Senate Bill 175: Revert National Guard details
Passed 91 to 14 in the House on June 6, 2013, to largely reverse a 2010 reform that eliminated “defined benefit” pensions for future state Adjutant Generals and Assistant Adjutant Generals, and instead provided 401k benefits. The bill would also revise various other Michigan National Guard organizational details. The 2010 reform was adopted following reports of AGs being granted generous state pensions based on limited state service ($78,000 to $133,000 for 1.5 years to 13 years service). The House version of the bill slightly limits eligibility for these benefits compared to the pre-2010 version, but also has several exceptions to the new limits.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=666442
Senate Bill 402: Gradually cut income tax
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on June 4, 2013, to gradually roll-back a 2007 income tax increase until the rate returns to 3.9 percent in 2017.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159826
Senate Bill 403: Repeal preemption local firework use restrictions
Introduced in the Senate on June 4, 2013, to repeal current state limitations on the authority of local governments to regulate individuals’ use of fireworks on days surrounding national holidays.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159827
Senate Bill 404: Revise landfill performance bond detail
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on June 4, 2013, to revise details of the financial instruments that may used by a landfill operator to satisfy the performance bond-like “perpetual care fund” requirements related to the future upkeep of closed landfills.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159828
Senate Bill 405: Repeal same-sex marriage ban
Introduced by Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on June 4, 2013, to revise details of state statutes related to marriage so they would conform with the proposal in Senate Joint Resolution W to repeal the 2008 state constitutional amendment establishing that “the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159829
Senate Bill 406: Repeal same-sex marriage ban
Introduced by Sen. Virgil Smith, Jr. (D) on June 4, 2013, to revise details of a state statute recognizing marriages “solemnized” in another state, so it would conform with the proposal in Senate Joint Resolution W to repeal the 2008 state constitutional amendment establishing that “the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159830
Senate Bill 407: Require State Police develop “gun free zone” sign design
Introduced by Sen. Glenn Anderson (D) on June 4, 2013, to require the State Police to develop and make available to individuals a design for “an appropriate sign” stating that “this is a gun-free zone” as established by the state concealed pistol license law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159831
Senate Bill 408: Give college loan grants to employed bachelor degree holders
Introduced by Sen. Glenn Anderson (D) on June 4, 2013, to give college bachelor degree recipients who live and are employed in Michigan an income tax credit of up to half the amount they owe each year on student loans, capped at an amount equal to 20 percent of the annual tuition of a four-year state university. The bill would authorize the same credit to an employer who picks up the cost of an employee’s loan payments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159832
Senate Bill 409: Revise first degree murder detail
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on June 4, 2013, 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.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159833
Senate Bill 410: Revise law enforcement licensure procedures
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on June 4, 2013, to require the “nonpublic record” of the “diversion and dismissal” of a controlled substance violation to be open to the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards for various purposes, including determining whether an individual meets the requirements for certification as a law enforcement officer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159834
Senate Bill 411: Revise law enforcement licensure procedures
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on June 4, 2013, to revise and update many details of the law governing the qualifications and licensure of law enforcement officers, which includes a very broad range of government officials empowered to enforce many different state statutes and regulatory regimes.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159835
Senate Bill 412: Revise law enforcement licensure procedures
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on June 4, 2013, to revise details of a state “administration of Michigan justice training fund” to conform with the changes proposed by Senate Bill 411 to the law governing the qualifications and licensure of law enforcement officers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159836
Senate Bill 413: Restrict marketing of mattresses as “new”
Introduced by Sen. Morris Hood, III (D) on June 5, 2013, to prohibit selling mattresses as “new” or custom-made if they are manufactured with any material from used mattresses.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159847
Senate Bill 414: Require digital school materials be posted online
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on June 5, 2013, to require that if a public school uses any instructional materials that are in digital form, it must post these on the school’s website.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159848
Senate Bill 415: Cut tax on jet fuel
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on June 6, 2013, to cut from 6 percent to 4 percent the “use tax” imposed on sales of jet fuel to commercial air carriers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159851
Senate Bill 416: Cut tax on jet fuel
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on June 6, 2013, to cut from 6 percent to 4 percent the sales tax imposed on sales of jet fuel to commercial air carriers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159852
Senate Bill 417: Establish PTSD emergency service provider counseling provisions
Introduced by Sen. John Moolenaar (R) on June 6, 2013, to provide various confidentiality and liability waiver provisions to post-traumatic stress related counseling services provided to emergency service responders.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159853
