Posted on 12/09/2012 5:00:49 AM PST by cripplecreek
Make Michigan a "right-to-work" state: Passed 58 to 52 in the House To prohibit employers from enforcing a union contract provision that compels employees to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment. The bill also includes a $1 million appropriation to make it "referendum-proof." All Democrats voted "no" and all Republicans voted "yes" except for Reps. Forlini, Goike, Horn, McBroom, Somerville and Zorn.
, Make Michigan a "right-to-work" state: Passed 22 to 16 in the Senate The Senate vote on the same "right-to-work" measure described above. All Democrats voted "no" and all Republicans voted "yes" except for Sens. Casperson, Green, Nofs and Rocca.
, Extend "right-to-work" to government and school employees: Passed 22 to 4 in the Senate To prohibit Michigan governments and schools from enforcing a union contract provision that compels employees to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment.
, Subsidize new Red Wings Stadium: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate To allow property tax revenue "captured" by the Detroit "Downtown Development Authority" to pay the debt on money borrowed to provide taxpayer subsidies for a particular developer's new sports stadium and associated projects (Mike Ilitch). The bill would also exempt DDAs from property and other taxes, and revise details of public officials' appointments to DDA boards.
, Create Detroit streetlight authority: Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate To authorize a Detroit streetlight authority with the power to borrow money to restore the city's streetlights, 70 percent of which are reportedly out. The bill requires passage of House Bill 5705, which would let Detroit earmark current utility tax revenue to pay off the new debt, and Senate Bill 970, which would suspend a required city income tax reduction until the new debt is paid off. It also allows Detroit's city unions to bargain for the unionization of the authority's employees.
, Create Detroit regional mass transit authority: Passed 57 to 50 in the House To create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority covering Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, and potentially others. Among other powers, the authority could levy property taxes (special assessments) and higher local vehicle registration taxes if approved by a majority of voters in the region, meaning a particular community could not “opt out” of the tax increase. The authority would be specifically authorized to create “rolling rapid transit” corridors along some streets and highways, potentially with dedicated lanes that other motorists could not use. It would be run by a board appointed by the counties and the City of Detroit.
, Authorize Detroit regional transit vehicle registration tax: Passed 57 to 50 in the House To give the regional transit authority proposed by Senate Bill 909 (above) the power to impose a higher vehicle registration tax in the region to pay for buses and other public transportation. A vote of the people would be required, but if approved region-wide the tax would still be imposed on individual communities that vote against it (no local "opt-out").
, Ban abortion coverage from "Obamacare“ exchange: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate To prohibit health insurance acquired (and subsidized) through an “exchange” created under the federal health care law from including coverage for elective abortion.
, Give county officials power to halt recall as "non-factual": Passed 65 to 43 in the House To require county election commissions to determine whether the reasons for a recall petition are stated both "factually and clearly." Under current law, they must simply determine whether the recall language is clear. Note: This may violate Article 8, Section 8 of Michigan's constitution, which asserts that recallers don't have to justify their reasons, but only make them clear.
, Require parental permission to place student with "ineffective" teacher: Passed 60 to 49 in the House To require a public school district to get the written consent of a parent or guardian before placing a child in a classroom with a teacher who is rated “ineffective” under a new state rating system.
Authorize “essential services” tax on industrial plants: Passed 57 to 52 in the House To give local governments the power to impose targeted property taxes on industrial and commercial property deemed by the bill to be “especially benefited” by fire, police and ambulance services. This would replace some of the revenue from proposed reductions in the property tax imposed on business tools and equipment ("personal property tax").
, Repeal BCBS tax exemption, regulate like other insurers: Passed 61 to 49 in the House To convert Blue Cross Blue Shield into a “nonprofit mutual insurance company” (technically "owned" by the policy holders), make it subject to the same regulations as regular health insurers, and no longer exempt BCBS from state and local taxes.
, Give special treatment to firms submitting to “environmental leader” process: Passed 65 to 43 in the House To give certain businesses special treatment in awarding state contracts, eligibility for government subsidies, environmental permit and inspection mandates, and more, if the firm submits itself to a government “environmental leader” designation process. This would require a company to demonstrate that it has no outstanding permit violations or serious past ones, adopt certain practices not required by law, submit to certain additional reporting mandates, participate in “workshops,” etc.
