Senate Bill 142: Clarify taxable software definition
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to clarify that when one person grants another the right to use “prewritten computer software,” this is not subject to the state “use tax” that is imposed on the sale or consumption of tangible personal property.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667310
Senate Bill 143: Clarify taxable software definition
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to clarify that when one person grants another the right to use “prewritten computer software,” this is not subject to sales tax.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667311
Senate Bill 301: Establish and impose minimum indigent defense standards
Passed 102 to 7 in the House on June 20, 2013, to revise the law that requires a court to assign counsel to an indigent person charged with a criminal offense so it conforms with the indigent defense reforms proposed by House Bill 4529.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667370
Senate Bill 380: Revise foreclosure restrictions
Passed 103 to 6 in the House on June 20, 2013, to prohibit a lender from using “foreclosure by advertisement” of a principal residence (the most common form of foreclosure, less costly and prolonged than judicial foreclosure) if the lender complied with federal regulations regarding mortgage servicer policies and procedures, or a “modification agreement” had been made between the debtor and the person who lent the money (or to whom the loan was sold or transferred). The bill revises a 2009 law that imposed a mandate that lenders must give a delinquent debtor 90 days to negotiate a revision of the loan terms.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667388
Senate Bill 383: Revise foreclosure restrictions
Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to clarify the right of a mortgage foreclosure auction property buyer to monitor the property during the post-auction redemption period, and specify physical evidence that would suggest abandonment and therefore trigger a shorter redemption period during which the delinquent borrower is entitled to redeem the property.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667339
Senate Bill 383: Revise foreclosure restrictions
Passed 59 to 50 in the House on June 20, 2013, to clarify the right of a mortgage foreclosure auction property buyer to monitor the property during the post-auction redemption period, and specify physical evidence that would suggest abandonment and therefore trigger a shorter redemption period during which the delinquent borrower is entitled to redeem the property.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667393
House Bill 4080: Transfer state prison land to Kinross County
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on June 20, 2013, to give certain state Corrections Department land in Kinross County to the county or another local government, to use for public purposes. Also, to sell former corrections property in Schoolcraft County called “Camp Manistique” for fair market value.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667397
House Bill 4080: Transfer state prison land to Kinross County
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to give certain state Corrections Department land in Kinross County to the county or another local government, to use for public purposes. Also, to sell former corrections property in Schoolcraft County called “Camp Manistique” for fair market value.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667333
House Bill 4112: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to authorize more spending to accommodate the proposal in House Bill 374 to create a school violence “hotline” manned 24 hours a day all year long to collect “confidential reports of unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=152566
House Bill 4112: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Passed 106 to 3 in the House on June 20, 2013, to make a number of adjustments to amounts already appropriated for various purposes, to reflect, among other things, reduced welfare and Medicaid caseloads. Also, to appropriate additional funds for various state departments and programs. All told, the bill reflects spending reductions of nearly $675 million, and spending increases of around $40 million. It also authorizes increasing government debt by $81.5 million to pay for proposed state university and college construction projects.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667374
House Bill 4540: Grant industrial plant rehab tax break for particular developer
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 20, 2013, to allow several exceptions to the usual requirements for an Industrial Plant Rehabilitation tax break, making some particular facility eligible, when under current statute they would not be.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667331
House Bill 4668: Increase hunting and fishing license fees
Passed 24 to 14 in the Senate on June 19, 2013, to revise the structure of hunting and fishing license fees in a manner that would increase license fees for most sportsmen. For example, the cost for a resident to hunt deer would go from $15 to $31, and the minimum fishing license cost would increase from $15 to $26. The House Fiscal Agency reports this would extract an additional $19.7 million annually from sportsmen. For details on specific licenses see their analysis.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667285
House Bill 4707: Revise privatization procedural detail
Passed 58 to 51 in the House on June 20, 2013, to require that if a state agency solicits bids from contractors to privatize services that are currently provided by state employees, it must disclose to potential bidders all “applicable formulas” that will be used to compare the bids to the state’s current actual costs, but would not be required to divulge the state’s actual costs. Until the contract is awarded the cost information would also be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=667384
House Bill 4844: Repeal ban on public schools starting before Labor Day
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on June 18, 2013, to repeal a ban on public schools starting their school year “before Labor Day,” and instead just prohibit them from having class on the Friday before Labor Day.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159965
House Bill 4845: Authorize early high school graduation scholarships