House Bill 4234: Vehicle trade-in “sales tax on the difference”
Passed 100 to 7 in the House on June 6, 2013, to exempt from sales tax the value of a trade-in on the purchase of a new vehicle, recreational vehicle or titled watercraft. The buyer would only pay sales tax on the difference between the value of the trade-in and the purchase price of the new item. This vehicle part of this would eventually save new car buyers (and/or dealers) some $220 million annually when fully phased-in after six years. The bill does not specify what spending items would be cut or other taxes raised to make up this foregone revenue.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=666446
House Bill 4465: Lower high school graduation standards
Passed 81 to 26 in the House on June 6, 2013, to revise wording in the state’s high school graduation curriculum requirements in ways that generally reduce the rigor of foreign language and math standards; and also to revise details of physical education and arts standards.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=666443
House Bill 4678: Revise groundwater dispute regulatory regime details
Passed 104 to 3 in the House on June 6, 2013, to revise details of a groundwater dispute regulatory regime that was originally imposed in 2003, then supplanted by a new one in 2008, and since restored by a 2012 law. Among other things the bill would authorize an administrative appeal procedure for the owner of a “high-capacity well” (mostly used for irrigation) who is ordered to compensate the owner of a small quantity (household) well who alleges the large well has damaged the small one.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=666445
House Bill 4792: Increase penalties for harming vulnerable roadway user
Introduced by Rep. David Nathan (D) on May 30, 2013, to establish sentencing guidelines for the enhanced penalties proposed by House Bill 4799 for a motorist who commits a moving violation that causes injury or death to a vulnerable roadway user.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159708
House Bill 4793: Update eminent domain provisions
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on May 30, 2013, to repeal eminent domain property condemnation provisions in the state Drain Code to reflect “takings” reforms mandated by voters in a http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159709
House Bill 4794: Facilitate taxpayer-subsidized metro-region “light rail” creation
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on May 30, 2013, to repeal a requirement that to start a taxpayer-subsidized “light rail” system there must be a unanimous vote by the 10-member board of the Detroit Regional Transit Authority authorized by a 2012 law. Under the bill, a simple majority of the board could establish a mass transit rail system.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159710
House Bill 4795: Impose harmful chemicals regulatory regime
Introduced by Rep. Alberta Tinsley Talabi (D) on May 30, 2013, to require the Department of Community Health and the Department of Environmental Quality to identify and post on a website a list of potentially dangerous or harmful chemicals that may be found in household products or dust, including substances whose presence in children’s products would trigger the regulatory regime proposed by Senate Bill 400. The bill would authorize hiring an additional 1.5 “full time equivalent” government employees to do the work.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159711
House Bill 4796: Impose children’s products regulatory regime
Introduced by Rep. Alberta Tinsley Talabi (D) on May 30, 2013, to require manufacturers and distributors of children’s products that contain substances deemed harmful by the Department of Environment Quality to submit detailed annual reports to the state regarding the products and the chemicals in them. The bill contains various exceptions and authorizes penalties of up to $150,000.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159712
House Bill 4797: Establish fiscally non-viable school district takeover procedures
Introduced by Rep. David E. Rutledge (D) on May 30, 2013, to give the state superintendent of public instruction and the state treasurer the power to shut down a school district that is so financially unviable that it cannot complete the current school year without a state bailout (as happened at the end of the 2013 school year with the Buena Vista district in Saginaw County). These officials would have the power to act as or request the appointment of a receiver to provide for the education of students in the district, which could be undertaken by neighboring districts, an intermediate school district, or some “other public entity authorized to provide education services,” possibly including a charter school board.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159713
House Bill 4798: Establish fiscally non-viable school district takeover procedures
Introduced by Rep. Bill Rogers (R) on May 30, 2013, to transfer per-pupil state foundation grant money from a public school district that is so financially unviable that it cannot complete the current school year without a state bailout, to neighboring districts enlisted to educate the failed district’s students, as provided by House Bill 4797.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159714
House Bill 4799: Increase penalties for harming vulnerable roadway user
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 4, 2013, to establish sentencing guidelines for the enhanced penalties proposed by House Bill 4792 for a motorist who commits a moving violation that causes injury or death to a vulnerable roadway user.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159845
House Bill 4800: Empower courts to modify certain mortgage contracts
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on June 4, 2013, to give courts the power to modify the contractual terms of a delinquent mortgage on an owner-occupied 1-to-4 unit residential property, if a court determines the lender has engaged in certain inappropriate actions specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159846
House Bill 4801: Ban welfare prescription drug subsidies
Introduced by Rep. Joel Johnson (R) on June 5, 2013, to convicted drug offenders to prohibit granting Medicaid or other medical welfare prescription drug subsidies to an individual who has been convicted of a crime involving controlled substances.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159856