House Bill 5082: Authorize new specialty plate; give profits to Lions Club
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on December 1, 2015, to authorize a Lions Club specialty license plate, with the net revenue going to the Lions Club.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170646
House Bill 5083: Authorize new specialty plate; give profits to K of C
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on December 1, 2015, to authorize a new Knights of Columbus specialty license plate, with the profits delivered to that organization.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170647
House Bill 5084: Increase senior hunting license discounts
Introduced by Rep. John Chirkun (D) on December 1, 2015, to give free small game hunting licenses (“base†licenses) to individuals age 65 and up, and increase the senior discount for deer, turkey or trapping licenses from 60 percent to 80 percent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170648
House Bill 5085: Make abortion “informed consent†warnings optional
Introduced by Rep. Sarah Roberts (D) on December 1, 2015, to make various abortion “informed consent†and coercion-screening requirements optional if a physician or qualified assistant makes a “good-faith medical†that compliance is “medically inappropriate for the patientâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170649
House Bill 5086: Criminalize selling aborted fetuses or body parts
Introduced by Rep. John Bizon (R) on December 1, 2015, to make it a crime to receive a financial benefit or any type of compensation for an embryo, fetus or neonate, including organs, tissues, or cells, if this was obtained as the result of an elective abortion.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170650
House Bill 5087: Criminalize selling aborted fetuses or body parts
Introduced by Rep. John Bizon (R) on December 1, 2015, to establish sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by House Bill 5086 of selling aborted fetuses or their body parts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170651
House Bill 5088: Create veteran’s facility ombudsman office
Introduced by Rep. Winnie Brinks (D) on December 1, 2015, to create a state veteran’s facility ombudsman office.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170652
House Bill 5089: Revise emergency manager detail
Introduced by Rep. Frank Liberati (D) on December 1, 2015, to revise the law that authorizes a state-appointed emergency manager for a municipality that is heading for financial collapse due to persistently borrowing to cover spending more than the tax revenue they collect, by deleting a ban on the municipality’s governing body repealing any ordinance or order of the emergency manager for one year after the state receivership ends.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170653
House Bill 5090: Prohibit mandating that licensed doctors also be “board certifiedâ€
Introduced by Rep. Edward Canfield (R) on December 1, 2015, to prohibit insurance companies from requiring a physician to hold one of the various professional association “board certifications†as a condition for paying or reimbursing a patient treatment claim, unless this is specifically required for licensure. Also, to prohibit hospitals from requiring this as a condition of granting “admitting privilegesâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170654
House Bill 5091: Prohibit mandating that licensed doctors also be “board certifiedâ€
Introduced by Rep. Edward Canfield (R) on December 1, 2015, to prohibit insurance companies from requiring a physician to hold one of the various professional association “board certifications†as a condition for paying or reimbursing a patient treatment claim, unless this is specifically required for licensure.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170655
House Bill 5092: Revise details of community service for “bad driver taxâ€
Introduced by Rep. Alberta Tinsley Talabi (D) on December 1, 2015, to revise a 2014 law that allowed a person to do “community service†in lieu of paying a state “bad driver tax†for certain offenses that was imposed as a revenue-raising measure by a 2003 law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170656
House Bill 5093: Require more water and sewer department reports and disclosures
Introduced by Rep. Julie Plawecki (D) on December 1, 2015, to require water and sewer departments or providers to submit annual reports to the state listing their rates and method for setting them, average bill for households of different size, number and details of delinquent payment shutoffs, the categories of rate payers and exempt users, and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170657
House Bill 5094: Specify methodology for municipal water testing
Introduced by Rep. Sheldon Neeley (D) on December 1, 2015, to require municipal water departments or providers to perform required water quality tests using procedures specified by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170658
House Bill 5095: Revise sanctions for tampering with water meter
Introduced by Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D) on December 1, 2015, to revise the state sentencing guidelines to reflect the sanctions proposed by House Bill 5096 for tampering with a water utility line to avoid a non-payment shutoff.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170659
House Bill 5096: Revise sanctions for tampering with water meter
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on December 1, 2015, to authorize sanctions for tampering with a water utility line in order to avoid water being shut off for not paying water bills. Sanctions would include 100 hours of “community service†for a first offense, a $500 fine for a second offense, and criminal misdemeanor charge for a third violation.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170660
House Bill 5097: Subsidize some people’s water bills
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on December 1, 2015, to create a new government program to subsidize low income household water bills, funded by a voluntary contribution “checkoff†that water utilities would be required to include on customer bills (and potentially by tax dollars also).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170661
House Bill 5098: Mandate giving spina bifida information
