreation, and conservation.” The bill would also authorize designation of “Pure Michigan Towns” and “Pure Michigan Water Trails”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689236
Senate Bill 874: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to authorize the use of money in an existing “Michigan trailways fund” to develop the statewide multi-use trail network proposed by Senate Bill 873. The bill would also make nonprofits and private sector entities eligible for grants from to operate and maintain designated trail segments.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689237
Senate Bill 875: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to revise the state environmental protection law to conform to the proposal in Senate Bill 873 to designate a statewide multi-use trail network.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689238
Senate Bill 876: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to revise the law authorizing the state to operate an “adopt a trail” program using the services of volunteers so as to conform to the proposal in Senate Bill 873 to designate a statewide multi-use trail network.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689239
Senate Bill 49: Make government firearms ownership databases non-public information
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to establish that state databases containing information on licenses issued to individuals to purchase, carry, possess, or transport pistols are confidential and not subject to disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bill was introduced after a New York newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners it acquired from a state database (since then New York has also banned releasing this information).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689269
Senate Bill 680: Exclude county road commissions as waterfront road end decision maker
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to clarify that cities, villages and townships rather than counties may exercise the authority granted by a 2012 law to permit a single seasonal public dock or wharf at a road end at an inland lake or stream. This applies unless a recorded deed, easement or other recorded dedication expressly provides otherwise.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689271
Senate Bill 834: Make government firearms ownership databases non-public information
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to establish that a firearms-related court order or disposition entered into the state’s Law Enforcement Information Network (LIEN) is not subject to disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). See Senate Bill 49.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689267
Senate Bill 878: Accommodate and regulate the “millionaire party” business
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to revise the law governing charitable “millionaire party” gambling events that include casino games, in a manner that accommodates charities contracting-out operation of these fundraising events to a “charitable gaming service” that operates them for multiple charities at a single location, one event after another. The bill would establish a licensing regime covering both the charities and the companies that provide the gambling service, which would recognize a system that has evolved in which, on most days of the week, a person can go to a single location to gamble on casino-like games, with the proceeds going to a different charitable organization each day (or during different hours of the same day). Among other details the bill would permit charitable organizations to sponsor these events a maximum of 16 days a year, and permit them to be held at horse race tracks. The state Gaming Control Board had proposed a different regulatory regime that would restrict this practice rather than accommodate it.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689274
House Bill 4962: Mandate SIDS information distribution & parent acknowledgement
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to mandate that hospitals give mothers a copy of a pamphlet on the risk factors of sudden infant death syndrome and sudden unexpected infant death (SIDS and SUID). This would also apply to a health professional in charge of a birth or a newborn’s care outside of a hospital. The Department of Community Health would be responsible for producing the pamphlets and related material.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689272
House Bill 5277: Revise foreclosure restrictions
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 24, 2014, to revise details of a 2013 law that made changes to the right of a mortgage foreclosure auction property buyer to monitor the property during the post-auction redemption period (during which a delinquent borrower can pay the loan in full to redeem the property). The bill would impose more restrictions on inspections by the buyer, require more notice before interior inspections, and offer more opportunities for the borrower to repair or correct damage before the buyer can claim immediate ownership rights.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689270
Senate Bill 899: Allow local governments to transfer tax functions to county
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on April 22, 2014, to allow cities, townships and villages to enter agreements with counties to administer functions related to property tax collections.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164044
Senate Bill 900: Revise workers comp insurance detail
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on April 22, 2014, to give the state agency that oversees the injured workers compensation insurance system discretion to permit reimbursement for certain claims made after statutory deadlines have passed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164045
Senate Bill 901: Establish rape kit evidence procedures and deadlines
Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on April 22, 2014, to establish regulations, procedures and timetables with deadlines that law enforcement agencies and health care providers must follow when collecting and using sexual assault kit evidence.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164046
Senate Bill 902: Impose college admissions training mandate on high school counselors
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on April 22, 2014, to mandate that middle school and high school counselors must take and pass a separate 45-hour course on the college admissions process and counseling, in addition to other existing licensure requirements.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164047
Senate Bill 903: Authorize bone marrow transplant fundraising license plate
Introduced by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R) on April 22, 2014, to require the Secretary of State to develop a fundraising license plate with proceeds going to research, technology, patient support and education regarding bone marrow donation and transplants.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164048
Senate Bill 904: Require “pharmacist in charge” at pharmacies
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the criminal offenses proposed by Senate Bill 704, which would require pharmacies, manufacturers, and distributors to designate a pharmacist in charge. This relates to a recent “drug compounding” scandal in New England that led to contaminated drugs causing meningitis in several people.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164086
Senate Bill 905: Establish process for removing local elected official for fiscal mismanagement
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish a process by which the governing body of a city, village, or county can file a petition in circuit court to remove from office an elected official for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance related to the custody and accounting of public money, or for failing to obtain or maintain a performance bond that statutorily required for the office.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164087
Senate Bill 906: Increase National Guard retirement benefit
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on April 23, 2014, to increase an annual retirement benefit for National Guard members from $600 to $720.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164088
Senate Bill 907: Allow more school retiree “double dipping”
Introduced in the Senate on April 23, 2014, to extend for another two years a July 2014 sunset on a law that allows a “retired” school employee to work as a teacher and still collect a pension in addition to his or her current pay, subject to specified limitations and qualifications.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164089
Senate Bill 908: Accelerate vehicle trade-in “sales tax on the difference”
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on April 24, 2014, to accelerate the 24-year phase-in of a 2013 law that exempted from sales tax the value of a trade-in when buying a motor vehicle, watercraft or RV, and repeal a provision halting the phase-in if halt the phase-in if the state’s acceptance of the federal health care law’s Medicaid expansion (authorized by 2013 House Bill 4714) is rescinded.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164093
Senate Bill 909: Cap inmates in state-run prisons at 38,000
Introduced by Sen. John Proos, IV (R) on April 24, 2014, to cap the number of prisoners in state prisons at 38,000, and require that prisoners above this number be kept in jails or other “secure facilities” (which appears to mean privatized prisons including the former Michigan youth correctional facility in Baldwin, a privately owned and managed prison).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164094
Senate Bill 910: Ban enforcement of new woodstove emissions limits
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on April 24, 2014, to prohibit Department of Environmental Quality from imposing new state regulations limiting emissions from woodstoves and heaters, or enforcing federal regulations that do this. The bill was introduced as news reports indicate that proposed federal Environmental Protection Agency rules would impose restrictive new limits on wood burning heaters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164095
Senate Bill 911: Repeal mandate on governments to use unionized print shops
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on April 24, 2014, to repeal a 1937 law that mandates all state and local government printing (with specified exceptions) must be done by a printer who is approved by local unions (styled in the law as “the allied printing trades council of the locality”).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164096
House Bill 5461: Revise “file and use” auto insurance rates
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Stallworth, III (D) on April 23, 2014, to revise Michigan’s “file and use” auto insurance rate regulatory system, wherein insurers are required to file for approval of any rate changes but don’t have to wait to start using the rates immediately. Under the bill, insurers would have to wait 15 days after filing before using new rates, and the state would have 30 days to disapprove them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164068
House Bill 5462: Let ISD reconstitute failed and dissolved school district
Introduced by Rep. David Nathan (D) on April 23, 2014, to give the local Intermediate School District the duty and authority to transfer the students and territory of a failed and dissolved school district to other conventional school districts within the ISD’s jurisdiction, and also give the ISD the power to reconstitute the failed district. This would potentially reverse a 2013 lawthat established criteria and procedures for dissolving a fiscally unviable school district and attaching its territory to one or more nearby districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164069
House Bill 5463: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Cindy Denby (R) on April 23, 2014, to revise the state paternity law so that if a DNA test shows a man to be a child’s father then paternity is “established” in law rather than “presumed”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164070
House Bill 5464: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish that if a DNA test shows a man to be the father of a child born out of wedlock then paternity is established under law, the mother is granted custody, and the paternity status may be the basis for court-ordered child support, custody, or parenting time without further adjudication. The child would have the identical status rights, and duties of a child born in lawful wedlock.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164071
House Bill 5465: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on April 23, 2014, to specify procedures for establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock to a mother on welfare, and for seeking child support from the man the process determines to be the child’s father.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164072
House Bill 5466: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock to a mother on welfare. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164073
House Bill 5467: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164074
House Bill 5468: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Roger Victory (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock to a mother on welfare. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164075
House Bill 5469: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority in cases involving a jurisdiction in another state to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164076
House Bill 5470: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority in cases involving a jurisdiction in another state to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164077
House Bill 5471: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Rick Outman (R) on April 23, 2014, to establish procedures for consolidating within one government agency a county prosecutor’s authority to seek child support from the father of a child born out of wedlock. The authority would then fall under either the friend of the court office, or an attorney employed or under contract with either the county or the state Department of Human Services.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164078
House Bill 5472: Create delinquent child support “alternative contempt track docket”
Introduced by Rep. Bruce Rendon (R) on April 23, 2014, to create an “alternative contempt track docket” for delinquent child support payers who are subject to one of several hardship conditions specified in the bill. This would the delinquent payer to avoid jail (be on probation) for 12 months if he enters and abides by an alternative payment plan.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164079
House Bill 5473: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Matt Lori (R) on April 23, 2014, to revise details of a law that allows a court to refuse to revoke an acknowledgment of parentage if it is in the best interests of the child.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164080
House Bill 5474: Change reference to “crippled children” in state law
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on April 23, 2014, to revise a reference to “crippled children” in state law to instead refer to “children and youth with special health care needs”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164081
House Bill 5475: Require registration of student athlete agents
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on April 23, 2014, to require a person who acts as an agent for a student athlete to register with the state, and establish rules for establishing an agency relationship.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164082
House Bill 5476: Revise electric utility regulated rate setting procedures
Introduced by Rep. Jim Stamas (R) on April 23, 2014, to revise details of the process used by state regulators to allocate production-related and transmission costs to the commercial customers of large utilities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164083
House Bill 5477: Replace per-gallon gas tax with 6 percent wholesale tax
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on April 23, 2014, to replace the current 19-cent per gallon gas tax and 15-cent diesel tax with a 6 percent wholesale fuel tax. The tax could only rise by 5 percent per year even if the price of fuel rose faster, but if the price of fuel fell the rate could be increased to prevent any reduction in tax revenue compared to the 2014 level.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164084
Senate Bill 760: Appropriations: Department of Agriculture
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 29, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $82.5 million in gross spending, compared to $80.1 million in the prior year’s budget. Of this, $9.2 million is federal money, and the rest is from state and local taxes and fees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689368
Senate Bill 770: Appropriations: Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on April 29, 2014, the Senate version of Department of Insurance and Financial Services budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $65.1 million in gross spending, of which $2.0 million is federal money almost all of the rest is from regulatory fees and fines. In the budget for the fiscal year that began in October of 2013, $75.3 million was appropriated for this budget, which included an $11 million deposit into a fund intended to reimburse insurance companies for the costs imposed by a new autism coverage mandate.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689369
