Senate Bill 25: Revise principal residence property tax exemption appeal detail
Passed 35 to 0 in the Senate on May 2, 2013, to provide property owners with a process to appeal to the Department of Treasury for any year that a principal residence property tax exemption was erroneously not applied, regardless of when the exemption was claimed. Under current law appeals can only cover the past three years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662259
Senate Bill 29: Mandate “bittering agents” in antifreeze
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on May 1, 2013, to mandate that antifreeze engine coolant sold at retail in Michigan must have a “bittering agent” added to make it unpalatable to children, dogs and other animals (who are attracted by the sweet taste of antifreeze, a deadly poison).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662155
Senate Bill 221: Increase sex offender registry fees
Passed 33 to 2 in the Senate on May 2, 2013, to require individuals on the public sex offender registry to pay $50 each year, rather than just a one-time $50 fee.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662258
Senate Bill 288: Give NRC duty of designating huntable game species
Passed 72 to 38 in the House on May 2, 2013, to give the state Natural Resources Commission (in addition to the Legislature) the power to designate a species as a huntable game species. Also, to allow members of the military to obtain hunting and fishing licenses for free. The bill was changed on the floor to prohibit the commission from designating mourning doves as a game species, and to remove a modest appropriation intended to make it “referendum-proof”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662322
House Bill 4037: Designate veteran status on drivers license if requested
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 1, 2013, to require the Secretary of State to designate on drivers licenses whether the driver is a military veteran, if this is requested by a veteran who has specified documents proving this status.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662156
House Bill 4118: Require drug testing of welfare applicants
Passed 77 to 33 in the House on May 1, 2013, to require drug testing of state welfare benefit recipients or applicants if an “empirical screening tool” indicates a reasonable suspicion, and prohibit benefits for six months if a person tests positive a second time (or refuses “treatment” the first time). This would begin as a one-year pilot program in three counties.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662227
House Bill 4228: Appropriations: “Omnibus” education budget
Passed 25 to 12 in the Senate on May 1, 2013, 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=662157
House Bill 4290: Require disclosure of Department of Treasury audit procedures
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 2, 2013, to require the Department of Treasury to publish and post online all audit manuals including training manuals, plus all internal policy statements, bulletins, memos, or other documents.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662324
House Bill 4291: Require full tax audit details be given to audit target
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 2, 2013, to require the Department of Treasury to provide a person or business who has been audited with a complete copy of the audit work papers, findings, and all the correspondence and documentation which formed a basis for audit determinations. Also, to require such audits to conform with standards the department would have to establish within one year, covering audit evidence, understanding of the audited entity, documentation and much more. The bill is part of a package of reforms related to business complaints regarding state audit procedures.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662325
House Bill 4328: Appropriations: 2013-2014 “omnibus” budget
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on May 1, 2013, 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=662158
House Bill 4388: Ban welfare benefits for truancy scofflaws
Passed 78 to 32 in the House on May 1, 2013, to require welfare recipients who have school age children to ensure the children attend school or else lose benefits, and require the state welfare agency to promulgate rules to make it so. If the child is age 16 or 17 he or she would be “removed” from the welfare “program group,” meaning the family and/or household.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662225
House Bill 4528: Revise “immigration clerical assistant” registration
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 1, 2013, to revise details of a 2004 law that imposed registration requirements on “immigration clerical assistants.” The bill would eliminate a duty of the state to maintain a list of these individuals and authorize triple damages for lawsuits against them.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662226
Senate Bill 27: Authorize refillable beer container sales
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 7, 2013, to allow merchants licensed to sell beer and wine for consumption off-premises, and bars or restaurants licensed to sell all legal forms of alcohol, to refill clearly labeled “growlers” (sealable containers of up to one gallon) with beer for consumption off-premises.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662886
Senate Bill 79: Allow farmers market wine tastings and sales
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 7, 2013, to authorize a special liquor license allowing small winemakers to sell wine and hold wine tastings at farmers markets and special events. The license would $25 per day.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662887
Senate Bill 279: Allow farmers market wine tastings and sales
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 7, 2013, to authorize a special liquor license allowing small winemakers to sell wine and hold wine tastings at farmers markets and special events. The license would $25 per day..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662888
House Bill 4264: Allow consecutive sentences for financial exploitation crime
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 7, 2013, to allow sentences imposed for committing certain “financial exploitation” crimes against a vulnerable or incapacitated adult to be served consecutively with sentences imposed for other violations of this statute. Consecutively means “back-to-back” sentences, as opposed to “concurrently,” which means sentences are served at the same time.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662885
House Bill 4297: Give free state park admission to disabled veterans
Passed 107 to 2 in the House on May 7, 2013, to waive state park and campground admission fees for disabled veterans, or ones who were prisoners of war, or who were awarded the Medal of Honor. Specifically, the bill grants these veterans the vehicle registration “recreation passport” without the $11 charge. The foregone revenue would have to be paid to the parks from general fund tax revenues.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662989
House Bill 4439: Give free state park admission to disabled veterans
Passed 107 to 2 in the House on May 7, 2013, to revise vehicle registration tax forms to reflect the proposal in House Bill 4297 to waive the state park and campground admission fees included in such forms for disabled veterans, or ones who were awarded the Medal of Honor or were prisoners of war.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=662990