Introduced by Rep. Hank Vaupel (R) on December 1, 2015, to new parents to mandate that a physician or other medical provider give an expecting mother or new parent specified information about spina bifida is this is detected in a fetus or newborn.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170662
House Bill 5099: Increase delinquent title transfer fine
Introduced by Rep. Hank Vaupel (R) on December 1, 2015, to increase the penalty for failing to complete the transfer of vehicle title within 15 days of a transaction, from $15 to $25.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170663
House Bill 5100: Revise emergency manager detail
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on December 1, 2015, to revise the law that authorizes a “receivership transition advisory board†after a state-appointed emergency manager has reorganized the finances of a fiscally failed municipality or school district. The bill would prohibit the emergency manager from being appointed as a voting member of this board.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170664
House Bill 5101: Assert “right†to drinking water
Introduced by Rep. Julie Plawecki (D) on December 1, 2015, to assert in statute that each person has a “right†to “safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water†for cleaning, cooking and drinking. Presumably this would impose a duty on others to pay the water bills of a person can’t or won’t pay for the service.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170665
House Bill 5102: Put more fire representatives on construction code commission
Introduced by Rep. Gary Glenn (R) on December 1, 2015, to increase fire service representation on the state construction code commission, and on certain other government advisory committees.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170666
House Bill 5104: Replace crime of disorderly begging with civil offense
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on December 1, 2015, to abolish begging in a public place as a disorderly conduct crime, and replace it with the law proposed by House Bill 5103 that authorizes a $100 civil fine for “aggressive solicitation†as defined in that bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170668
House Bill 5105: Extend Medicaid health insurance claims tax
Passed 83 to 23 in the House on December 8, 2015, to extend until 2024 the 2017 sunset on a 6 percent tax on the managed care health care providers (hospitals) that provide most Medicaid services, which is designed to “game†the federal Medicaid program in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare establishment (including those same hospitals).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719363
House Bill 5106: Revise National Guard call-up law
Introduced by Rep. Tom Barrett (R) on December 2, 2015, to make more explicit the current legal authority of the Governor or state Adjutant General to activate the Michigan National Guard for emergencies or defense, by adding that this may be done “in support of the full-time operation of the state military establishment.†Call-ups to active duty for this purpose would have to be reported to the legislature with the names of Guard members who have served more than 15 days on active duty for it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170679
House Bill 5107: Require human trafficking notices
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on December 2, 2015, at specified places to require that notices be posted at every state and local highway rest stop or welcome facility, at all train and bus stations, and at adult entertainment establishments, to the effect that forced servitude is unlawful and victims or others should call a state hotline shown on the notice.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170680
House Bill 5108: Authorize a “snowsports industry†license plate, give profits to industry group
Introduced by Rep. Lee Chatfield (R) on December 2, 2015, to authorize a “snowsports industry†specialty license plate, and give the profits to a trade and lobbyist organization called the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170706
House Bill 5109: Give tax break to some conservation clubs
Introduced by Rep. Jim Tedder (R) on December 3, 2015, to exempt from property taxes conservation clubs that allow their facilities to be used for charitable purposes at least 55 days a year.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170693
House Bill 5110: Impose additional water service billing requirements
Introduced by Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D) on December 3, 2015, to require water and sewer departments to send bills within 10 days of the end of a billing period; and waive the charges for a consumer who doesn’t get a bill and calls or emails twice with no response.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170694
House Bill 5111: Give some public safety personnel income tax exemption
Introduced by Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D) on December 3, 2015, to exempt full time police, firefighters and EMTs from income tax on up to $33,530 of income on a single return and $45,295 on a joint return. A state law passed in 1999 prohibited cities from mandating that public safety workers live in the jurisdiction that employs them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170695
House Bill 5112: Restrict residential water “cross connection†inspections
Introduced by Rep. Ken Yonker (R) on December 3, 2015, to restrict local governments from imposing a requirement that a “testable backflow preventer†on a residential lawn sprinkler system be inspected more than once every three years after initial installation, with certain specified inspections. This refers to a state regulation intended to prevent cross-contamination of municipal water supply systems.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170696
House Bill 5113: Restrict liens on delinquent water service bills
Introduced by Rep. Laura Cox (R) on December 3, 2015, to make liens imposed by a municipal water or sewage system on the property of someone who doesn’t pay their bills unenforceable until 10 years later. Under current law these liens can’t be enforced for three years.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170697
House Bill 5114: Make election days a government holiday
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on December 3, 2015, to establish that the three regular state dates for all elections in May, August, and November are state holidays, which among other things would probably mean that most government employees would get the day off.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170698