Senate Bill 772: Appropriations: Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on April 29, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $530.7 million in gross spending (of which $199.1 million is federal money), compared to $502.9 million in the prior year’s budget.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689370
Senate Bill 776: Appropriations: State Police
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 29, 2014, the Senate version of the State Police budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $638.5 million in gross spending (of which $99.4 million is federal revenue), compared to $606.8 million the previous year (an amount that included $16 million for police radios and which is now included in a different budget).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689372
House Bill 4341: Revise bodies donated to science accredidations
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on April 29, 2014, to give the Department of Community Health the authority to designate any accredited medical school in this state to accept dead bodies donated to science. Under current law only the University of Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State may be designated.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689414
House Bill 5216: Authorize government “certificate of employability” for ex-cons
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on April 29, 2014, to authorize the Department of Corrections to issue a “certificate of employability” to prisoners being released who have behaved well in prison and successfully completed a career and technical education course.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689410
House Bill 5217: Authorize government “certificate of employability” for ex-cons
Passed 65 to 45 in the House on April 29, 2014, to limit the liability of employers in personal injury, property damage and wrongful death lawsuits arising from the actions of an employee who is an ex-convict hired after the individual was granted a “certificate of employability” by the state Department of Corrections, as proposed by House Bill 5216.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689411
House Bill 5218: Authorize goverrnment “certificate of employability” for ex-cons
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the “good moral character” prerequisite in occupational licensure mandates to conform with the ex-convict “certificate of employability” proposed by House Bill 5216. Specifically, the bill would allow but not require licensure boards to consider criminal prosecutions or lawsuit judgments as evidence of an individual not having “good moral character,” but require that they take notice of whether an ex-convict was granted the state “certificate of employability” proposed by House Bill 5216.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689412
House Bill 5220: Revise accounting firm licensure details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the licensure mandate imposed on certain officers of public accounting firms. Specifically, the bill would eliminate a requirement that only licensed certified public accountants can to serve as officers and directors of the an accounting firm, given that such firms sometimes offer a range of business services.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689413
Senate Bill 678: Revise tobacco tax revenue earmarks
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 30, 2014, to earmark $3 million of annual state tobacco tax revenue to the state Capitol upkeep fund proposed by Senate Bill 665 and $50,000 for maintenance on the official governor’s residence.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689474
Senate Bill 766: Appropriations: Department of Environmental Quality
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 30, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Environmental Quality budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2015. This would appropriate $502.5 million in gross spending, compared to $517.1 million, which was the amount appropriated the previous year. Of this, $150.3 million is federal money, and the rest is from state and local taxes and fees (including a 7/8 cent per gallon fuel tax).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689476
Senate Bill 773: Appropriations: Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on April 30, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $167.2 million in gross spending, compared to $166.3 million the previous year. Of this, $90.3 million is from federal funds.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689480
Senate Bill 774: Appropriations: Department of Natural Resources
Passed 34 to 4 in the Senate on April 30, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $382.9 million in gross spending, compared to $342.9 million, which was the FY 2012-2013 amount enrolled in 2012. Of this, $67.9 million is federal money, and the rest is from state taxes, fees, fines, royalties, etc. The large spending increase comes after a large hunting and fishing license fee increase was enacted in 2013.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689485
Senate Bill 912: Prohibit employment for less than mandated wage
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on April 29, 2014, to make it unlawful to employ a worker for less than $8.15 an hour beginning in December 2014, notwithstanding any voluntary agreement between the employer and employee. The current state minimum wage level mandated for hourly employees not covered by a federal wage mandate is $7.40 an hour. The bill would also increase the minimum wage for employees who receive part of their compensation in tips from $2.65 to $2.75 an hour.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164116
Senate Bill 913: Revise Medicaid health insurance claims tax
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on April 29, 2014, to reduce to 0.75 percent a 1.0 percent health insurance claims tax intended to “game” the federal Medicaid system in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare system. If a 6 percent use tax on Medicaid managed care providers proposed by Senate Bill 893 is disallowed by federal government for this purpose, then this bill would increase the rate of this levy to the original 1.0 percent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164117
Senate Bill 914: Prorate unfunded university pension benefit “catch up” costs
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on April 29, 2014, to establish a methodology for assessing state universities a share of the annual assessment required to “catch up” on unfunded pension liabilities. The bill would assess both universities and K-12 school districts with a share of the “catch up” costs based on how much of the unfunded liability was incurred on behalf of their employees’ service over the years, using a formula the bill proposes for determining the value of past and future pension fund contributions and the projected cost of future pension benefit payments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164118
Senate Bill 915: Make vehicle title lien updates electronic
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on April 29, 2014, to make it a felony to fraudulently indicate on a certificate of title for a vehicle that there is no security interest on record for the vehicle (meaning the vehicle is owned free and clear). Also, to make it felony to forge or counterfeit a letter from the lender saying the loan has been paid off. See also Senate Bills 916 to 918, which propose making vehicle title lien information electronic.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164119
Senate Bill 916: Make vehicle title lien updates electronic
Introduced by Sen. Mike Nofs (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise process for updating vehicle loan “security interests” on vehicle titles, so as to accommodate the process proposed by Senate Bill 918 for replacing the current paper-based system with an all-electronic one.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164120
Senate Bill 917: Make vehicle title lien updates electronic
Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D) on April 29, 2014, to revise process for updating vehicle loan “security interests” on vehicle titles, so as to accommodate the process proposed by Senate Bill 918 for replacing the current paper-based system with an all-electronic one.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164121
Senate Bill 918: Make vehicle title lien updates electronic
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on April 29, 2014, to allow the Secretary of State to develop and contract out an electronic system to process the notification and release of vehicle lender “security interests” for purposes of indicating on vehicle titles whether a lender has an interest in the vehicle. This and related bills would mostly replace an existing “hard copy” process for updating this information and mailing out new title documents to owners or lenders. The Secretary of State could require that all transactions concerning these issues be conducted through electronic means.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164122
Senate Bill 919: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 1, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees imposed for mandated registration as a government building official, inspector or plan reviewer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164163
Senate Bill 920: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 1, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees imposed to incorporate a business.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164164
Senate Bill 921: Make vehicle title lien updates electronic
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 1, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees charged under a state-imposed licensure mandate for plumbers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164165
Senate Bill 922: Authorize local “pension obligation bonds”
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on May 1, 2014, to extend for two years the Dec. 31, 2014 sunset on a law passed in 2012 to allow local governments to borrow money to cover unfunded employee pension liabilities, if the local has closed its traditional “defined benefit” pension system to new employees.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164166
Senate Bill 923: Authorize enforceable children sports liability waivers
Introduced by Sen. Mark Jansen (R) on May 1, 2014, to expand to “camping activities” a law passed in 2011 giving the parent or guardian of a minor who participates in a sports or a recreational activity the right release the organizer, sponsor or property owner in advance from liability for injuries sustained by the minor. The bill would also slightly expand the scope of these liability waivers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164167
Senate Bill 924: Criminalize posting revealing images to harass or intimidate
Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D) on May 1, 2014, to explicitly make it a crime to post on the internet any sexually explicit photograph, drawing, or other image of a person with the intent to frighten, intimidate, or harass. The bill would also authorize penalties to refusing or failing to take all reasonable steps to remove such images upon written request of the person, even if these were not posted with the intent to frighten, intimidate, or harass.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164168
Senate Bill 925: Criminalize posting revealing images to harass or intimidate
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 1, 2014, to place in statute misdemeanor penalties proposed by Senate Bill 924 for posting on the internet any sexually explicit photograph, drawing, or other image of another person with the intent to frighten, intimidate, or harass.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164169
House Bill 5478: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on April 29, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new “private employer group self-insurers security fund,” starting in 2019. This fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164125
House Bill 5479: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on April 29, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new entity, starting in 2019. The new fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164126
House Bill 5480: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164127
House Bill 5481: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164128
House Bill 5482: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164129
House Bill 5483: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 29, 2014, to authorize the imposition of extra assessments against the members of the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” if its obligations exceed the capacity of the fund to pay.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164130
House Bill 5484: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 29, 2014, to establish that the duty of the Attorney General to give legal advice to an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits would be the same under the replacement entity proposed in House Bills 5478 and 5479.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164131
House Bill 5485: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 29, 2014, to establish that the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 ends up paying the benefits of an injured worker (instead of the self-insured employer paying them, it would have the right to seek reimbursement from the insolvent employer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164132
House Bill 5486: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 29, 2014, to establish that rights to an insolvent employer’s records currently vested in a state workers compensation “self-insurers’ security fund” would be the same under the replacement entity proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164133
House Bill 5487: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Phil Phelps (D) on April 29, 2014, to revise the assessment methodology and accounting requirements for a state trust fund created to pay worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164134
House Bill 5488: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on April 29, 2014, to revise details of a provision enforcing the duty of an employer who self-insures for potential workers compensation liability to pay into a state trust fund created to cover benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164135
House Bill 5489: Authorize workers comp trust fund payments to former Delphi workers
Introduced by Rep. Bradford Jacobsen (R) on April 29, 2014, to authorize payments from a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation insurance benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers to former employees of the Delphi Corporation (which was spun-off by General Motors in 1997 and filed bankruptcy in 2005). The trust fund would be allowed to seek reimbursement from whatever entity is ultimately found by a federal court to be liable for these claims.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164136
House Bill 5490: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Introduced by Rep. Frank Foster (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise details of the process for resolving disputes between an employer or insurer and the trustees of a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation benefits owed by an insolvent employer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164137
House Bill 5491: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on April 29, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees imposed to incorporate a business.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164138
House Bill 5492: Earmark some state use tax to roads
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on April 29, 2014, to earmark 1.0 percent of the revenue from the 6.0 percent state use tax to road projects (meaning one-sixth of the revenue from this tax would go to roads). See also House Bill 5459. Reportedly this would generate around $250 million annually for roads.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164139
House Bill 5493: Replace per-gallon fuel tax with 6 percent wholesale tax
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on April 29, 2014, to replace the current 15 cent per gallon motor carrier fuel tax imposed on interstate truckers with a 6 percent tax on the wholesale fuel price. House Bill 5477 establishes the new rate, and this bill deletes language related to old rate, and also requires truckers to apply within 18 months for refunds of the Michigan fuel tax they paid for fuel burned in other states.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164140
House Bill 5494: Revise Saginaw County judgeships
Introduced by Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D) on April 30, 2014, to revise the number of judgeships in the second division of the seventieth district court district in Saginaw County.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164149
House Bill 5495: Authorize imposing extra property tax on vacant commercial or industrial property
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on April 30, 2014, to permit local governments to impose an additional property tax millage on particular parcels of vacant commercial or industrial property at a rate sufficient to “reflect the costs of maintaining the vacant property through years of vacancy.” A vote of the people would be required. The complete proposal is contained in this bill and House Bill 5496.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164150
