Senate Bill 160: Revise Detroit debt-financed spending detail
Passed 107 to 3 in the House on April 15, 2015, to revise details of a 2011 law that expanded allowable debt-financed deficit spending by Detroit, to clarify a provision allowing some city revenue to held in trust for certain creditors. Specifically, it strengthen the legal claims of certain lenders on future city revenue.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711487
Senate Bill 191: Expand retail fraud penalties
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on April 14, 2015, to include retail fraud and failing to appear in court among the violations for which a court may order a convicted person to reimburse the state or a local government for expenses they incur related to the incident, including transportation costs.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711450
House Bill 4195: Repeal government “venture capital investment” program
Passed 107 to 3 in the House on April 15, 2015, to prohibit the state from pledging any more future tax revenue to guarantee investor returns under an “early stage venture capital investment” scheme authorized by a 2003 law. House Bill 4196 would move forward the expiration of this scheme from 2054 to 2030, and House Bill 4365 would lower the cap the on amount of future tax revenue the state could pledge to guarantee investor returns.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711483
House Bill 4196: Repeal government “venture capital investment” program
Passed 108 to 2 in the House on April 15, 2015, to move forward from 2054 to 2030 the expiration of a state “early stage venture capital investment corporation,” which pledges future tax revenue to guarantee investor returns on certain types of investments. See also House Bills 4195 and 4365.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711484
House Bill 4245: Revise building code officials registration detail
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on April 15, 2015, to establish that employment by a government building code enforcing agency is not required for “registration” as a building official, plan reviewer, or inspector.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711486
House Bill 4365: Cap certain previously authorized corporate subsidies or tax breaks
Passed 108 to 2 in the House on April 15, 2015, to reduce from $600 million to $450 million the total amount of subsidies or tax breaks that may be delivered to firms who made deals with the state guaranteeing them a certain return on investments in “early stage ventures” under a 2003 law. See also House Bills 4195 and 4196.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711485
Senate Bill 12: Allow pension double-dipping by “retired” Attorney General employees
Passed 82 to 28 in the House on April 16, 2015, to allow a retired state employee to simultaneously collect pension benefits and a paycheck for work performed as an Attorney General consultant or expert witness.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711907
Senate Bill 99: Rename a road
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to designate the I-94 business loop in Battle Creek as the “ Detective LaVern S. Brann Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711981
Senate Bill 169: Authorize high school “STEM” diploma
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to require the state Department of Education to “issue and transmit” a high school diploma “endorsement” for a student who completes the science, technology, engineering, and math courses (STEM) specified in Senate Bill 170.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711973
Senate Bill 170: Authorize high school “STEM” diploma
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to authorize granting a high school diploma “endorsement” to a student who completes a specified number of science, technology, engineering, and math courses (STEM).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711974
Senate Bill 221: Authorize multi-state distance learning compact
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to authorize the state Department of Education to enter a multistate higher education compact, or enter “reciprocal agreements with public educational agencies in other states” that have the same purpose, which is essentially to hold institutions that provide distance learning courses accountable for basic contractual obligations to students, and provide an administrative process to enforce these obligations. Colleges and universities that want to be “authorized” under this arrangement would have to pay annual fees of $2,000.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711975
Senate Bill 232: Revise vehicle trade in tax break detail
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to revise a 2013 law that exempts from use tax the value of a trade-in when buying a motor vehicle, titled watercraft or recreational vehicle, so that it also applies to purchases made from out of state dealers. Under the 2013 law the tax exemption will supposedly be phased in over 24 years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711978
Senate Bill 233: Revise vehicle trade in tax break detail
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to revise a 2013 law that exempts from sales tax the value of a trade-in when buying a motor vehicle, titled watercraft or recreational vehicle, so that it also applies to purchases made from out of state dealers. Under the 2013 law the tax exemption will supposedly be phased in over 24 years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711980
Senate Bill 248: Expand auto theft prevention authority duties
The amendment failed 15 to 23 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to make the MCCA and its successor organization subject to the state’s open records law. The Senate-passed version of the bill does subject the successor organization to this law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=712002
Senate Bill 248: Expand auto theft prevention authority duties
Passed 21 to 17 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to replace the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) with a new state authority that would provide reinsurance to individual auto insurance companies for personal injury claim amounts that exceed above $545,000 per incident. The MCCA is a private entity created by the original no-fault law, which also mandated that all drivers have unlimited personal injury protection coverage (PIP). The bill would place some price controls on medical services and attendant care provided to injured individuals under this PIP, with monthly copays on the latter. It would also expand the duties of a state automobile theft prevention authority to include insurance fraud related PIP benefits, paid for by $21 million in assessments (taxes) on insurers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=712000
Senate Bill 249: Change no fault insurance “coordination of benefits” reference
Passed 21 to 17 in the Senate on April 16, 2015, to revise reverences in the child support and parenting time law to reflect technical “coordination of benefits” and other changes in the state no fault auto insurance law proposed by Senate Bill 248.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=712011
House Bill 4271: Eliminate February election date
Passed 93 to 17 in the House on April 16, 2015, to revise details of the state election law to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 4273 to eliminate the February election date authorized by a 2003 election consolidation law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711908
House Bill 4272: Eliminate February election date
Passed 93 to 17 in the House on April 16, 2015, to revise details of the state election law to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 4273 to eliminate the February election date authorized by a 2003 election consolidation law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711909
House Bill 4273: Eliminate February election date
Passed 93 to 17 in the House on April 16, 2015, to eliminate the February election date authorized by a 2003 election consolidation law, which required all regular elections in the state to be held on either the last Tuesday in February, or the Tuesday after the first Monday in either May, August, or November.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711910
House Bill 4274: Eliminate February election date
Passed 93 to 17 in the House on April 16, 2015, to revise details of the state election law to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 4273 to eliminate the February election date authorized by a 2003 election consolidation law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711911
House Bill 4276: to revise details of the state election law
Passed 93 to 17 in the House on April 16, 2015, to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 4273 to eliminate the February election date authorized by a 2003 election consolidation law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711912
House Bill 4385: Eliminate February election date
Passed 94 to 16 in the House on April 16, 2015, to revise details of the state election law to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 4273 to eliminate the February election date established by a 2003 election consolidation law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=711913