House Bill 5116: Allow more municipal taxes and debt for “energy efficiency†loans
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on December 3, 2015, to households to allow local governments to take on additional “general obligation†debt to pay for a program authorized by a 2010 law that allows them to lend money to a property owner money for “energy efficiency improvements†or a “renewable energy system.†Under current law a local government may not obligate taxpayers to repay the money borrowed to make these loans, but must use money from special assessments levied on the beneficiaries, or find money from some other source. The bill would also remove a requirement that a homeowner’s mortgage lender must agree to the homeowner adding this additional debt and tax burden.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170700
House Bill 5117: Move governor election to same year as presidential
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on December 3, 2015, to transition Michigan governor elections to the same years as U.S. presidential elections. The bill would do this by making the term just two years long for whoever is elected governor in 2022.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170701
House Bill 5118: Let some counties pay less mental health costs
Introduced by Rep. Aaron Miller (R) on December 3, 2015, to require the state to examine county demographics, unemployment rates, and poverty levels when considering whether to create an exception that allows a particular county to not pay its share of the cost of government mental health system costs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170702
House Bill 5119: Revise domestic violence program detail
Introduced by Rep. Sheldon Neeley (D) on December 3, 2015, to change references to the state welfare agency (now labeled “Department of Health and Human Servicesâ€) in a law authorizing government domestic violence prevention programs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170703
House Bill 5120: Require timely notifications of municipal water system problems
Introduced by Rep. Sheldon Neeley (D) on December 3, 2015, to require public water supply users to notify users within 72 hours if the water does not comply with specified state regulations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170704
Senate Bill 625: Impose oral chemotherapy insurance mandate
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on December 1, 2015, to impose a new coverage mandate that would require insurance companies to include coverage for orally administered chemotherapy in all their health insurance policies that provide for cancer chemotherapy treatments, without requiring any dollar limit, deductible or co-pay for these that does not apply to other treatments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170639
Senate Bill 626: Expand scope of deed tax
Introduced by Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D) on December 1, 2015, to expand the reach of a law authorizing a tax on property transfer deeds, by adding provisions related to the transfer of a “controlling interest†in a company that owns real property.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170640
Senate Bill 627: Authorize “public-private agreements†with broad powers and scope
Introduced by Sen. Mike Kowall (R) on December 1, 2015, to give state and local government agencies the power to create a “public authority†with a private person under a “public-private agreement,†for purposes of building transportation facilities; water, sewer, power, or communications utilities; hospitals, courts, jails, parks, and more; or to do anything else that “serves a public purpose.â€
These “partnership authorities†would have the power to impose property tax levies, borrow, take private property using eminent domain, levy tolls and user fees and more, for up to 50 years, and their projects would be exempt from property taxes. Among (many) other things this would authorize new toll roads or “toll lanes.†The government agency involved could choose the private sector actor without necessarily having to accept the lowest bid.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170641
Senate Bill 628: Authorize “photo-cop†and license suspension for not paying toll road toll
Introduced by Sen. Mike Kowall (R) on December 1, 2015, to authorize the use of automated, unmanned traffic monitoring devices for issuing tickets to individuals who fail to pay the toll on a toll roads and other fees as proposed by Senate Bill 627. Tickets would be sent by mail for up to nine months after the violation, and penalties for non-payment include drivers license suspension. The bill would give the “public-private agreements†that SB 627 would create the power to garnish wages, impound vehicles, attach liens to property and more in pursuit of unpaid tolls.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170642
Senate Bill 629: Expand law barring parental rights to rapist
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 2, 2015, to revise a law that prohibits granting custody of a child to a person convicted of rape, by expanding the criteria to include men convicted of criminal sexual conduct that resulted in a child being conceived.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170673
Senate Bill 630: Require voters approve local “judgement leviesâ€
Introduced by Sen. Mike Shirkey (R) on December 2, 2015, to restrict power of a local government to impose a property tax to pay the damages ordered by a judge in a lawsuit against the local has lost or settled. Among other things a local “judgment levy†property tax increase would have to approved by voters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170674
Senate Bill 631: Require voters approve local “judgement leviesâ€
Introduced by Sen. Mike Shirkey (R) on December 2, 2015, to revise the state property tax law to conform to the proposal in Senate Bill 630 to restrict the power of a local government to impose a property tax to pay damages ordered by a judge in a lawsuit against it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170675
Senate Bill 632: Revise appeals court jurisdiction