House Bill 5496: Authorize imposing extra property tax on vacant commercial or industrial property
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on April 30, 2014, to permit local governments to impose an additional property tax millage on particular parcels of vacant commercial or industrial property at a rate sufficient to “reflect the costs of maintaining the vacant property through years of vacancy.” A vote of the people would be required. The complete proposal is contained in this bill and House Bill 5495.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164151
House Bill 5497: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on April 30, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish to claim the waiver authorized by a 2012 law of the fees charged under a state-imposed licensure mandate for electricians.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164152
House Bill 5498: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Rep. Matt Lori (R) on April 30, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees imposed to incorporate a nonprofit entity.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164153
House Bill 5499: Repeal law facilitating phase-out of telephone land lines
Introduced by Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D) on April 30, 2014, to repeal the law enacted five weeks before this bill’s introduction that streamlines regulations on “landline” telephone service providers so as to facilitate transitioning customers to a wireless (cell phone or VOIP) system, and allows phone companies to discontinue landline service after 2016.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164154
House Bill 5500: Authorize lawsuits against illegal local government gun restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on April 30, 2014, to require local governments that are violating a state law that preempts imposing local restrictions on firearms (including taxes, regulation of ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession) to bring their ordinances into compliance within 91 days. The bill would establish failure to do so as a “cause of action,” on the basis of which individuals or groups aggrieved by a violation of this state law could sue to have the local restrictions invalidated, and collect costs and reasonable attorney fees if they win. Also, the bill would authorize civil fines of $5,000 against an elected or appointed local government official who “knowingly and willfully enacted or enforced an ordinance or regulation in violation” of the state preemption.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164155
House Bill 5501: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Introduced by Rep. Alberta Tinsley Talabi (D) on April 30, 2014, to eliminate failure to pay the so-called “driver responsibility fees” imposed in 2003 as a revenue measure from a list of possible “licensing sanctions” in an unrelated drivers license statute. This is linked to House Bill 5414, with would gradually phase out these fees.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164156
House Bill 5502: Institute Headlee Amendment unfunded mandate restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Eileen Kowall (R) on April 30, 2014, to prohibit a state agency from imposing a rule that requires any increase in local government services or activities unless the legislature has appropriated money to pay for it. Along with House Bill 5503 this bill would establish an administrative process to restrict such impositions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164157
House Bill 5503: Institute Headlee Amendment unfunded mandate restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Eileen Kowall (R) on April 30, 2014, to prohibit any bill that potentially imposes a mandate on local governments from becoming law unless a “local government mandate panel” comprised the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies, and the relevant state department if any in consultation with the local governments affected, create a “fiscal note” that quantifies how much the mandate will cost; and require that money is appropriated and allocated to pay for the mandate, in compliance with the Headlee amendment provision prohibiting the state from imposing unfunded mandates on local governments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164158
House Bill 5504: Institute Headlee Amendment unfunded mandate restrictions
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on April 30, 2014, to create a permanent legislative council “local government mandate panel” to implement the provisions of Senate Bill 495.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164159
House Bill 5505: Institute Headlee Amendment unfunded mandate restrictions
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on April 30, 2014, to explicitly give local governments standing to sue the state under the Headlee Amendment’s unfunded mandate ban in the state constitution; establish that the burden of proof is on the state in such suits; establish that the burden of proof is on the local government if a taxpayer sues it for violating the Headlee amendment’s tax limitation provisions; and establish specific procedures for such lawsuits.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164160
House Bill 5506: Waive some state fees for veterans
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on April 30, 2014, to revise the documentation required by a veteran to establish that he or she is entitled to a waiver of the fees charged under a state-imposed licensure mandate for mechanical contractors.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164161
House Bill 5507: Revise county foster care reimbursement detail
Introduced by Rep. Peter MacGregor (R) on May 1, 2014, to extend for another year a state reimbursement to counties to cover a portion of the cost of providing foster care services. The bill also clarifies what constitutes “foster care services”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164174
House Bill 5508: Intercept delinquent child support from casino winnings
Introduced by Rep. Dale W. Zorn (R) on May 1, 2014, to require the state Office of Child Support to cooperate with the Department of Treasury to implement the proposal in House Bill 5509 to create electronically accessible registry containing the names of individuals with unpaid child support balances, with the purpose of intercepting their Detroit casino gambling winnings.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164175
House Bill 5509: Intercept delinquent child support from casino winnings
Introduced by Rep. Peter MacGregor (R) on May 1, 2014, to require the state Department of Human Services to develop or contract for an electronically accessible registry containing the names of individuals with unpaid child support balances, and require the Detroit casinos to intercept the winnings of individuals on the list and transmit the money to the state office that disburses court-ordered child support payments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164176
House Bill 5510: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on May 1, 2014, to specify procedures for a father and mother signing an “acknowledgment of parentage” form. See also House Bills 5463 to 5473.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164177
House Bill 5511: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on May 1, 2014, to specify procedures and priorities for diverting money owed to an individual from a judgment against the state to a person who has a valid claim for delinquent child support owed by the judgment winner. See also House Bills 5463 to 5473.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164178
House Bill 5512: Revise paternity law and unwed father child support details
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on May 1, 2014, to deny or terminate welfare benefits if a recipient fails to comply with applicable child support requirements, including a duty to make efforts to establish paternity and obtain child support.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164179
House Bill 5513: Expand mobile home court environmental regulation
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on May 1, 2014, to expand the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Quality to impose and enforce regulations on mobile home parks. Among other things the bill would impose a performance bond mandate on mobile home park owners.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164180
House Bill 5514: Give tax break to Olympic games prize winner
Introduced by Rep. Dian Slavens (D) on May 1, 2014, to authorize a state income tax deduction for prize money from the U.S. Olympic Committee for participation in the Olympic games.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164181
House Bill 5515: Exempt some schools from minimum instruction days requirement
Introduced by Rep. Dale W. Zorn (R) on May 1, 2014, to revise the law that requires public schools to provide a minimum of 1,098 hours and 170 days of instruction per year, by exempting schools that had closures in the 2013-2014 school year if the make-up days would extend classes past June 13 and the failure is due to conditions outside the school’s control.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164182
House Bill 5516: Prorate unfunded university pension benefit “catch up” costs
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on May 1, 2014, to establish a methodology for assessing state universities a share of the annual assessment required to “catch up” on unfunded pension liabilities. The bill would assess both universities and K-12 school districts with a share of the “catch up” costs based on how much of the unfunded liability was incurred on behalf of their employees’ service over the years, using a formula the bill proposes for determining the value of past and future pension fund contributions and the projected cost of future pension benefit payments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164183
Senate Bill 742: Give temporary occupational license to military spouse
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, to grant a temporary occupational license mandated by Michigan law to earn a living in certain professions to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, and if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689862
Senate Bill 562: Revise county delinquent tax revolving funds
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 6, 2014, to revise details of the law authorizing delinquent tax revolving funds in counties. The bill would affect repayment by local governments of advances from these county funds. Specifically, it would make the amount due to a county from a local government or the state for a prior year’s uncollected delinquent tax a lien against future delinquent tax payments payable to them.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689910
Senate Bill 628: Revise crime victim rights detail
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 6, 2014, to revise the law that allows crime victims to receive notices and provide input regarding the prosecution of the perpetrator, including providing a victim “impact statement.” Under current law, this applies to the parents or guardian of a victim who is a minor, and the bill would change this so that it defines “victim” as someone who was less than 18 “at the time of the commission of the crime”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689914
Senate Bill 671: Waive some licensure fees for veterans
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 6, 2014, to waive fees charged for state-imposed occupational licensure mandates if the applicant is an honorably discharged military veteran.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689908
Senate Bill 672: Waive some licensure fees for veterans
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 6, 2014, to waive fees charged for a state-imposed security guard or security system contractor licensure mandates if the applicant is an honorably discharged military veteran.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689909
Senate Bill 741: Give temporary health care professional occupational license to military spouse
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, to grant a temporary Michigan health care specialty license to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689861
Senate Bill 762: Appropriations: Community Colleges
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, the Senate version of the community colleges budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $371.5 million in gross spending, compared to $335.9 million the previous year. The Senate did not adopt a 3.2 percent cap on tuition increases recommended by Gov. Rick Snyder.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689870
Senate Bill 763: Appropriations: Department of Community Health
Passed 32 to 5 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, the Senate version of the Department of Community Health budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $17.492 billion in gross spending, compared to $15.385 billion originally authorized for the previous year, before that amount was increased by the legislature’s adoption of the federal health care law Medicaid expansion. Of this, $12.023 billion is federal money. Most of this budget consists of Medicaid health care subsidies, including the “Obamacare” expansion.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689881
Senate Bill 768: Appropriations: Higher Education
The amendment failed 12 to 26 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, to remove a prohibition on universities providing health insurance or other fringe benefits for “unmarried partners” of employees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689876
Senate Bill 768: Appropriations: Higher Education
Passed 23 to 15 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, the Senate version of the higher education budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $1.527 billion in gross spending, compared to $1.430 billion the previous year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689877
Senate Bill 777: Appropriations: Department of Transportation
The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on May 6, 2014, to remove language prohibiting the Department of Transportation from entering any contract or obligating the state to any spending on a proposed new Detroit River bridge unless it is explicitly authorized by the legislature.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163441
Senate Bill 777: Appropriations: Department of Transportation
Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate on May 6, 2014, the Senate version of the Transportation budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2014. This would appropriate $3.682 billion in gross spending, compared to $3.597 billion originally appropriated for the previous fiscal year (which doesn’t include extra spending authorized later). Of this, $1.205 billion is federal money, and the rest is mostly from state motor fuel tax and vehicle registration tax revenue.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689865
House Bill 5400: Revise certain low-hazard waste restrictions
Amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on April 30, 2014, to remove a provision that authorizes less restrictive regulations on coal “fly ash” if it is mixed with other substances (such as cement).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163805
House Bill 5400: Revise certain low-hazard waste restrictions
Passed 68 to 42 in the House on May 6, 2014, to reduce restrictions on using certain low-hazard industrial byproducts that potentially have a beneficial use, including as fertilizer, road construction material, construction fill or other uses. The bill would also expand the definition of “inert material” in the state environmental protection law to include a number of specified materials, which would not be subject to restrictions depending on how they are used.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689911
House Bill 5401: Revise certain low-hazard waste restrictions
Passed 66 to 44 in the House on May 6, 2014, to exempt a person who follows specified rules for storing “inert materials” and “beneficial use by-products” as defined by House Bill 5400 from liability under state the environmental protection law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689912
House Bill 5402: Revise certain low-hazard waste restrictions
Passed 66 to 44 in the House on May 6, 2014, to revise a law regulating the sale and use of “liming material” for soil treatment so that it conforms to the proposal in House Bill 5400 to reduce environmental law restrictions on using certain low-hazard industrial wastes and “inert materials” that have a beneficial use.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689913
House Bill 5447: Designate road after murdered corrections officer
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 6, 2014, to designate a portion of U.S. 41 in Marquette County as the “Earl DeMarse Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=689905
Senate Bill 934: Preempt $10.10 minimum wage initiative; hike mandated minimum to $8.15
Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on May 8, 2014, to repeal the current state minimum wage law that makes it unlawful to employ a worker for less than $7.40 an hour, and replace it with a new law increasing the mandated minimum to $8.15 an hour, and increasing the minimum amount the employer of a worker who receives tips must pay from $2.65 to $2.93 an hour. (A tipped-worker’s employer must pay the difference between this amount and the regular mandated minimum if tips come up short).