Introduced by Rep. Frank Foster (R) on June 18, 2013, to reduce the amount of per-pupil state school aid paid to a school district when a high school student graduates in three and a half years instead of four years. Districts would have to report early graduations to the state, and if they did not the state could “dock” them for a full year’s aid payment for that student, rather than the half-year amount the bill proposes. The money saved from these reductions would go into the scholarship fund proposed by House Bill 4846.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159966
House Bill 4846: Authorize early high school graduation scholarships
Introduced by Rep. Frank Foster (R) on June 18, 2013, to authorize $2,500 state scholarships for students who graduate from a public high school in less than four years, using the money saved because they graduated early (as proposed by House Bill 4845).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159967
House Bill 4847
Introduced by Rep. Robert Genetski (R) on June 19, 2013, exclude incarcerated student performance data from school accreditation reports to allow public school districts to exclude from the reports used to “accredit” particular school buildings the graduation rates and other student performance data for students who are incarcerated for at least two days.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159976
House Bill 4848: Keep more government pre-contract bid information secret
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Haveman (R) on June 19, 2013, to revise details of a Freedom of Information Act exception that allows government bodies to not disclose contractor bids before contracts are awarded. The bill would expand the exception to include the public body’s “evaluation materials”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159977
House Bill 4849
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on June 19, 2013, Ban sanctions on schools with student group “achievement gaps” to prohibit the state Department of Education from “imposing any measures” on a public school that has an “achievement gap” between “any cohort of its highest achieving pupils and any cohort of its lowest-achieving pupils”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159978
House Bill 4850: Impose licensure on puppy breeders
Introduced by Rep. Sarah Roberts (D) on June 19, 2013, to impose licensure, regulation and $500 annual fees on “large scale commercial breeding kennels,” defined as ones where at least 15 female dogs are housed for purposes of breeding. This bill imposes the licensure mandate and House Bill 4851 imposes the regulations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159979
House Bill 4851: Impose licensure on puppy breeders
Introduced by Rep. Vicki Barnett (D) on June 19, 2013, to impose licensure, regulation and $500 annual fees on “large scale commercial breeding kennels,” defined as ones where more at least 15 female dogs are housed for purposes of breeding. This bill establishes the regulations and House Bill 4850 imposes the licensure mandate.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159980
House Bill 4852: Authorize local “trap-neuter-release” programs for feral cats
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on June 19, 2013, to allow local governments to establish programs to trap, neuter or spay, and then release feral cats.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159981
House Bill 4853: Allow multiple county 9-1-1 call centers
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on June 20, 2013, to allow counties to establish more than one 9-1-1 “primary public safety answering point” (PSAP), which are the communication facilities that receive and respond to 9-1-1 calls.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159998
House Bill 4854: Mandate employers give advance “mass layoff” notice
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) on June 20, 2013, to mandate that employers give workers, unions, state officials and local politicians a 90 day advance notice of “mass layoffs” or plant closings, and a 120 day notice if more than 250 employees are affected.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=159999
House Bill 4855: Expand lottery winner government debt garnishment
Introduced by Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R) on June 20, 2013, to revise a law that requires the state lottery bureau to deduct any unemployment overpayments, child support arrearages or debts to the state from the payments to a person who wins $1,000 or more. The bill would also require payment of any debt or liability to the state welfare department.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160000
House Bill 4856: Authorize charges for rescue of “grossly negligent” emergency victim
Introduced by Rep. Brandon Dillon (D) on June 20, 2013, to charge a person for the cost of providing rescue and emergency services during a state of emergency, if the rescue was due to the individual acting in manner deemed “grossly negligent” as defined in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160001
House Bill 4857: Authorize charges for rescue of “grossly negligent” emergency victim
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on June 20, 2013, to specify the costs that can be charged to a “grossly negligent” person who needs to be rescued during a local state of emergency as proposed by House Bill 4856.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160002
House Bill 4858: Require financial institutions help enforce welfare benefit restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on June 20, 2013, to require a bank that operates automatic teller machines in a casino, liquor store, or “adult entertainment establishment” to ensure it does not allow a person to use a welfare benefits “bridge card” to withdraw cash from those ATMs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160003
House Bill 4859: Require financial institutions help enforce welfare benefit restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on June 20, 2013, to require a savings bank that operates automatic teller machines in a casino, liquor store, or “adult entertainment establishment” to ensure it does not allow a person to use a welfare benefits “bridge card” to withdraw cash from those ATMs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160004