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on December 2, 2015, to give the state court of appeals jurisdiction on appeals of probate court orders and judgments, with some exceptions (see Senate Bill 633).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170676
Senate Bill 633: Revise appeals court jurisdiction
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on December 2, 2015, to preclude appeals of certain procedures related to probate court proceedings.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170677
Senate Bill 634: Exempt police body camera recordings from disclosure
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 3, 2015, to exempt police body camera recordings from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170683
Senate Bill 635: Allow some discounted non-resident hunting fees
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on December 3, 2015, to allow a 50 percent hunting license fee discount for non-residents who own land in this state, or for someone who previously lived here for at least 10 years and is accompanied by a relative who still lives here.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170684
Senate Bill 636: Authorize aquatic vegetation tool tax break
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on December 3, 2015, to exempt tools and equipment used to harvest, handle, process or package aquatic vegetation from the property tax that is levied on business tools and equipment (“personal property taxâ€).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170685
Senate Bill 637: Expand grass seed seller regulations
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on December 3, 2015, to revise details of a law that imposes a testing and labeling mandate on grass seed sellers. The bill would add rules for “cool season lawn and turf†seed mixtures.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170686
Senate Bill 638: Revise campaign finance law
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on December 3, 2015, to establish a new type of campaign finance committee called an “independent expenditure committee,†and more clearly define “independent expenditure†and rules against these kinds of committees coordinating with a candidate (which in that case would make expenditure not be considered “independentâ€).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170687
Senate Bill 639: Revise election law details
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on December 3, 2015, to revise a number of details of campaign finance regulations. Among other things the bill would preempt local governments from regulating election-related activity unless a measure is explicitly authorized by state election law; specify additional details related to first-time voting by individuals who register by mail; require daily reporting by county clerks of who has already voted absentee before an election; and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170688
Senate Bill 640: Repeal law banning non-residents collecting recall petition signatures
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on December 3, 2015, to repeal a requirement that recall election petitions may only be circulated by a registered Michigan voter.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170689
Senate Bill 641: Clarify “telephone and telegraph company†assessments
Introduced by Sen. Mike Shirkey (R) on December 3, 2015, to clarify assessment details related to the part of “telephone and telegraph company†property that is exempt from property tax.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170690
House Bill 5103: Prohibit and define “aggressive solicitation†(begging)
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on December 1, 2015, to prohibit various actions and behaviors specified in the bill by people who are begging for money or other things of value.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170667
House Bill 5115: Create rules on school “integrated student support services†spending
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on December 3, 2015, to create rules for school districts contracting with outside entities to provide “integrated student support servicesâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170699
Senate Bill 151: Repeal deadline on prisoner DNA evidence appeals
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to repeal a Jan. 1, 2016 deadline for a prisoner to appeal his or her conviction on the basis evidence generated by new DNA testing technology.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719355
Senate Bill 400: Regulate liquid industrial waste “byproductsâ€
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to revise details of environment law regulations on “liquid industrial waste†so that they also apply to “by-products†of this. Among other things the bill would permit septage waste or liquid industrial by-products to be spread on fields (subject to various restrictions) but only if authorized by the state environmental regulators.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719356
Senate Bill 401: Regulate liquid industrial waste “byproductsâ€
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to revise details of environment law regulations on “liquid industrial waste†so that they also apply to “by-products†of this, as detailed in Senate Bill 400. This bill revises state regulations on hazardous material transporters to reflect this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719357
Senate Bill 402: Regulate liquid industrial waste “byproductsâ€
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to revise details of environment law regulations on “liquid industrial waste†so that they also apply to “by-products†of this, as detailed in Senate Bill 400. This bill revises state sentencing guidelines to reflect those changes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719358
Senate Bill 481: Authorize school recreation millage
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on December 8, 2015, to revise the law which authorizes recreational authorities to be created by several local governments, so that the districts could be organized by a school district. The authorities have the power to levy up to one-mill of property tax for swimming pools, recreation centers, public auditoriums, public conference centers, and parks, upon the approval of voters in each municipality in which the school district is located. The law itself is silent on whether the recreational facilities of an authority may be located at a school, or may be school facilities themselves, but it does require them to be open to the public.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719316