The bill is widely regarded as a gambit to stop an “initiated law” from being placed on the November 2014 ballot, which would increase the mandated minimums to $10.10 for both tipped and non-tipped employees, and index this to inflation. If the bill repeals the statute the initiative would amend, the initiative would become moot. The bill was introduced a few weeks before petitions being circulated by a group funded by unions and other labor interests must be submitted for their initiative to be on the 2014 general election ballot.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164309
House Bill 5566: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on May 8, 2014, to establish a Detroit fiscal management oversight commission consisting of the Governor and the Mayor of Detroit (or their appointees), two state department heads, one Detroit resident with relevant financial training and experience, and two candidates from lists submitted by the House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader. Among the commission’s powers would be final approval of city budgets, borrowing, union contracts, police and firefighters contracts imposed by binding arbitration, and more. The commission could waive any of these powers if the city adopts deficit-free budgets for three consecutive years and meets other specified conditions, but could resume its powers in the event of subsequent backsliding. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164297
House Bill 5567: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on May 8, 2014, to require a Detroit chief financial officer to be appointed by the mayor, subject to the approval of the state oversight commission proposed by House Bill 5566, who would supervise the city’s financial and budget activities. Also, to require Detroit to adopt certain specified budget processes and generally accepted accounting practices intended to avoid overspending, and to institute twice yearly revenue estimating conferences involving state officials and university economists. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164298
House Bill 5568: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Gail Haines (R) on May 8, 2014, to no longer offer “defined benefit” pension and post-retirement health insurance benefits to new Detroit city employees hired starting in 2015 (subject to existing union contracts), and instead provide 401(k)-type contributions limited to 4 percent of the employee’s base pay, and retirement health savings account contributions limited to 2 percent. Subject to current union contracts, the bill would also ban supplemental “13th check” payments to current retirees based on pension fund investment performance, and ban pension “spiking” schemes that use include overtime, accrued sick or vacation pay, bonuses, fringe benefits and lump sum payments in the formula used to calculate pensions (abuses which contributed to Detroit’s bankruptcy). This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164299
House Bill 5569: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Andrea LaFontaine (R) on May 8, 2014, to prohibit Detroit from providing employee health insurance benefits whose premiums cost more than $5,500 for a single person, $12,250 for a couple and $15,000 for a family plan (indexed to the “medical price index”), or alternatively, require city employees to contribute at least 20 percent toward the cost of their health insurance. A 2011 law mandated this for public school employees but allowed municipalities to exempt themselves with a 2/3 vote of their governing body; the bill would exclude Detroit from that exception. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164300
House Bill 5570: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Ken Yonker (R) on May 8, 2014, to establish a Detroit pension investment committee to oversee management of the city’s defined benefit pension system. The system would still be run by the existing pension board, but a process would be instituted by which the chief financial officer for the city proposed by House Bill 5567 would have final authority in the event the committee and the pension board disagreed on investment management decisions. The bill would also impose additional restrictions and disclosure requirements on reimbursed travel by pension fund board members, officials or employees. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164301
House Bill 5571: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Ken Goike (R) on May 8, 2014, to prohibit any extension of a Detroit regional arts tax authorized by a 2010 law and approved for 10 years in a 2012 election by voters in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. This property tax imposes 0.2 mills that goes to the Detroit Institute of the Arts. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and a proposed state grant to the city of $195 million, which among other things is intended to avoid the city art museum having to sell any paintings.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164302
House Bill 5572: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. John Olumba (D) on May 8, 2014, to authorize withdrawing money from the state rainy day fund (“budget stabilization fund”) for “any purpose” the legislature may provide, which in the current context means a state grant (“bailout”) of $195 million for Detroit. House Bill 5574 would appropriate the money. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and the proposed state grant.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164303
House Bill 5573: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Alberta Tinsley Talabi (D) on May 8, 2014, to revise the law that authorized borrowing $400 million against future tobacco lawsuit settlement revenue for the “21st Century Jobs Fund” business subsidy program, and borrowing another $415 million against this revenue to cover deficit spending in the 2007 state budget, to borrow $350 million over 20 years for a proposed state grant (“bailout”) to Detroit. Alternatively, under House Bill 5572 the state would be authorized to give Detroit $195 million up front. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and the proposed state grant.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164304
House Bill 5574: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Stallworth, III (D) on May 8, 2014, to appropriate $194.8 million for a proposed Detroit bankruptcy settlement. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and this proposed state grant (considered by some to be a partial “bailout”).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164305
House Bill 5575: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Fred Durhal, Jr. (D) on May 8, 2014, to create a “Michigan settlement administration authority” to manage the $194.8 million state grant (“bailout”) proposed by House Bill 5574 that would go toward a Detroit bankruptcy settlement. This is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5566 to 5575 that are related to the Detroit bankruptcy and state grant.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164306
Senate Bill 926: Ban using a drone to interfere with hunters
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on May 6, 2014, to prohibit using an aerial drone to interfere with or harass a person who is hunting. This would expand an existing law that bans interfering with or harassing hunters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164234
Senate Bill 927: Ban hunting with a drone
Introduced by Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) on May 6, 2014, to prohibit using an aerial drone to take game.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164235
Senate Bill 928: Revise hospitalized student instruction detail
Introduced by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R) on May 6, 2014, to revise the details of a law that requires a school district to provide “instructional services to a pupil placed in a hospital, treatment center, or other treatment facility” within three days if the district is notified. The bill would allow the parents of a child in this situation to petition the Department of Education to get instruction from another provider if a district is notified and does not act within that three day window.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164236
Senate Bill 929: Revise nonprofit corporation law detail
Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D) on May 7, 2014, to revise the state law governing mergers and conversions of corporations and other limited liability business entities to include nonprofit corporations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164240
Senate Bill 930: Repeal (qualified) ban on local anti-mining zones
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on May 7, 2014, to repeal a state preemption of local zoning ordinances that restrict mining for “valuable natural resources” except where specified “very serious consequences” would result. In general, current law aims to consolidate the regulation of such activities at the state level.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164241
Senate Bill 931: Revise electronic arrest warrant detail
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 7, 2014, to clarify a law allowing a judge or district court magistrate to issue a written search warrant by any electronic of means of communication, so as to specify that this may be done from any location within this state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164242
Senate Bill 932: Revise district court magistrate detail
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 7, 2014, to allow district court magistrates to decide motions and requests to withdraw an admission or set aside a default judgment in civil infraction cases under certain circumstances specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164243
Senate Bill 933: Clarify preemption of Consumer Protection Act lawsuits against insurers
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 8, 2014, to clarify that a prohibition of lawsuits against insurance companies under the state Consumer Protection Act applies regardless of when the cause of action occurred. Under current law, industries like insurance that are already subject to a comprehensive state regulatory regime are not covered by the Consumer Protection Act.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164308
House Bill 5517: Ban insurance rate hike for crash damage
Introduced by Rep. Brain Banks (D) on May 6, 2014, to prohibit auto insurers from increasing a person’s rates due to damage caused by a crash if the customer was not “substantially at fault” for the accident.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164244
House Bill 5518: Authorize sanctions on insurance companies
Introduced by Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright (D) on May 6, 2014, to authorize a $1 million fine on an insurance company that does not deal “fairly and in good faith” on a customer claim as defined by House Bill 5519.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164245
House Bill 5519: Expand grounds for suing insurance companies
Introduced by Rep. Winnie Brinks (D) on May 6, 2014, to allow a person who believes that an insurance provider has not dealt fairly and in good faith to sue for compensatory, consequential, and exemplary (punitive) damages proximately caused by the breach, notwithstanding the prohibition on punitive damages in other areas of Michigan tort law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164246
House Bill 5520: Expand grounds for suing insurance companies
Introduced by Rep. Theresa Abed (D) on May 6, 2014, to allow a person who believes that an auto insurance provider has not dealt fairly and in good faith on a personal injury claim to sue for compensatory, consequential, and exemplary (punitive) damages proximately caused by the breach, notwithstanding the prohibition on punitive damages in other areas of Michigan tort law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164247
House Bill 5521: Expand grounds for suing insurance companies
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on May 6, 2014, to authorize consumer lawsuits against an insurance company that violates an existing law authorizing administrative sanctions for violating a long list of specific “unfair and prohibited trade practices”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164248
House Bill 5522: Expand insurance company sanctions
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on May 6, 2014, to authorize penalties of $10,000 plus three times the amount of any benefits withheld and attorney costs for a insurer that fails to pay a claims in a timely manner due to a variety of specified unfair practices. This is part of a Democratic insurance regulation and penalty package comprised of House Bill 5517 to 5528.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164249
House Bill 5523: Expand grounds for suing insurance companies
Introduced by Rep. Ellen Lipton (D) on May 6, 2014, to establish a legal presumption that an insurance company has acted in bad faith if it violates a long list of specific “unfair and prohibited trade practices” in an existing law, meaning the burden of proof would be on the insurer to prove otherwise in a lawsuit authorized by House Bill 5021.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164250
House Bill 5524: Reduce limits on state’s power to impose insurance price controls
Introduced by Rep. Scott Dianda (D) on May 6, 2014, to repeal a provision of the insurance code that limits the state insurance bureau to determine that there not is a “reasonable degree” of competition for the particular type of insurance before it can declare a company’s rates “excessive”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164251
House Bill 5525: Expand insurance companies sanctions
Introduced by Rep. Tom Cochran (D) on May 6, 2014, to require that if an insurance company fails to act in good faith and pay benefits in a timely manner, and this leads to an insured receiving a bad credit report, the insurer must contact the large credit rating agencies and tell them that it was the company’s fault.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164252
House Bill 5526: Expand insurance companies sanctions
Introduced by Rep. Kate Segal (D) on May 6, 2014, to prohibit insurance companies from sanctioning employees who report “unfair” or deceptive actions by the company, and authorize giving such employees rewards from the government “insurance whistleblower fund” proposed by House Bill 5527.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164253
House Bill 5527: Expand insurance companies sanctions
Introduced by Rep. Kate Segal (D) on May 6, 2014, to create an “insurance whistleblower fund,” with half the money (after up to 10 percent is taken for administrative expenses) going to pay the rewards to insurance company employee “whistleblowers” proposed by House Bill 5526, and half spent for government information campaigns on insurance practices and consumer rights.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164254
House Bill 5528: Mandate minimum aggregate auto insurance claim payouts
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Stallworth, III (D) on May 6, 2014, to mandate that auto insurers pay out at least 80 percent of their annual premium revenue in claims, and if they don’t then give customers a pro-rated refund for the balance.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164255
House Bill 5529: Revise sanctions and procedures for veterans who break laws
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on May 6, 2014, to revise the requirements for participating in a “veteran’s treatment” specialty court program authorized by a 2012 law for veterans charged with certain crimes involving drug or alcohol abuse. The bill would require the person to meet with a veterans organization or counselor to discuss veterans benefit programs for which the individual may qualify.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164256
House Bill 5530: Revise sanctions and procedures for veterans who break laws
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on May 6, 2014, to revise criminal sentencing procedures by requiring a notice to be sent to the state veterans agency if an offender is a veteran. This is part of a package amending various laws related to different treatment options for veterans accused of drug, alcohol or other offenses.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164257
House Bill 5531: Revise sanctions and procedures for veterans who break laws
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on May 6, 2014, to require a veteran participating in a “sobriety court” sentencing diversion program to meet with a veteran service organization or county veteran counselor as part of the program, to discuss veterans benefit programs for which the individual may qualify.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164258
House Bill 5532: Revise sanctions and procedures for veterans who break laws
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on May 6, 2014, to require a prisoner who is a veteran to meet with a veteran service organization or county veteran counselor as a condition of parole, to discuss veterans benefit programs for which the individual may qualify.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164259
House Bill 5533: Revise sanctions and procedures for veterans who break laws
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on May 6, 2014, to require a prisoner who is a veteran to meet with a veteran service organization or county veteran counselor as a condition of probation, to discuss veterans benefit programs for which the individual may qualify.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164260
House Bill 5534: Revise veterans welfare benefit detail
Introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey (R) on May 6, 2014, to require that when a veteran applies for various state welfare benefits a notice must be sent to the state veterans agency.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164261
House Bill 5535: Revise veterans welfare benefit detail
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on May 6, 2014, to require that when a veteran applies for food stamps a notice must be sent to the state veterans agency.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164262
House Bill 5536: End cash welfare benefits
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on May 6, 2014, to end cash welfare payments, and instead have the state make direct payments to a welfare recipient’s landlord, utilities, child care providers and grocery store.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164263
House Bill 5537: Authorize penalty for false “community service” claim
Introduced by Rep. Douglas Geiss (D) on May 6, 2014, to authorize up 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for an offender sentenced to “community service” who knowingly provides false information that he or she has performed the service.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164264
House Bill 5538: Create new online “stalking” offender registry
Introduced by Rep. Fred Durhal, Jr. (D) on May 6, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the penalties proposed by House Bill 5539 for a person convicted of a “stalking” offense who fails to register his current address in the online “stalking” crime registry that bill would create.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164265
House Bill 5539: Create new online “stalking” offender registry
Introduced by Rep. Fred Durhal, Jr. (D) on May 6, 2014, to create an online public registry of individuals convicted of “stalking” crimes, similar to the existing sex offenders registry. The bill prescribes registration requirements, procedures, fees, penalties and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164266
House Bill 5540: Authorize sanctions for vandalizing road signs, lights, etc
Introduced by Rep. Fred Durhal, Jr. (D) on May 6, 2014, to authorize penalties of up one year in prison and a $500 fine for vandalizing or removing a traffic control device, light post, sign, etc. on a road or highway.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164267
House Bill 5541: Grant exception to gas station liquor license requirement
Introduced by Rep. Scott Dianda (D) on May 6, 2014, to exempt gas stations that have liquor licenses in a particular township from a mandate to maintain a certain amount of inventory.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164268