House Bill 4860: Require financial institutions help enforce welfare benefit restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on June 20, 2013, to require a credit union that operates automatic teller machines in a casino, liquor store, or “adult entertainment establishment” to ensure it does not allow a person to use a welfare benefits “bridge card” to withdraw cash from those ATMs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160005
House Bill 4861: Authorize “sporting swine” livestock, breeding and shooting operations
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 20, 2013, to allow, establish regulations, and authorize favored “agricultural” property tax status for commercial “sporting swine” livestock and shooting ranches.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160006
House Bill 4862: Authorize “sporting swine” livestock, breeding and shooting operations
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 20, 2013, to exempt privately-owned swine in commercial “sporting swine” shooting ranches from regular hunting seasons and regulations, and prohibit listing sporting swine as a prohibited or restricted (”invasive”) species.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160007
House Bill 4863: Authorize “sporting swine” livestock, breeding and shooting operations
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 20, 2013, to establish sentencing guidelines for violations of the regulations proposed by House Bill 4861 for commercial “sporting swine” livestock and shooting ranches.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160008
House Bill 4864: Authorize “sporting swine” livestock, breeding and shooting operations
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 20, 2013, to extend to privately owned “cervidae producers” (deer hunting ranches) the authority proposed by House Bill 4861 to create commercial “sporting swine” livestock and shooting ranches.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160009
House Bill 4865: Authorize mobile dental facilities
Introduced by Rep. Peter MacGregor (R) on June 20, 2013, to allow dental services to be provided in a mobile dental facility if the state grants a permit, subject to regulations and restrictions specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160010
House Bill 4866: Authorize new bicycle rider hand signals
Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R) on June 20, 2013, to establish new signals for bicycle riders. Left turns would be indicated by extending the left arm straight out; right turns by either extending the right arm, or the left arm with forearm raised (which is the current standard), and slowing or stopping by “extending the left hand and arm downward”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160011
House Bill 4867: Revise financial exploitation of vulnerable adult sentencing
Introduced by Rep. Tom Leonard (R) on June 20, 2013, to establish that “predatory conduct” committed before a “financial exploitation of a vulnerable person” offense may be considered in the sentencing guidelines for this crime, even if the conduct was directed at a law enforcement official posing as a potential victim.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160012
House Bill 4868: Let Flint impose higher city income tax
Introduced by Rep. Woodrow Stanley (D) on June 20, 2013, to allow Flint to raise its city income tax to 1.5 percent on residents and businesses, and 0.75 percent on nonresidents who work there. Under current law, cities are not allowed to impose individual income taxes higher than 1 percent for residents and 0.5 percent for non-residents (except for Detroit, which can and does impose a 2.4 percent/1.2 percent income tax rate).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160013
House Bill 4869: Revise radiologic personnel and machine regulation
Introduced by Rep. Ben Glardon (R) on June 20, 2013, to revise the law authorizing licensure and regulations for radiologic personnel and machines so that it conforms with federal law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160014
House Bill 4870: Let ISDs take over fiscally failed school districts
Introduced by Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D) on June 20, 2013, to give intermediate school districts the power take over fiscally failed school districts. The bill was introduced as an alternative to House 4813, now Public Act 96 of 2013, which gave the state this authority, and was itself introduced in response to the financial collapse of the Buena Vista and Inkster school districts shortly before the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160015
House Bill 4871: Let ISDs take over fiscally failed school districts
Introduced by Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D) on June 20, 2013, to give intermediate school districts the power take over fiscally failed school districts. The bill was introduced as an alternative to House 4813, now Public Act 96 of 2013, which gave the state this authority, and was itself introduced in response to the financial collapse of the Buena Vista and Inkster school districts shortly before the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160016
House Bill 4872: Revise firearms possession ban details
Introduced by Rep. Vicki Barnett (D) on June 20, 2013, to mandate that if an individual who possesses firearms is ordered by a court to no longer possess them as part of a personal protection order or condition of probation, then the person must either arrange for a law enforcement agency to store the firearms (for which it can charge a fee), sell or transfer them to a licensed dealer, or sell or transfer them to a private party who is not subject to a gun possession ban.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160017
House Bill 4873: Authorize municipal employee residency mandates
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on June 20, 2013, to revise a state law that prohibits municipalities from imposing residency mandates on employees, so that they can impose such a mandates during a new employee’s first seven years on the job.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160018
House Bill 4874: Revise septage service and site fees and regulations
Introduced by Rep. Ken Goike (R) on June 20, 2013, to revise details of a 2004 law establishing fees and regulations on septage waste services and sites.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160019
House Bill 4875: Ban low health insurance “actuarial” benefits