Senate Bill 482: Require “reasonable efforts†to keep siblings together in foster care
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on December 8, 2015, to require child welfare authorities to make “reasonable efforts†to keep siblings together in foster care placements and adoptions and if this can’t be done, to provide for frequent sibling visitation, unless these things would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719317
Senate Bill 483: Require “reasonable efforts†to keep siblings together in foster care
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on December 8, 2015, to require child welfare authorities to make “reasonable efforts†to keep siblings together in foster care placements and adoptions and if this can’t be done, to provide for frequent sibling visitation, unless these things would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719318
Senate Bill 485: Define “frequent parenting time†for foster children
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on December 8, 2015, to require children in foster care to have “parenting time†at least once a week, unless a court determines that even supervised time with the child’s parent may be harmful to the child’s life, physical health, or mental well-being. Current law requires “frequent†parenting time but does not define this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719319
Senate Bill 529: Revise guardianship detail
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to revise a law that authorizes a family court to place an abused or neglected minor with grandparents or other relatives who are willing to care for the child. The bill would allow a “successor†guardian to be named in case the first one dies or becomes incapacitated.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719359
Senate Bill 530: Revise foster care detail
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 8, 2015, to establish that for purposes of the law that authorizes placing an abused or neglected child in foster care, a stepparent, ex-stepparent, or the parent who shares custody of a half-sibling is considered a relative for the purpose of foster care placement. Also, to define “sibling” in that law as child who is related through birth or adoption by at least one common parent, and that “sibling†includes that term as defined by the American Indian or Alaskan native child’s tribal code or custom.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719360
House Bill 4990: Expand local government “energy efficiency†financing schemes
Passed 102 to 4 in the House on December 8, 2015, to expand the things cities can spend money on under a scheme that lets them contract with vendors for energy efficiency projects and pay for them with money the projects are supposed to save (or from regular tax revenue if savings don’t appear). The bill would allow locals to spend on information technology and utility projects they assert are related to the energy saving scheme, and would also expand the types of deals they can make with vendors to include “lease-purchase†agreements described in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719350
House Bill 4991: Expand local government “energy efficiency†financing schemes
Passed 102 to 4 in the House on December 8, 2015, to expand the things villages can spend money on under a scheme that lets them contract with vendors for energy efficiency projects and pay for them with money the projects are supposed to save (or from regular tax revenue if savings don’t appear). The bill would allow villages to spend on information technology and utility projects they assert are related to the energy saving scheme, and would also expand the types of deals they can make with vendors to include “lease-purchase†agreements described in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719351
House Bill 4992: Expand local government “energy efficiency†financing schemes
Passed 102 to 4 in the House on December 8, 2015, to expand the things villages can spend money on under a scheme that lets them contract with vendors for energy efficiency projects and pay for them with money the projects are supposed to save (or from regular tax revenue if savings don’t appear). The bill would allow villages to spend in information technology and utility projects they assert are related to the energy saving scheme, and would also expand the types of deals they can make with vendors to include “lease-purchase†agreements described in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719352
House Bill 4993: Expand local government “energy efficiency†financing schemes
Passed 102 to 4 in the House on December 8, 2015, to expand the things townships can spend money on under a scheme that lets them contract with vendors for energy efficiency projects and pay for them with money the projects are supposed to save (or from regular tax revenue if savings don’t appear). The bill would allow townships to spend on information technology and utility projects they assert are related to the energy saving scheme, and would also expand the types of deals they can make with vendors to include “lease-purchase†agreements described in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719353
House Bill 4994: Expand local government “energy efficiency†financing schemes
Passed 102 to 4 in the House on December 8, 2015, to expand the things counties can spend money on under a scheme that lets them contract with vendors for energy efficiency projects and pay for them with money the projects are supposed to save (or from regular tax revenue if savings don’t appear). The bill would allow counties to spend in information technology and utility projects they assert are related to the energy saving scheme, and would also expand the types of deals they can make with vendors to include “lease-purchase†agreements described in the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719354
House Bill 5105: Extend Medicaid health insurance claims tax
Passed 83 to 23 in the House on December 8, 2015, to extend until 2024 the 2017 sunset on a 0.75 percent tax on health insurance claims, which is designed to “game†the federal Medicaid program in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare establishment.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719363