House Bill 5542: Ban MDOT employees using state airplanes
Introduced by Rep. Scott Dianda (D) on May 6, 2014, to prohibit state Department of Transportation employees from using state-owned aircraft to travel for personal or official state business, and instead require them to use video conferencing whenever practical.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164269
House Bill 5543: Redesignate a road
Introduced by Rep. Rick Outman (R) on May 6, 2014, to designate a portion of highway M-57 in Montcalm county as the “Joseph Prentler Memorial Highway”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164270
House Bill 5544: Mandate Holocaust lessons in public schools
Introduced by Rep. Ellen Lipton (D) on May 6, 2014, to mandate that public schools include information about the Holocaust in their curriculum, and require the Department of Education to develop a model curriculum.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164271
House Bill 5545: Revise criminal record expungement rules
Introduced by Rep. Tom Leonard (R) on May 6, 2014, to revise the grounds for seeking to have a criminal record expunged from a person’s record. The bill would allow a person convicted of only one felony offense and not more than two misdemeanors to apply to have the felony “set aside,” or expunged from the person’s public record. A person convicted of not more than two misdemeanors could apply to have one or both of them expunged. This would not apply to convictions for criminal sexual conduct, domestic violence, or crimes punishable by life imprisonment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164272
House Bill 5546: Authorize embedded shrapnel drivers license designation
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on May 6, 2014, to require the Secretary of State to provide for drivers license designation for military veterans who have has shrapnel or other types of metal in their bodies as a result of combat or other active duty service and who request this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164273
House Bill 5547: Revise principle residence form detail
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) on May 7, 2014, to require the affidavit form for claiming a principle residence property tax exemption to also have a form for rescinding the exemption.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164274
House Bill 5548: Grant exception to liquor license transfer
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on May 7, 2014, to create an exception for a particular merchant to restrictions on transferring a “specially designated distributor” liquor license (which permits sales of packaged liquor for off-premises consumption).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164275
House Bill 5549: Mandate pregnant women be informed of stem cell options
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on May 7, 2014, to require a health care provider for a woman in the second trimester of pregnancy to inform her of the various storage or donation options for cord blood stem cells.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164276
House Bill 5550: Require schools to honor twins requests
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on May 7, 2014, to require a public school to honor a request from the parent of multiple birth siblings (twins, triplets, etc.) to place the children in the same classroom or in different classrooms (assuming there is more than one classroom for a grade).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164277
House Bill 5551: Grant in-state hunting license fee to military
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on May 7, 2014, to only charge in-state hunting license fees for active duty military personnel who live in another state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164278
House Joint Resolution N: Require in-state tuition at universities for all veterans
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on May 14, 2014, to place before voters in the next general election a Constitutional amendment to require public universities to offer in-state tuition rates to all honorably discharged veterans.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690472
House Joint Resolution M: Require in-state tuition at community for all military
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on May 14, 2014, to place before voters in the next general election a Constitutional amendment to require community colleges to offer in-district tuition rates to all active duty members of the military, reservists and veterans.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690471
Senate Bill 156: Revise MBT detail
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to make changes clarifying the intent of a 2012 law revising the former Michigan Business Tax related to for amounts attributable to the taxpayer due to a discharge of indebtedness, and other factors.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690431
Senate Bill 481: Repeal licensure mandate on foresters
Passed 24 to 14 in the Senate on May 13, 2014, to repeal a licensure mandate imposed on foresters, and eliminate a state “Board of Foresters” comprised political appointees who establish educational and experience requirements for forresters.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690333
Senate Bill 546: Revise public library board detail
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 13, 2014, to revise and update details of a law that governs the election (or appointment) and composition of local library boards of governors.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690397
Senate Bill 574: Revise county tax foreclosure detail
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to allow a particular county that elected to have the state foreclose tax delinquent property in the county to rescind that decision for one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690473
Senate Bill 612: Trim mandated barber license instruction hours
Passed 106 to 3 in the House on May 14, 2014, to reduce from 2,000 to 1,800 the hours of instruction at a “licensed barber college” that an individual must accumulate before he or she is allowed by the state to earn a living at this trade. Also, to add new license restrictions and requirements for a barber whose experience was gained in a county that state agency staffers regard as not having “generally available” records.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690474
Senate Bill 617: Create government “brain injury services and prevention council”
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to create a government “brain injury services and prevention council” comprised of individuals representing various agencies and interests, with the task of developing a “comprehensive statewide plan” and recommending specific expansions of current social welfare programs to “address the needs of individuals” with brain injuries. The new entity would replace an existing entity with a similar mission.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690433
Senate Bill 645: Authorize Boy Scouts income tax checkoff
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to revise the state “Girl Scouts Fund” created to receive contributions made through the tax checkoff proposed by a 2010 law, so that the checkoff would also apply to Boy Scout contributions as proposed by Senate Bill 646, and then distribute them to the Michigan Boy Scouts.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690436
Senate Bill 646: Authorize Boy Scouts income tax checkoff
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to allow an individual to choose to automatically contribute $5 or more from his or her state income tax refund to a revised scouts fund proposed by Senate Bill 645, which currently collects contributions for the Michigan Girl Scouts.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690437
Senate Bill 704: Require “pharmacist in charge” at pharmacies
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 13, 2014, to require all pharmacies, manufacturers, and wholesale distributors to designate a pharmacist in charge, and provide penalties. This relates to a recent “drug compounding” scandal in New England that led to contaminated drugs causing meningitis in several people.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690337
Senate Bill 715: Adopt “universal certificates of insurance act”
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 13, 2014, to prohibit issuing a certificate of insurance that would alter the coverage provided by an insurance policy referred to in the certificate, or which contained false or misleading information concerning a policy, or requiring the issuance of a certificate with false or misleading information regarding a policy. Also, to establish that a person would have a right to notice of cancellation only under the terms of an insurance policy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690336
Senate Bill 749: Revise crime victim impact statement detail
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 13, 2014, to restrict a parent or guardian’s right to to allow the parent or guardian of a crime victim who was less than 18 years when the crime was committed to make a “victim impact statement” at specified points of the trial and sentencing, even though the victim has reached the age of majority (turned 18) by that time. This would not apply if the parent or guardian is the defendant or is incarcerated. Under current law, only parents or guardians of minors can make this statement.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690395
Senate Bill 760: Appropriations: Department of Agriculture
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690478
Senate Bill 762: Appropriations: Community Colleges
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690480
Senate Bill 763: Appropriations: Department of Community Health
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690482
Senate Bill 764: Appropriations: Department of Corrections
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690484
Senate Bill 765: Appropriations: Department of Education
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690486
Senate Bill 766: Appropriations: Department of Environmental Quality
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690488
Senate Bill 767: Appropriations: General Government
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690490
Senate Bill 768: Appropriations: Higher Education
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690492
Senate Bill 769: Appropriations: Department of Human Services
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690494
Senate Bill 770: Appropriations: Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690496
Senate Bill 771: Appropriations: Judiciary budget
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690498
Senate Bill 772: Appropriations: Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690500
Senate Bill 773: Appropriations: Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690502
Senate Bill 774: Appropriations: Department of Natural Resources
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690504
Senate Bill 775: Appropriations: K-12 School Aid budget
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690508
Senate Bill 776: Appropriations: State Police
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690510
Senate Bill 777: Appropriations: Department of Transportation
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the Senate “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690512
Senate Bill 817: Move back teacher rating process deadlines
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to reduce the percentage of a teacher’s “effectiveness” evaluation that must be based on student progress as measured by state test data (instead of other more subjective measures) from 50 percent to 40 percent, and delay implementation until the 2017-2018 school year. The original 50 percent figure was required by a 2011 law basing school employment decisions on these ratings.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690441
Senate Bill 862: Allow alcohol at Michigan Stadium international soccer game
Passed 105 to 5 in the House on May 13, 2014, to allow the sale of alcohol at the University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor during a potential soccer game in August 2014 between the Manchester United and Real Madrid international soccer teams.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690396
Senate Bill 904: Require “pharmacist in charge” at pharmacies
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 13, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the criminal offenses proposed by Senate Bill 704, which would require pharmacies, manufacturers, and distributors to designate a pharmacist in charge. This relates to a recent “drug compounding” scandal in New England that led to contaminated drugs causing meningitis in several people.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690338
House Bill 5136: Create standardized medical welfare mental health release form
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to require the state Department of Community Health to develop a standard release form for exchanging confidential mental health and substance abuse information between any public and private agency, department, corporation, or individual involved with treatment of a person with mental health or substance abuse problems.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690432
House Bill 5223: Reduce “student growth” portion of teacher rating criteria
Passed 95 to 14 in the House on May 14, 2014, to reduce the percentage of a teacher’s “effectiveness” evaluation that must be based on student progress as measured by state test data (instead of other local and potentially more subjective measures) from 50 percent to 25 percent in “core” subjects, and delay implementation until the 2017-2018 school year. The original 50 percent based on state tests requirement was established by a 2011 law basing school employment decisions on these ratings.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690519
House Bill 5224: Revise school administrator rating criteria
Passed 96 to 13 in the House on May 14, 2014, to reduce the percentage of a public school administrator’s performance evaluation that must be based on student progress as measured by state test data (instead of other more subjective measures) from 50 percent to 40 percent, and delay implementation until the he 2017-2018 school year. The original 50 percent figure was required by a 2011 law basing school employment decisions on these ratings.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690523
House Bill 5261: Exempt vehicle sale to relatives from sales tax
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 13, 2014, to exempt from sales tax the sale of a vehicle to a relative, including parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren, spouses, in-laws and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690393
House Bill 5263: Revise crime victim impact statement detail
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to allow the parent or guardian of a crime victim who was less than 18 years when the crime was committed to make a “victim impact statement” at specified points of the trial and sentencing, even though the victim has reached the age of majority (turned 18) by that time. This would not apply if the parent or guardian is the defendant or is incarcerated. Under current law, only parents or guardians of minors can make this statement.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690434
House Bill 5313: Appropriations: 2014-2015 “Omnibus” budget
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to send the bill back to the House “stripped” of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690438
House Bill 5375: Revise nursing home medical treatment restriction
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to allow any nursing home to employ a physician to provide a program of planned and continuing nursing care and medical treatment for residents. Under current law only nonprofit nursing homes are allowed to provide this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690475
House Bill 5376: Revise nursing home medical treatment restriction
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to revise the definition of “services in a learned profession” in the Michigan limited liability company act to make it conform with the proposal in House Bill 5375 removing a current ban on for-profit nursing homes employing a physician to provide a program of planned and continuing nursing care and medical treatment for residents.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690476
House Bill 5377: Revise nursing home medical treatment restriction
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to revise the definition of “services in a learned profession” in the Michigan business corporations act to make it conform with the proposal in House Bill 5375 removing a current ban on for-profit nursing homes employing a physician to provide a program of planned and continuing nursing care and medical treatment for residents.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690468
House Bill 5389: Revise nursing home feeding detail
Passed 93 to 16 in the House on May 14, 2014, to allow a nursing home to employ a trained person to provide feeding assistance to a resident who does not have complicated feeding problems, under the supervision of a nurse, and with consent of the resident or resident’s representative.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690469
House Bill 5396: Trim mandated barber college instruction hours
Passed 35 to 2 in the Senate on May 14, 2014, to reduce from 250 to 225 the number of hours of classroom study, demonstrations, and recitations that a licensed barber college must offer, and reduce from 1,750 to 1,575 hours the amount of required “practical barber training” it must provide.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690435
House Bill 5451: Authorize National Guard member tuition subsidies
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on May 14, 2014, to authorize annual college or vocational education tuition subsidies of up to $4,500 per year for a current Michigan National Guard member. The bill does not specify where the money would come from.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690470
House Bill 5476: Revise electric utility regulated rate setting procedures
Passed 104 to 6 in the House on May 13, 2014, to revise details of the process used by state regulators to allocate production-related and transmission costs to the commercial customers of large utilities.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690394
Senate Bill 685: Revise weights and measures law detail
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 15, 2014, to update a date reference in the state’s uniform weights and measures law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690585
Senate Bill 803: Require state to operate and maintain governor’s Mackinac Island residence
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 15, 2014, to give the state responsibility for operating and maintaining the governor’s “official” Lansing residence, and create a commission to oversee this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690586
Senate Bill 869: Remove specific fishing season dates from statute
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on May 15, 2014, to eliminate the statutory fishing season dates for largemouth and smallmouth bass, which would leave setting the dates to the state Natural Resources Commission.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690647
Senate Bill 934: Preempt $10.10 minimum wage initiative; hike mandated minimum
Passed 24 to 14 in the Senate on May 15, 2014, to repeal the current state minimum wage law that makes it unlawful to employ a worker for less than $7.40 an hour, and replace it with a new law gradually increasing the mandated minimum to $9.20 an hour, and increasing the minimum amount the employer of a worker who receives tips must pay from $2.65 to $2.93 an hour. (A tipped-worker’s employer must pay the difference between this amount and the regular mandated minimum if tips come up short).
