Senate Joint Resolution V: Call for “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention
Passed 77 to 32 in the House on March 20, 2014, to submit an application to Congress calling for a “convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Consitution,” limited to proposing an amendment that prohibits the federal government from spending more in any fiscal year than it collects in tax and other revenue (balanced budget amendment). Legislatures representing two-thirds of the states must request this to get a convention, and three-quarters of the states must approve any amendment proposed by an “Article V” convention for it to become part of the constitution. The resolution names 17 states that have submitted applications.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688039
Senate Bill 641: Revise real estate license details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to allow inactive real estate salespersons and brokers to renew their license within three years, subject to conditions and requirements specified in the bill. Also, to revise a six-hour annual “continuing education” mandate to instead allow licensees to take 18 hours spread over three years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687993
Senate Bill 719: Allow renegotiation of state environmental cleanup and recreation loans
Passed 103 to 7 in the House on March 20, 2014, to allow local governments with financial problems to negotiate more favorable terms on loans made to them by the state using money the state itself borrowed under the 1998 “Clean Michigan Initiative” ballot proposal, which authorized $675 million of new government debt (“bond sales”) for environmental cleanup and recreation projects. They would not be allowed to negotiate a reduction the amount of the outstanding loan principal.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687996
Senate Bill 805: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the mental health code with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687998
Senate Bill 807: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute regulating certain kinds of insurance with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688000
Senate Bill 808: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute regulating Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688001
Senate Bill 809: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the law setting standards for defendant competence in criminal trials with the term “intellectually disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making a similar change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688002
Senate Bill 810: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute authorizing an exemption from the requirement to have a fishing license to go fishing with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688003
Senate Bill 811: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute specifying the duties of the state Office of Services to the Aging with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688004
House Bill 4001: Cap FOIA charges and increase government FOIA scofflaw penalties
Passed 102 to 8 in the House on March 20, 2014, To establish statewide standards for the costs a government body may charge to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act open records request. Among other things the bill would prohibit charging more than the wages (not including benefits) of the lowest paid employee capable of meeting the request (or of deleting information exempt from disclosure), whether or not that person does the actual work. If the exempt information deletion work were done by a contract employee, the charge for the person’s time could not be greater than six times the state minimum wage. “Overhead” or overtime costs could not be included in the charges.
The charge for standard size copies could not exceed 10 cents per page, periodically adjusted for inflation, and the amount charged for the person making the copies (paper or electronic) could not exceed three times the state minimum wage. A government body could choose to provide bulky information in electronic format (on CD), and if the requested information is on its website could just reference this in its reply. FOIA requestors would have to be given an itemized list of the costs, and a government body’s procedures, guidelines and fees would have to be posted on its website (if it has one). The penalty for wrongfully denying a request would increase from $500 to $2,000 (and up to $7,500 if this is “willful and intentional”), and $1,000 for charging excessive fees (as determined by a judicial appeal process the bill would authorize)..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688023
House Bill 4118: Require drug testing of welfare applicants
Passed 25 to 11 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to require a one-year pilot program in at least three counties that would require drug testing of state welfare benefit recipients and applicants if an “empirical screening tool” indicates a reasonable suspicion of drug use. Benefits would be halted for six months if a person tests positive or refuses to take the test, with an exception for medical marijuana. If a welfare recipient who is a parent tests positive, the child would still be eligible for assistance, and a “protective payee” would be designated to receive the parent’s welfare money. The bill appropriates $500,000 for the pilot program.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687945
House Bill 4295: Adjust school budget projections, appropiate extra money
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to make adjustments to the school aid budget for the current fiscal year to reflect lower than expected student counts, and appropriate extra money for various purposes, including a $51.7 federal “early learning challenge grant” the state applied for. This will pay for government programs that are “culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate...for high-needs children from birth to kindergarten entry” and that “promote children’s physical, social, and emotional health” among other things; training for employees who perform these activities; monitoring systems and more. It appropriates $5 million for transition costs related to dissolving the fiscally failed Buena Vista and Inkster school districts; $2 million for a year-round school pilot program; $2 million for class size reductions; $3.9 million for contracts to provide students “information technology education opportunities; and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687931
House Bill 4369: Codify “education achievement authority” for failed schools