Senate Bill 13: Eliminate straight ticket ballot option
Passed 54 to 51 in the House on December 9, 2015, to eliminate the straight party ticket option from election ballots. The bill also contains a modest appropriation that exempts it from the possibility of opponents petitioning for a referendum on whether it should go into law if enacted.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719526
Senate Bill 105: Establish state drawbridge operations fund
Passed 33 to 5 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to create a state fund to subsidize the operational expenses of movable bridges (drawbridges, etc.), earmark some road tax revenue to the fund, and give the Department of Transportation regulatory authority over local moveable bridges.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719426
Senate Bill 187: Accommodate and regulate the “millionaire party†business
Passed 34 to 4 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, 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).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719425
Senate Bill 234: Revise corporate income tax detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to revise definitions and tax liability calculations under the state corporate income tax for financial institutions that operate in multiple states.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719427
Senate Bill 508: Criminalize posting revealing images on internet
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to make it a crime to post on the internet any sexually explicit picture, photograph or video of a person without his or her consent and with the intent to threaten, coerce or intimidate, if the material was obtained under circumstances that which a reasonable person would know were meant to remain private, subject to some specific exceptions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719429
Senate Bill 509: Criminalize posting revealing images on internet
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to make the crime proposed by Senate Bill 508 of posting of sexually explicit visual material of another person without consent subject to 93 days in jail for a first offense, and one year for subsequent offenses.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719430
Senate Bill 581: More clearly define registered sex offender restrictions
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to revise a provision in the sex offender registration law that prohibits individuals required to register from loitering within 300 feet of a school, with exceptions for valid purposes. The bill would also revise the disclosures individuals on this list must provide.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719428
Senate Bill 592: Revise organ removal detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to include a facility operated by a federally designated organ procurement organization among those in which the surgical removal of a human organ may be performed under state law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719431
Senate Bill 638: Revise campaign finance law
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to establish a new type of campaign finance committee called an “independent expenditure committee,†and more clearly define “independent expenditures†and the rules that prohibit committees like these from coordinating with a candidate (which wouldn’t be “independentâ€). These committees could contribute to ballot initiatives but not to candidates; contributions would not be subject to limits and could come from corporations and unions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719420
House Bill 4594: Expand public school non-enrolled student offerings to kindergarten
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to include kindergarten offerings under a law that allows a school district to offer part of its curricula to a private school or home-schooled student, and collect some state school aid money for the additional children who may participate.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719422
House Bill 4724: Allow no-reason absentee voting
Passed 59 to 46 in the House on December 9, 2015, to eliminate the requirement that a person give a specific reason for requesting an absentee ballot, and require an individual who applies in person for an absentee ballot to show a picture ID.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719527
House Bill 4790: Expand non-enrolled public school student offerings to kindergarten
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to include kindergarten offerings under a law that allows a school district to offer some classes to a private school or home-schooled student, and collect some state school aid money for the additional children who may participate.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719423
House Bill 4843: Give overdosing minors immunity if they turn themselves in
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to extend immunity from illegal drug laws for an overdosed minor who shows up at a health facility for observation or treatment. This would also apply to a friend who accompanies or assists the overdosed individual.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719421
House Bill 5017: Revise credit union law
Passed 104 to 2 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719465
House Bill 5018: Revise credit union law
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719466
House Bill 5019: Revise credit union law
Passed 89 to 17 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719467
House Bill 5020: Revise credit union law
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022, and addresses sections authorizing confidentiality and bank examiner access.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719468
House Bill 5021: Revise credit union law
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022, and addresses mergers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719469
House Bill 5022: Revise credit union law
Passed 104 to 1 in the House on December 9, 2015, to revise and update many details of the state regulatory regime that governs the ownership, management and operations of credit unions. The bill is part of a legislative package consisting of House Bills 5017 to 5022, and authorizes loan promotion raffles.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719495