As introduced the bill was seen as a Republican gambit to keep an “initiated law” off the November ballot, to hike the mandated minimums to $10.10 for both tipped and non-tipped employees. It became a bipartisan gambit after negotiations for the higher rate and inflation indexing brought most Democrats on board.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690613
Senate Bill 935: Impose licensure on “genetic counselors”
Introduced by Sen. Judy Emmons (R) on May 13, 2014, to impose licensure, fees, certification through a nationally recognized certifying agency, and more on “genetic counselors” as they are defined in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164310
Senate Bill 936: Impose new Lansing utility governance requirements
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 14, 2014, to establish new requirements for the governance of certain municipal utilities that would require their governing boards to be comprised of eight commissioners appointed by the municipalities served by the utility; require them to establish emergency response and communications plans; and require customer rates to be equal to the cost of service. The bill was introduced following the report of a body convened to review the Lansing Board of Water and Light’s inadequate response to a massive loss of power to customers following a December, 2013 ice storm. Although the Lansing electric utility serves other municipalities, they are not represented on its board, and the Lansing City Council has imposed surcharges on the utility and its customers related to the city’s own budget issues.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164322
Senate Bill 937: Impose new Lansing utility governance requirements
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 14, 2014, to require the City of Lansing to comply with the municipal utility governance standards proposed by Senate Bill 936.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164323
Senate Bill 938: Revise nursing home regulation detail
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on May 14, 2014, to revise the extensive regulatory regime imposed on nursing homes, so as to establish that patient care policies and compliance procedures should be based on nationally recognized guidelines or best-practices (rather than a similar but less specific prescription in current law), along with other detail changes.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164324
Senate Bill 939: Extend state food code to nursing homes
Introduced by Sen. Mike Nofs (R) on May 14, 2014, to repeal an exemption for nursing homes, homes for the aged, and adult foster care facilities, from the extensive state regulatory regime imposed on “food establishments,” including food processors, groceries, restaurants, etc. The exemption for other health facilities or agencies would remain.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164325
Senate Bill 940: Revise vehicle width limit detail
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on May 15, 2014, to revise the maximum width of vehicles allowed on Michigan roads to 108-inches for vehicles hauling steel pipe (a width that is already allowed for vehicles hauling concrete pipe, agricultural products, unprocessed logs, pulpwood, or wood bolts).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164335
Senate Bill 941: Revise scrap tire regulatory regime details
Introduced by Sen. Mike Kowall (R) on May 15, 2014, to revise and update details of the extensive regulatory regime imposed on the storage, transportation and processing of scrap tires. The bill includes changes to bonding requirements and regulations on storage facilities and hauling companies, imposes new permit fees on the latter, adds exemptions for a “community cleanup site,” prohibits openly burning a scrap tire, and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164336
Senate Bill 942: Revise scrap tire regulatory regime details
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on May 15, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for violations of the regulations on scrap tire storage, processing and transportation that Senate Bill 941 would modify.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164337
Senate Bill 943: Authorize start-of-summer, back-to-school and hunting season “sales tax holidays”
Introduced by Sen. Mark Jansen (R) on May 15, 2014, to exempt from sales tax up to $100 spent on clothing, $20 for school supplies, and $750 for a personal computer if purchased from Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, 2014. Also, to exempt from sales tax up to $100 spent for camping or fishing supplies, $750 for non-motorized watercraft and accessories, and $750 for off-road vehicles if purchased from May 30 through June 1, 2014. Finally, to exempt from sales tax up to $750 spent on guns and archery equipment, $50 on ammunition and arrows, and $100 in hunting supplies, if purchased from Nov. 7 through Nov. 9, 2014.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164338
Senate Bill 944: Repeal ban on mandating Detroit employee residency
Introduced by Sen. Morris Hood, III (D) on May 15, 2014, to exclude Detroit from the state law that prohibits local governments from imposing employee residency mandates. Under current law, a city can still prohibit employees from living more than 20 miles away.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164339
House Bill 5191: Establish ORV helmet exceptions
Passed 35 to 3 in the Senate on May 15, 2014, to provide an exception to the law that requires operators and riders of ORVs to wear a helmet (with certain exceptions) if a person is operating the vehicle on his or her own property.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690584
House Bill 5396: Trim mandated barber college instruction hours
Passed 102 to 7 in the House on May 15, 2014, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690646
House Bill 5552: Exempt decedent’s property transfer to family from assessment “bump up”
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on May 8, 2014, to exempt the transfer of residential property from a decedent to a trust whose beneficiaries are members of the decedent’s family from the taxable value “bump up,” wherein the new basis for property tax assessments becomes the property’s state equalized value (market value), rather than the capped “taxable value” of the previous owner. The exemption would apply when there is no change to the use of the property.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164283
House Bill 5553: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on May 8, 2014, to authorize the use of money in an existing “Michigan trailways fund” to develop the statewide multi-use trail network proposed by Senate Bill 873.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164284
House Bill 5554: Authorize county road commission tax powers
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on May 8, 2014, to give county road commissions the power to place a property tax millage increase on the county ballot in areas outside of cities and villages, which if approved by voters in those areas could be used for road projects there.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164285
House Bill 5555: Authorize natural gas utility surcharges for “infrastructure”
Introduced by Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R) on May 8, 2014, to authorize a surcharge on natural gas utility customer bills to pay for utility “infrastructure” projects.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164286
House Bill 5556: Revise natural gas pipeline regulation detail
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on May 8, 2014, to require natural gas pipeline operators to coordinate with local governments regarding a “public education program” mandated by federal law, increase fines for pipeline safety violations, and make related changes to current law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164287
House Bill 5557: Prohibit natural gas utility surcharges for pipeline fines
Introduced by Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R) on May 8, 2014, to prohibit a natural gas utility from recovering fines incurred for pipeline safety violations through higher customer charges.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164288
House Bill 5558: Clarify preemption of insurance lawsuits under Consumer Protection Act
Introduced by Rep. Tom Leonard (R) on May 8, 2014, to clarify that a prohibition of lawsuits against insurance companies under the state Consumer Protection Act applies regardless of when the cause of action occurred. Under current law, industries like insurance that are already subject to a comprehensive state regulatory regime are not covered by the Consumer Protection Act.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164289
House Bill 5559: Authorize “Pure Michigan Trail” designations
Introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R) on May 8, 2014, to revise the law authorizing the state to operate an “adopt a trail” program using the services of volunteers so as to conform to the proposal in Senate Bill 873 to create a statewide multi-use trail network.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164290
House Bill 5560: Revise, eliminate certain government notice publication in newspapers
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on May 8, 2014, to repeal the requirement that local governments publish certain legal notices in local newspapers, and instead require them to post these on their own website. The change would be phased in over a 10 year period.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164291
House Bill 5561: Establish retention requirement for felony biological evidence
Introduced by Rep. David Nathan (D) on May 8, 2014, to require that biological evidence collected in felony cases must be stored for lengths of time specified in the bill, which vary based on the type and severity of the crime.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164292
House Bill 5562: Revise employer unemployment insurance fines
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on May 8, 2014, to waive fines of $50 or $250 imposed for errors made by employers in filing quarterly wage reports mandated by the state unemployment insurance law, if the “error” is a figure that is off by less than $1.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164293
House Bill 5563: Revise abandoned vehicle regulations
Introduced by Rep. Andrea LaFontaine (R) on May 8, 2014, to expand the scope of a state prohibition and comprehensive regulatory regime that prescribes penalties, procedures and rules for abandoned vehicles, so that it includes boats and vessels, and add new regulations to accommodate the addition of vessels.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164294
House Bill 5564: Require report on natural gas pipeline inspections
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on May 8, 2014, to require the Public Service Commission to file annual reports on the number of natural gas pipeline inspectors it employs, and the scope of their inspection activities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164295
House Bill 5565: Require metrics for natural gas pipeline safety
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on May 8, 2014, to require the Public Service Commission to adopt safety performance metrics for natural gas pipeline safety performance.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164296
House Bill 5576: Detroit bankruptcy settlement and grant package
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on May 13, 2014, to subject to the approval of the Detroit fiscal management oversight commission proposed by House Bill 5566 the rulings on Detroit fire and police union contracts of a “PA 312” binding arbitration panel, which otherwise has the power to impose contract terms between a city and public safety unions in the event of a collective bargaining impasse.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164318
House Bill 5577: Designate peeper as official state amphibian
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on May 14, 2014, to establish in law that henceforth the northern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) shall be designated as the official State of Michigan amphibian. Note: At present, Michigan does not have an official state amphibian, but past bills have proposed designating peepers, the marbled salamander (Ambystome opacum), the gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) and the Blanchard’s cricket frog (acris crepitans blanchardii, a designation that has no relation to a former Governor of the same name). However, Michigan does have an official state reptile, which is the painted turtle (chrysemys picta).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164328
House Bill 5578: Revise liquor control regulation detail
Introduced by Rep. Hugh Crawford (R) on May 14, 2014, to eliminate a cap on the per case distribution fee that can be charged for liquor distributed to retailers by an “authorized distribution agent,” which is the term applied to the private companies authorized to warehouse and distribute hard liquor in Michigan.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164329
House Bill 5579: Prohibit employment for less than mandated wage
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on May 14, 2014, to make it unlawful to employ Extend Medicaid health insurance claims taxa worker for less than $8.15 an hour beginning in December 2014, notwithstanding any voluntary agreement between the employer and employee. The current state minimum wage level mandated for hourly employees not covered by a federal wage mandate is $7.40 an hour. The bill would also increase the minimum wage for employees who receive part of their compensation in tips from $2.65 to $2.75 an hour.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164330
House Bill 5580: Expand Open Meetings Act requirements
Introduced by Rep. Greg MacMaster (R) on May 14, 2014, to revise the Open Meetings Act, so as to require the minutes of state or local legislative or governing body to include all topics of discussion, a summary of “the main points of the discussion supporting and in opposition to each measure,” and “a summary of the remarks for each person who addresses the public body,” unless an audio recording is kept. Also, to require a record roll call vote by members of the body on all “matters of policy”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164331
House Bill 5581: Transfer student testing oversight to Department of Treasury
Introduced by Rep. Robert Genetski (R) on May 14, 2014, to transfer oversight of statewide K-12 student academic testing from the State Board of Education and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Department of Treasury.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164332
House Bill 5582: Restrict criminal sanctions for youth
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on May 15, 2014, to no longer authorize “youthful trainee status” sanctions for convictions with a penalty greater than one year imprisonment. This status allows a person between the age of 17 and 20 who pleads guilty to criminal offenses other than serious felonies to serve a sentence and then have the proceedings dismissed without having a criminal conviction record, and with no civil disability or loss of right or privilege.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164347
House Bill 5583: Revise paternity determination process
Introduced by Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright (D) on May 15, 2014, to establish a paternity revocation process for a determination for a man deemed be a child’s genetic father solely on the basis of genetic testing, if the genetic tests were inaccurate, or the man’s genetic material was not available to the child’s mother, or if a man who has DNA identical to the genetic father is the child’s father.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164348
Senate Bill 690: Revise physical therapist scope-of-practice
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to repeal a ban on licensed physical therapists providing therapy unless it has been prescribed by a physician, subject to certain limits specified in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690713
Senate Bill 691: Revise physical therapist scope-of-practice
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to allow Blue Cross Blue Shield to not reimburse services provided by a licensed physical therapist unless the service has been prescribed by a physician. Senate Bill 690 would repeal a prohibition on physical therapists providing service that has not been prescribed (subject to certain limits), while Senate Bills 691 through 694 would establish that insurers can still require prescriptions if they choose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690714
Senate Bill 693: Revise physical therapist scope-of-practice
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to allow workers compensation insurance plans to not reimburse services provided by a licensed physical therapist unless the service has been prescribed by a physician. Senate Bill 690 would repeal a prohibition on physical therapists providing service that has not been prescribed (subject to certain limits), while Senate Bills 691 through 694 would establish that insurers can still require prescriptions if they choose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690716
Senate Bill 694: Revise physical therapist scope-of-practice
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to allow health insurance companies to not reimburse services provided by a licensed physical therapist unless the service has been prescribed by a physician. Senate Bill 690 would repeal a prohibition on physical therapists providing service that has not been prescribed (subject to certain limits), while Senate Bills 691 through 694 would establish that insurers can still require prescriptions if they choose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690717
House Bill 5146: Revise life insurance regulation detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to revise provisions of a law governing group life insurance policies provided by employers, so that it conforms with a national model. The bill would expand the definition of “employee” in this law to cover affiliated companies, and would allow a group life insurance policy to be issued to an association, among other changes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690707
House Bill 5147: Revise life insurance regulation detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to establish that a variable life insurance or annuity product approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is by definition compliant with Michigan’s state law governing these products.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690708
House Bill 5148: Allow insurance reserve Canadian stock and bond investments