House Bill 4802: Screen welfare applicants for illegal aliens
Introduced by Rep. Joel Johnson (R) on June 5, 2013, to require the Department of Human Services (the state welfare agency) to verify the legal U.S. residence status of every person who applies for various kinds of welfare benefits using the federal database. The bill does not necessarily prohibit benefits if the department cannot confirm legal status, it just requires they run the check before granting benefits.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159857
House Bill 4803: Give county animal control agencies criminal records access
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on June 5, 2013, to grant all county animal control agencies access to the state’s criminal records database, the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159858
House Bill 4804: Let local governments ban their own granting of “defined benefit” pensions
Introduced by Rep. Pete Lund (R) on June 5, 2013, to establish that counties and local governments may adopt an ordinance that prohibits granting employees a conventional “defined benefit” pension (rather than a 401k), and if such an ordinance is adopted, prohibit government employee unions from making this issue a subject of collective bargaining.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159859
House Bill 4805: Authorize “Right to Life” license plate
Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R) on June 5, 2013, to require the Secretary of State to develop a “Right to Life” fund-raising license plate, with fees collected for the plate going to the Michigan Right to Life anti-abortion organization.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159860
House Bill 4806: Revise first degree murder lifer law for minors
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise the application to minors of the state’s mandatory life imprisonment for first degree murder law, so as to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v Alabama. A Senate Fiscal Agency memo describes the ruling and its application to Michigan law. This bill is part of a package, and would revise address the prospective application of the ruling going forward.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159861
House Bill 4807: Revise first degree murder lifer law for minors
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise the application to minors of the state’s mandatory life imprisonment for first degree murder law, so as to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v Alabama. A Senate Fiscal Agency memo describes the ruling and its application to Michigan law. This bill is part of a package, and would revise address the prospective application of the ruling going forward.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159862
House Bill 4808: Revise first degree murder lifer law for minors
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise the application to minors of the state’s mandatory life imprisonment for first degree murder law, so as to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v Alabama. A Senate Fiscal Agency memo describes the ruling and its application to Michigan law. This bill is part of a package, and would revise address the prospective application of the ruling going forward.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159863
House Bill 4809: Revise first degree murder lifer law for minors
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise the application to minors of the state’s mandatory life imprisonment for first degree murder law, so as to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v Alabama. A Senate Fiscal Agency memo describes the ruling and its application to Michigan law. This bill is part of a package, and would revise address the prospective application of the ruling going forward.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159864
House Bill 4810: Revise lower homestead tax for assisted living residents
Introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise a 2012 law that allows an individual who moves into an assisted living facility to retain the principal residence property tax exemption on his or her own residence, by removing a condition that the home must not be for sale.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159865
House Bill 4811: Revise “military family relief fund” details
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on June 6, 2013, to clarify certain conditions and procedures for military families applying for assistance from a state “military family relief fund” created by a 2004 law for families who are suffering financial stress as a result of the military service, or who have an emergency.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159866
House Bill 4812: Authorize “Trails and Greenways” specialty plate
Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R) on June 6, 2013, to authorize a “Michigan Trails and Greenways” specialty license plate, and give the money it raises to an organization called the “Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance,” to be used “to develop and promote the establishment of a statewide trail network”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159867
House Bill 4813: Establish procedures for dissolving fiscally failed school district
Introduced by Rep. David E. Rutledge (D) on June 6, 2013, to establish criteria and procedures for dissolving a school district that has become so fiscally unviable that it can no longer educate students, and for attaching the failed district’s territory to one or more nearby school districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159868
House Bill 4814: Rename bridge in Monroe County
Introduced by Rep. Dale W. Zorn (R) on June 6, 2013, to rename a bridge on US-24 in Monroe County as the “Matt Urban Memorial Bridge”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159869
House Bill 4815: Establish procedures for dissolving fiscally failed school district
Introduced by Rep. Bill Rogers (R) on June 6, 2013, to revise school aid distribution provisions in the state school code to reflect the proposal in House Bill 4814 to establish procedures for dissolving a fiscally failed school district and attaching its territory to nearby districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159870