Passed 56 to 54 in the House on March 20, 2014, to codify in statute the authority of a state “education achievement authority,” which is an office in the Department of Education tasked with reforming public schools whose performance is in the bottom 5 percent for two consecutive years. Not more than 50 schools could eventually be subject to this office’s authority (phased in through June 2017), and their management could be transferred to a charter school or another conventional school district. Alternatively, the local intermediate school district could choose to take over a failed school’s management.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688021
House Bill 4484: Cap rental self-storage late fees, revise liability
Passed 34 to 2 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to cap rental payment late fees to a self-storage space rental facility at $20 per month or 20 percent of the monthly rental amount, whichever is greater (with certain exceptions), allow additional means of disposing of property subject to sale for non-payment of rent, and revise details of the facility owner’s liability for stored documents or other media that is sold or destroyed when a tenant defaults on a rental agreement.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687940
House Bill 5119: Revise Uniform Commercial Code fund transfer details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to revise and update definitions and details of the Uniform Commercial Code law that governs funds transfers and electronic funds transfers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687997
House Bill 5332: Establish “uniform credentialing” for government substance abuse services
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to require the Department of Community Health to develop a “uniform credentialing program” for individuals who provide “substance use disorder services through a state department or agency” and who are not licensed health care professionals. The bill would require these individuals to meet the conditions the program would establish.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687995
House Bill 5345: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to remove the term “mentally retarded” in the law setting standards for defendant-competence in certain criminal trials, and replace it with the term “intellectually disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making a similar change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687932
House Bill 5346: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute regulating child care organizations with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687933
House Bill 5347: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a section of the Public Health Code with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687934
House Bill 5348: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the state Insurance Code with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687935
House Bill 5349: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a section of the Revised Judicature Act with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687936
House Bill 5350: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute regulating surrogate parenting with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687937
House Bill 5351: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a law related to intermediate school district jurisdiction with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687938
House Bill 5352: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the school employee pension law with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687939
House Bill 5380: Call for “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention
Passed 62 to 47 in the House on March 20, 2014, to provide a process for the legislature appointing delegates to a potential “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention of the states (as opposed to electing delegates), and prescribe the powers and duties of those delegates. House Joint Resolution CC and Senate Joint Resolution V call for such a convention.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688040
House Bill 5396: Trim mandated barber college instruction hours
Passed 103 to 7 in the House on March 20, 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=687994
Senate Bill 878: Accommodate and regulate the “millionaire game” business
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on March 18, 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), 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=163867
Senate Bill 879: Revise mammography report disclosure details
Introduced by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R) on March 19, 2014, to require the summary and written report of a mammography examination sent to a doctor or patient by a federally certified mammography facility to include cautionary information regarding breast density if the patient is determined to have “heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163877
Senate Bill 880: Require psychologist licensure board approval of specific degree programs
Introduced by Sen. Vincent Gregory (D) on March 19, 2014, to empower and require the board of political appointees authorized to establish standards for allowing a person to get a state psychologist license to approve the specific degree programs taken by licensure applicants at a college or university that already meets all the standards imposed by statute.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163878
Senate Bill 881: Make government firearms ownership databases non-public information
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on March 20, 2014, to specify which state firearms owner records would be exempt from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act, as proposed by House Bill 5327.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163884
Senate Bill 882: Repeal local road agency fringe benefit reporting mandate
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 20, 2014, to repeal a law that mandates local road agencies certify to the Department of Transportation that their and their contractors’ employees get fringe benefits meeting certain specifications in that law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163885
Senate Bill 883: Exempt canceled home loan debt from income tax
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on March 20, 2014, to authorize a state income tax deduction for the debt of a homeowner that is cancelled when his or her delinquent mortgage is foreclosed. Under federal and state tax law, the canceled debt is treated as taxable income.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163886
Senate Bill 884: Allow union certification without secret ballot (”card check”)
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on March 20, 2014, to allow unions to gain certification to represent a group of employees through a “card check” method in which union representatives get at least half the workers to sign a card saying they want the union, with no opportunity to vote in a secret ballot. The bill would also authorize binding arbitration if no contract is reached after 90 days of collective bargaining, with government-appointed mediators empowered to impose a settlement.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163887