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to revise the law governing the amount and type of assets insurance companies are required to maintain as reserves against future claims, so as to explicitly allow preferred stock in Canadian companies.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690709
House Bill 5149: Revise life insurance regulation detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to clarify that long-term care insurance benefits are not subject to state regulations on “accelerated benefits,” which are benefits that may be provided under life insurance policies in anticipation of a beneficiary’s death from specified life-threatening conditions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690710
House Bill 5150: Revise life insurance regulation detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2014, to revise state life insurance regulations to permit electronic applications, and revise details of regulations on variable annuity contract refunds.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690711
Senate Bill 211: Establish firefighters’ cancer presumption
Passed 32 to 6 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to establish a presumption that certain types of cancer contracted by non-volunteer firefighters arose out of and in the course of employment for purposes of granting workers compensation benefits. The burden of proof would be on the employer to show the disease was due to the individual being a smoker, or to nonwork-related causation or specific incidents. This would all be contingent on the legislature appropriating money for the benefits.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690800
Senate Bill 446: Revise hospital “swing bed” regulations
Passed 107 to 1 in the House on May 21, 2014, to revise details in a state “Certificate of Need” medical facility rationing scheme related to hospitals with “swing beds” in short-term nursing care programs (meaning beds that can be used for either acute care or skilled nursing care).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690903
Senate Bill 648: Authorize state grants to certain doctors
Passed 104 to 6 in the House on May 21, 2014, to expand a state scholarship that subsidizes the medical school loans for a student who agrees to provide specified primary care services in an area of the state deemed to have a shortage of such providers. The bill would expand the program to dentists and increase the maximum subsidy to $200,000. Different parts of these provisions are contained in a package comprised of this and Senate Bill 649.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690847
Senate Bill 649: Authorize state grants to certain doctors
Passed 105 to 5 in the House on May 21, 2014, to expand a state scholarship that subsidizes the medical school loans for a student who agrees to provide specified primary care services in an area of the state deemed to have a shortage of such providers. The bill would expand the program to dentists and increase the maximum subsidy to $200,000. Different parts of these provisions are contained in a package comprised of this and Senate Bill 648.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690902
Senate Bill 656: Require certain drug price limits in medical welfare programs
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to revise the formula and procedures prescribed for a “maximum allowable cost” scheme used by the state’s medical welfare programs to determine how much they will reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs dispensed to beneficiaries.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690846
Senate Bill 741: Give temporary health care professional occupational license to military spouse
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to grant a temporary Michigan health care specialty license to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for a maximum of one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690901
Senate Bill 742: Give temporary occupational license to military spouse
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to grant a temporary occupational license mandated by Michigan law to earn a living in certain professions to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, and if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for a maximum of one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690900
Senate Bill 788: Codify property owner trespasser liability waiver
Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to establish in statute (in addition to existing case law or common law) that a property owner, leaseholder, lien-holder or occupant is not liable for physical harm to a trespasser caused by the property owner or possessor’s failure to exercise reasonable care to make the property reasonably safe and not endanger the trespasser. The bill authorizes exceptions for willful and wanton misconduct by the property owner or possessor, or “active negligence,” or in the case of harm to a child, knowing that an “attractive nuisance” exists.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690792
Senate Bill 791: Revise, make permanent non-transportation 7/8th cent gas tax
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to eliminate the 2016 sunset on a 7/8ths cent-per-gallon gas tax that was originally supposed to expire in 1998 and be used to clean up leaking underground fuel tanks, but which has been extended several times and was diverted to other government spending by a 2004 “fund raid.” The 2004 “fund raid” was enacted to avoid state spending cuts and reforms in that year’s budget, and remains in effect.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690799
Senate Bill 846: Revise “development district” liquor license law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to extend to villages and townships the 2005 law that authorizes the issuance of additional on-premises liquor licenses in excess of the number allowed under a state quota system, for businesses in “development” districts, “tax increment finance authority” districts, certain “corridor improvement” districts, “downtown development” districts and “principal shopping districts” (which all enable local governments to impose higher property taxes and/or grant various subsidies in those areas).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690798
Senate Bill 900: Revise workers comp insurance detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to give the state agency that oversees the injured workers compensation insurance system discretion to permit reimbursement for certain claims made after statutory deadlines have passed.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690797
House Bill 4656: Revise youth employment limits
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to exempt minors age 16 and 17 who have received a GED high school equivalency certificate from a law that caps the number of hours a minor who is in school can work. Under current law the maximum is 24 hours in one week when school is in session, and not more than “an average of 8 hours per day in one week” during the summer.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690796
House Bill 4985: Redesignate a road
Passed 107 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to designate a portion of portion M-153 in Wayne County as the “Firefighter Brian Woehlke Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690908
House Bill 5193: Restrict closed-door local government lawsuit meetings
Passed 96 to 12 in the House on May 21, 2014, to prohibit government legislative bodies from holding closed-door sessions to discuss trial or settlement strategies, unless the matter being discussed is already being litigated.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690904
House Bill 5194: Increase Open Meeting Act rigor
Passed 90 to 17 in the House on May 21, 2014, to establish that if a public body takes an action while in violation of the state Open Meetings Act, and then later re-enacts the decision while in compliance with the OMA, this does not exempt public officials from the misdemeanor and civil fine penalties the OMA authorizes for knowingly holding a meeting that violates its public notice and open-door requirements.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690907
House Bill 5414: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to reduce the so-called “driver responsibility fees” (a.k.a. “bad driver tax”) imposed for certain traffic violations, which were originally adopted in 2003 to avoid spending cuts in that year’s and subsequent state budgets. The bill would cut these additional fees in half for offenses committed after Sept. 30, 2014, and abolish them as of Oct. 1, 2017. Reportedly, thousands of mostly low-income individuals have lost their licenses due to inability to pay these penalties.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690910
House Bill 5501: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to eliminate failure to pay the so-called “driver responsibility fees” imposed in 2003 as a revenue measure from a list of possible “licensing sanctions” in an unrelated drivers license statute. This is linked to House Bill 5414, with would gradually phase out these fees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690911
Senate Bill 945: Transfer student testing oversight to Department of Treasury
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on May 20, 2014, to transfer oversight of statewide K-12 student academic testing from the State Board of Education and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Department of Treasury.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164349
Senate Bill 946: Impose more regulations on debt collectors and loan buyers
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 20, 2014, to impose new restrictions, regulations and disclosure requirements on debt collectors and buyers of consumer loans, and give the state Attorney General additional enforcement powers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164350
Senate Bill 947: Revise collection agency audit details
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 20, 2014, to revise details of state audits of licensed collection agency records.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164351
Senate Bill 948: Restrict radioactive material storage and disposal
Introduced by Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) on May 21, 2014, to prohibit storing or disposing radioactive waste from another state or country in Michigan, and ban storing any radioactive material other than what is allowed under current law for nuclear power plants, uranium mines and medical uses. The bill would also create a state advisory board for the purpose of writing a report on the potential impact of depositing radioactive waste deep underground at a site in Kincardine, Ontario, as proposed by an Ontario utility.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164362
Senate Bill 949: Establish new local and school budget process requirements
Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish new budget process, disclosure and audit requirements for local governments and school districts. Among other things local government governing bodies would be prohibited from approving a budget “by reference;” their chief administrative officer would be required to recommend an annual budget that complies with the form and standards prescribed by the state; and they would have to immediately report a current or projected deficit to the state Department of Treasury, along with a plan to correct it. School districts that project a decline in student counts would be required to amend (cut) their current budgets to recognize this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164363
Senate Bill 950: Establish procedures for dissolving fiscally failed school district
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish a process for a public school district that is no longer financially viable to voluntarily dissolve itself, with the property it owns transferred to a “land bank” authority (the students would be assigned to neighboring districts). That entity would first offer the property for transfer to the school districts that absorbed the children in the territory of the dissolved district, then to other districts. If no school district wanted the property the authority would auction it to the highest bidder.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164364
Senate Bill 951: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to expand the scope of a law that prescribes processes and requirements for correcting local government deficit spending, so that it also applies to public school districts. Districts that fail to follow the steps required under a deficit elimination plan could have 10 percent of their state funding withheld until they comply.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164365
Senate Bill 952: Establish new local and school budget process requirements
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to prescribe procedures, notification and budget-cutting requirements, and monitoring for a public school district that experiences a gap between projected revenue and actual spending (a deficit), or is in the midst of “rapidly declining financial circumstances,” including substantial declines in enrollment. The bill tasks the state Department of Education with specific duties in such situations, which could include authority over academic matters in addition to financial ones. This is part of package comprised of Senate Bills 949 to 957.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164366
Senate Bill 953: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to authorize appointment by the governor of an Emergency Manager for a public school district that fails to comply with an “enhanced deficit elimination plan” required by Senate Bill 952 for a district whose first plan failed to fix the problem, or is in “rapidly declining financial circumstances”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164367
Senate Bill 954: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to give the Department Treasury the authority to withhold state school aid payments “to incentivize” an overspending school district that fails to submit an acceptable “deficit elimination plan” as required by Senate Bill 952, or which falls more deeply into financial trouble and must operate under an “enhanced” deficit plan.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164368
Senate Bill 955: Increase school “emergency loan” funding
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 21, 2014, to increase from $50 million to $100 million the amount allocated through 2018 for “financial emergency” loans from the state to public school districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164369
Senate Bill 956: Expand criteria allowing “emergency loans” to schools
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 21, 2014, to revise details of a law that allows the state to loan money to a public school district that has a deficit and an approved plan to eliminate it. Among other this he bill expands loan eligibility to districts that have already borrowed against anticipated state school aid payments, as provided in another law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164370
Senate Bill 957: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish a process whereby a public school district experiencing “conditions of fiscal stress, a deficit, or a potential financial emergency” can apply for “technical assistance” from the state including data analysis tools, so as to avoid further state intervention. The bill would also give the state Superintendent of Public Instruction or the state Treasurer the authority to require a public school district experiencing financial stress to submit periodic financial status reports as specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164371
House Bill 5584: Eliminate February election date
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on May 20, 2014, to eliminate the regular February election date (the fourth Tuesday in February), which is one of four regular election date established for almost all state and local elections (the others being the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, August and November).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164376
House Bill 5585: Revise criminal defendant “youthful trainee status”
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on May 20, 2014, to require that if a criminal defendant assigned to “youthful trainee status” (which provides a mechanism for not including an offense on the youth’s permanent record) is convicted with a serious felony listed in the bill, the “trainee” status must be revoked (which means the previous crime also goes on the person’s record).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164377
House Bill 5586: Expand home health agency fingerprinting mandate
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to add additional home health care agency services for which the individual providing the service must get a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164378
House Bill 5587: Expand home health agency fingerprinting mandate
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to revise the definition of a “home health agency” in a law that requires fingerprint-based criminal background checks for their employees who provide service.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164379
House Bill 5588: Authorize enhanced penalty for assaulting home health provider
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the penalties associated with House Bill 5589 for assaulting a home health care service provider.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164380
House Bill 5589: Authorize enhanced penalty for assaulting home health provider
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to expand a law that authorizes enhanced penalties for committing an assault in which the victim is targeted because he or she is performing duties as an employee the state welfare agency, so that this also applies to home health care workers. The bill would also increase the maximum penalties.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164381
House Bill 5590: Ban employer ban of home health worker having pepper spray
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to prohibit public and private employers of home health workers from sanctioning workers for having a self-defense spray device if the person has taken a safety training course.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164382
House Bill 5591: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691163
House Bill 5592: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691164
House Bill 5593: Revise mortgage lender licensing detail
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on May 20, 2014, to revise details of a law mandating licensure for mortgage loan originators.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164385
Please note that the following legislative actions have been taken.