Introduced by Rep. Mike Callton (R) on June 20, 2013, to prohibit health insurance policies or HMO contracts from including benefits that require the beneficiary to pay more than 50 percent of the price of a medical service, or benefits with a deductible that the insurer “reasonably knows will not be met by at least 80 percent of the insureds or enrollees”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160020
House Bill 4876: Ban low health insurance “actuarial” benefits
Introduced by Rep. Bradford Jacobsen (R) on June 20, 2013, to prohibit Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance policies from including benefits that require the beneficiary to pay more than 50 percent of the price of a medical service, or benefits with a deductible that the insurer “reasonably knows will not be met by at least 80 percent of the insureds or enrollees”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160021
House Bill 4877: Ban low health insurance “actuarial” benefits
Introduced by Rep. Frank Foster (R) on June 20, 2013, to prohibit “third party administrator” type health insurance plans from including benefits that require the beneficiary to pay more than 50 percent of the price of a medical service, or benefits with a deductible that the insurer “reasonably knows will not be met by at least 80 percent of the insureds or enrollees”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160022
House Bill 4878: Establish “super voting precinct” pilot project
Introduced by Rep. Bradford Jacobsen (R) on June 20, 2013, to require the Secretary of State to establish a “super voter precinct” pilot project, which means voters can vote at any area polling place in their area, not just the one to which they are assigned. This would require a reliable “electronic poll book” and the ability for polling places to update it in real time as people vote, for which the bill prescribes standards and procedures. The bill would also authorize local governments to consolidate election administration functions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160023
House Bill 4879: Require state officials take school assessment tests
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on June 20, 2013, to require legislators, the governor, state board of education members and the state superintendent of public instruction to take the state student assessment tests given to third, eighth, and eleventh graders, and post their scores online.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160024
House Bill 4880: Revise community and county mental health service governance details
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 20, 2013, to revise details of how board members are selected by community and county mental health services program, and details of which public entity is responsible for retirement benefits granted to employees of these government programs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160025
House Bill 4881: Make marriage name change provisions gender neutral
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 20, 2013, to explicitly state in statute that the parties in a marriage are not required to use the same last name, and in general make this law “gender neutral.” A man could adopt the woman’s last name, a woman could adopt the man’s, either party could adopt a hyphenated name, or everyone could just keep their original last name.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160026
House Bill 4882: Revised delinquent property tax payment
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 20, 2013, to allow the government of a “financially distressed community” to create a delinquent property tax installment plan for a “financially distressed person,” and waive the interest charges if the person actually pays-off the delinquent amounts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160027
House Bill 4883: Revise order of election contests on ballot
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 20, 2013, to change the order in which election contests are listed on the ballot, essentially placing the lowest office at the top of the ballot and the highest offices further down, with candidates for president coming last, and ballot proposals listed before candidate races.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160028
House Bill 4884: Expand state Treasurer tax dispute deal making authority
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 20, 2013, to empower the state treasurer to settle a disputed criminal or civil tax matter involving tax or penalty amounts up to $50,000, and to settle disputes over larger amounts if the proposed settlement is submitted to the Attorney General for review.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160029
House Bill 4885: Cut tax on gas and oil “fracking”
Introduced by Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R) on June 20, 2013, to reduce the 5 percent “severance tax” or royalty paid to the state on oil and gas extracted from state land to 3.3 percent for oil and 3 percent for gas if these are produced using “enhanced recovery” technology, presumably including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160030
House Bill 4886: Require lottery to solicit “management services” bids
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on June 20, 2013, to require the state lottery to solicit bids for “lottery management services”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160031
House Bill 4887: Require all property tax millage votes be on November general election ballot
Introduced by Rep. Dan Lauwers (R) on June 20, 2013, to require all property tax millage elections to be held on the November general election date, rather than the February, May or August election dates when voter turnout is far lower.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160032
House Bill 4888: Ban using credit scores in insurance pricing
Introduced by Rep. Theresa Abed (D) on June 20, 2013, to prohibit the use of an individual’s credit score by an insurance company to determine his or her insurance premium price.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160033
House Bill 4889: Increase drug trafficking penalties
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 20, 2013, to revise the state sentencing guidelines so they allow increased penalties for illegal drug convictions involving travel from another state with the intent to deliver.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=160034