Senate Bill 885: Revise first responder regulatory detail
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on March 20, 2014, to allow the state-authorized “medical control authorities” responsible for establishing certain treatment protocols in a county or region to establish “enhanced” protocols for medical first responders, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical technician specialists and paramedics. Also, to require the Department of Community Health to convene a “rural emergency medical services task force” to evaluate the “status, resources, needs, and forecasts” for emergency medical services in the rural areas of this state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163888
Senate Bill 886: Regulate “continuing care agreements”
Introduced by Sen. John Moolenaar (R) on March 20, 2014, to repeal a law regulating the terms and sale of life estates, life leases, and long-term leases in nursing homes, retirement homes, homes for the aged, and foster care facilities, and replace it with a new law that styles these contracts as “continuing care agreements” and “continuing care communities,” which can also include independent living units and adult foster care facilities. The bill would impose detailed registration and disclosure requirements for entities that make such offers, and regulate the terms they offer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163889
Senate Bill 887: Regulate “continuing care agreements”
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on March 20, 2014, to exempt the community care operations Senate Bill 886 would regulate from certain state rules governing a facility’s provision of various licensed medical professionals to residents.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163890
Senate Bill 888: Regulate “continuing care agreements”
Introduced by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R) on March 20, 2014, to exempt the community care operations Senate Bill 886 would regulate from certain state rules governing an adult foster care facility’s provision to residents of various licensed medical professionals.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163891
Senate Bill 889: Regulate “continuing care agreements”
Introduced by Sen. Mike Nofs (R) on March 20, 2014, to repeal certain criminal sentencing guidelines that reference a nursing home regulatory regime that Senate Bill 886 would alter.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163892
House Bill 5412: Allow state bank savings promotion raffles
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on March 18, 2014, to allow state banks to offer savings promotion raffles that offer prizes for individuals who enter the raffle by depositing a specified amount.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163871
House Bill 5413: Allow state bank savings promotion raffles
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on March 18, 2014, to revise references in the state law on gambling and lottery crimes to reflect the proposal in House Bill 5412 to allow state banks to offer savings promotion raffles.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163872
House Bill 5414: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on March 18, 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. However, the state would continue to use collection agencies to collect outstanding fees from past violations, and suspend the drivers licenses of those unable to pay. Reportedly some 400,000 mostly low-income individuals have lost their licenses under this law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163873
House Bill 5415: Allow emailed eviction notice if specified in lease
Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R) on March 18, 2014, to allow landlords to send eviction notices by email if the lease agreement authorizes this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163874
House Bill 5416: Ban employment discrimination based on “reproductive health decisions”
Introduced by Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright (D) on March 18, 2014, on to prohibit an employer from asking about or discriminating in compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of an employee or job applicant’s “reproductive health decisions,” or those of a dependent, or on the basis of the employer’s personal beliefs concerning such issues.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163875
House Bill 5417: Authorize general obligation debt for local energy efficiency loan programs
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on March 19, 2014, to revise a 2010 law that granted local governments the power to lend a property owner money for “energy efficiency improvements” or a “renewable energy system,” and also levy a special assessment on the property from which the loan would be repaid. The bill would permit local governments to incur new “general obligation” debt to secure the debt they have already incurred under these programs, which the original law specified could not be general obligation debt. It would also repeal a provision that requires a property owner who enters one of these programs to notify the person’s mortgage lender.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163882
House Bill 5418: Allow private employers to give preferences to veterans
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on March 20, 2014, to permit employers to give preference to veterans in hiring and promotion decisions, subject to conditions specified in the bill, and require the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to maintain a registry of employers that do this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163894
House Bill 5419: Revise training detail for licensed athletic trainers
Introduced by Rep. Andrea LaFontaine (R) on March 20, 2014, to mandate that licensed athletic trainers successfully complete a course of training that includes lessons on automated external defibrillator use by medical professionals, in addition to the current requirements for first aid and CPR lessons. The bill would also cut the license fee for trainers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163895
House Bill 5420: Ban state and local agencies from participating in federal “metadata” collection
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on March 20, 2014, to prohibit state agencies, local governments and their employees from assisting or providing material support to a federal agency in collecting electronic data or metadata concerning any person, unless it is pursuant to a specific search or arrest warrant. The bill would also prohibit such information from being used in a criminal investigation or prosecution.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=163896