Senate Bill 114: Revise commercial rental property assessment occupancy formula
Passed 98 to 12 in the House on May 27, 2014, to eliminate the use of rental property occupancy rate increases or decreases in determining the taxable value of property. The bill is a response to a 2002 Supreme Court ruling (WPW vs. Troy) which held that the Constitutional tax cap put in place by Proposal A in 1994 capped annual increases in the assessments of commercial property whose assessment had previously been lowered because of high vacancy rates.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691145
Senate Bill 409: Revise first degree murder detail
The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on May 27, 2014, to establish that if passed the bill will go into effect on July 1, 2014.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159833
Senate Bill 409: Revise first degree murder detail
Passed 104 to 6 in the House on May 27, 2014, to make the crime of “unlawful imprisonment” a “predicate” offense for first degree murder, meaning that a murder committed in the act of committing this crime would be punishable by life in prison with no chance for parole.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691165
Senate Bill 418: Exempt travel agents from insurance agent licensure mandate
Passed 107 to 3 in the House on May 27, 2014, to exempt travel agents from the licensure mandate imposed on insurance agents. Travel agents often sell trip insurance that is incidental to the planned travel.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691149
Senate Bill 472: Revise state survey and remonumentation commission details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to authorize a state survey and remonumentation commission, which would have oversight over a state land survey office, and revise details of the duties and procedures used by counties and the state related to restoring state land survey corner and landmark markers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691150
Senate Bill 494: Repeal licensure of “community planners”
Passed 94 to 16 in the House on May 27, 2014, to repeal the registration mandate imposed on “community planners.” This bill repeals the registration, application, and examination fees, and a bill to be introduced later repeals the mandate itself.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691125
Senate Bill 607: Repeal ocularist registration
Passed 104 to 6 in the House on May 27, 2014, to repeal a law that imposes a registration mandate on ocularists and ocularist apprentices, who design, fabricate, and fit “ocular prosthetic appliances,” or artificial eyes. Senate bill 606 repeals the registration and this bill repeals the associated fee.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691126
Senate Bill 623: Revise nonprofit corporations law
Passed 33 to 2 in the Senate on May 27, 2014, to revise and update details of many provisions in the state law governing nonprofit corporations.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691056
Senate Bill 624: Revise nonprofit corporations law
Passed 35 to 1 in the Senate on May 27, 2014, to revise and update details of many provisions in the state law governing the dissolution or merger of “domestic charitable purpose corporations”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691057
Senate Bill 893: Re-impose medical services tax to get more federal Medicaid money
Passed 86 to 24 in the House on May 27, 2014, to re-impose a 6 percent use tax on certain health care providers, which is designed to “game” the federal Medicaid system in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare system.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691151
Senate Bill 913: Revise Medicaid health insurance claims tax
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to reduce to 0.75 percent a 1.0 percent health insurance claims tax intended to “game” the federal Medicaid system in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare system. If a 6 percent use tax on Medicaid managed care providers proposed by Senate Bill 893 is disallowed by federal government for this purpose, then this bill would increase the rate of this levy to the original 1.0 percent.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691152
Senate Bill 934: Preempt $10.10 minimum wage initiative; hike mandated minimum
Passed 24 to 12 in the Senate on May 27, 2014, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill, which mandates a higher mandated minimum wage and revises details of the inflation indexing.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691059
Senate Bill 934: Preempt $10.10 minimum wage initiative; hike mandated minimum
Passed 76 to 34 in the House on May 27, 2014, To repeal the current state minimum wage law that makes it unlawful to employ a worker for less than $7.40 an hour, and replace it with a new law gradually increasing the mandated minimum to $9.25 an hour in 2018. The minimum amount the employer of a worker who receives tips must pay would rise from $2.65 to an amount that is 38 percent of the non-tipped minimum, or $3.52. (A tipped-worker’s employer must pay the difference between this amount and the regular minimum if tips come up short).
These figures would increase with inflation (with a 3.5 percent annual cap), and the state would be required to reimburse local governments for any cost increases caused by the mandated wage hikes. The wage mandates would be suspended if the state unemployment rate rises above 8.5 percent.
As introduced the bill was seen as a Republican gambit to keep an “initiated law” off the November ballot, to hike the mandated minimums to $10.10 for both tipped and non-tipped employees. It became a bipartisan gambit after negotiations for the higher rate and inflation indexing brought most Democrats on board..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691170
House Bill 4649: Create foster care parents “bill of rights”
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to create a foster care parents “bill of rights” that among other things would require state authorities to provide “timely financial reimbursement for foster children in the foster parent’s care,” a “fair, timely, and impartial investigation of complaints concerning the foster parent’s licensure,” due process during any investigation, and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691143
House Bill 4650: Create foster care parents “bill of rights”
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to give the state “children’s ombudsman” the duty of investigating matters related to the proposal in House Bill 4649 to create a foster care parents “bill of rights”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691144
House Bill 5361: Allow disabled to hunt from “personal assistive mobility device”
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to allow a disabled individual to hunt small game from an electric “personal assistive mobility device,” subject to conditions and restrictions specified in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691157
House Bill 5404: Heroin overdose treatment package
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to require the state-authorized “medical control authorities” responsible for establishing certain treatment protocols in a county or region to establish protocols that require ambulances to carry an “opioid antagonist” (such as Naloxone), and require emergency services personnel to be trained to administer them.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691153
House Bill 5405: Heroin overdose treatment package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to grant immunity from criminal prosecution or administrative sanction to a medical professional or pharmacist who prescribes, dispenses, possesses, or administers an “opioid antagonist” (such as Naloxone) to someone the person believes in good faith to be suffering a heroin or opioid related overdose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691154
House Bill 5406: Heroin overdose treatment package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to establish that a person who in good faith believes that another individual is suffering a heroin or opioid related overdose and who administers an “opioid antagonist” (such as Naloxone) is not liable in a civil lawsuit for damages. This would not apply to a medical professional administering the drug in a hospital.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691155
House Bill 5407: Heroin overdose treatment package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to permit doctors to prescribe and pharmacists to dispense an “opioid antagonist” including naloxone hydrochloride to the friends or family of individuals who may suffer an overdose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691156
House Bill 5478: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new “private employer group self-insurers security fund,” starting in 2020. This fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691128
House Bill 5479: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new entity, starting in 2019. The new fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims. . This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691130
House Bill 5480: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691131
House Bill 5481: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691132
House Bill 5482: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691133
House Bill 5483: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to authorize the imposition of extra assessments against the members of the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” if its obligations exceed the capacity of the fund to pay. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691134
House Bill 5484: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to establish that the duty of the Attorney General to give legal advice to an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits would be the same under the replacement entity proposed in House Bills 5478 and 5479. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691135
House Bill 5485: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to establish that the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 ends up paying the benefits of an injured worker (instead of the self-insured employer paying them, it would have the right to seek reimbursement from the insolvent employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691136
House Bill 5486: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to establish that rights to an insolvent employer’s records currently vested in a state workers compensation “self-insurers’ security fund” would be the same under the replacement entity proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691137
House Bill 5487: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 107 to 3 in the House on May 27, 2014, to increase the assessment imposed on self insured companies and revise the assessment-setting methodology and accounting requirements for a state trust fund created to pay worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691139
House Bill 5488: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise details of a provision enforcing the duty of an employer who self-insures for potential workers compensation liability to pay into a state trust fund created to cover benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691140
House Bill 5489: Authorize workers comp trust fund payments to former Delphi workers
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to authorize payments from a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation insurance benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers to former employees of the Delphi Corporation (which was spun-off by General Motors in 1997 and filed bankruptcy in 2005). The trust fund would be allowed to seek reimbursement from whatever entity is ultimately found by a federal court to be liable for these claims. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691141
House Bill 5490: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise details of the process for resolving disputes between an employer or insurer and the trustees of a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation benefits owed by an insolvent employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691142
House Bill 5591: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on May 27, 2014, to expand the bill to cover a woman “expressing” breast milk, meaning taking milk from the breast with a pump or by hand for later use.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164383
House Bill 5591: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to exempt a mother’s breastfeeding in a public place from state laws prohibiting open or indecent exposure, “regardless of whether or not her areola or nipple is visible during or incidental to the breastfeeding”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691163
House Bill 5592: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014, to revise the law that defines indecent exposure as a form of disorderly conduct so that it conforms to the proposal in House Bill 5591 to exempt a mother’s breastfeeding of a child from the indecent exposure law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691164
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