House Bill 5121: Require indication that building uses “lightweight†construction
Introduced by Rep. Laura Cox (R) on December 8, 2015, to require the state bureau that promulgates and enforces building codes to create rules for designating when a commercial or multi-family building is constructed with “light frame truss-type†lightweight materials. Owners would have to place signs or symbols indicating this on the building where they would be visible to firefighters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170713
House Bill 5122: Restrict shutting off delinquent water service customers
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on December 8, 2015, to impose additional restrictions, disclosure requirements, and installment plan mandates, and a duty to facilitate low income households getting welfare subsidies, before a municipal water service can shut off service to someone who hasn’t paid their water bills. See also House Bill 5097.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170714
House Bill 5123: Mandate circuit interrupters in new construction
Introduced by Rep. Erika Geiss (D) on December 8, 2015, to mandate that new construction uses “arc-fault circuit interrupters†in the electrical system, and prescribe in statute specific details of where and how these must be installed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170715
House Bill 5124: Revise road tax snow removal distribution
Introduced by Rep. Joel Johnson (R) on December 8, 2015, to include seasonal county roads on which there is a primary residence in determining the distribution of snow removal funds in the state law that prescribes the distribution of state road money to local governments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170716
House Bill 5125: Require schools to adopt closed school policy
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on December 8, 2015, to require school districts to create policies and procedures for closing a particular school that include provisions regarding record keeping, timetables, notifications, disposition and securing of closed buildings and more. The Department of Education would be required to develop a model policy.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170717
House Bill 5126: Restrict administrative vaccination mandates
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on December 8, 2015, to prohibit the state Department of Health and Human Services from imposing school vaccination requirements that are more stringent than vaccination exemptions provided in current law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170718
House Bill 5127: Restrict administrative vaccination mandates
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on December 8, 2015, to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services from imposing school vaccination requirements that are more stringent than vaccination exemptions provided in current law and that prohibit some individuals from attending school.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170719
House Bill 5128: Allow some pension double-dipping by retired DNR employees
Introduced by Rep. Bruce Rendon (R) on December 9, 2015, to allow Department of Natural Resources retirees to collect a pension while also being compensated on a per diem basis by the department for “wildland fire management servicesâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170730
House Bill 5129: Revise driver’s ed content
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 9, 2015, to require drivers education classes to instruct students to move over for a car that has pulled over and has its flashers on.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170731
House Bill 5130: Exempt seasonal “hoop houses†from building code mandates
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on December 9, 2015, to exempt seasonal “hoop house†type greenhouses from state building code mandates, subject to specified conditions and exceptions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170732
House Bill 5131: Revise business tax detail
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Farrington (R) on December 9, 2015, to exempt certain “flow-through entity†type businesses from having to withhold individual income taxes on distributed income.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170733
House Bill 5132: Clarify responsibility for sales tax on marketing material
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Farrington (R) on December 9, 2015, to revise details of whether a seller has a duty to collect and remit sales and use taxes that may be owed on promotional material and services sold by a Michigan company to a buyer in another state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170734
House Bill 5133: Clarify responsibility for sales tax on marketing material
Introduced by Rep. Wendell Byrd (D) on December 9, 2015, to revise details of whether a seller has a duty to collect and remit sales and use taxes that may be owed on promotional material and services sold by a Michigan company to a buyer in another state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170735
House Bill 5134: Mandate discounts for Detroit drivers
Introduced by Rep. Brian Banks (D) on December 9, 2015, to mandate that auto insurers lower the rates charged in Detroit by 12 percent, and make various other changes to the state’s no fault auto insurance law. These include a cap on how much hospitals can charge to treat crash-related injuries, the creation of a new government insurance fraud authority paid for by assessments (taxes) on insurers, and more. See also House Bill 5135.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170736
House Bill 5135: Give insurers tax credit for Detroit car insurance discounts
Introduced by Rep. Brian Banks (D) on December 9, 2015, to give auto insurers a $500 tax credit for each of the discounts that House Bill 5134 mandates the company give to Detroit car owners.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170737
House Bill 5136: Authorize 5-mill “sinking fund” tax for school security and more
Introduced by Rep. Kristy Pagan (D) on December 9, 2015, to allow school districts to use a “sinking fund†property tax to pay for security improvements, and for any other “capital purchase.†Schools can currently levy a 5 mill sinking fund for 20 years but only use the money for a limited number of things.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170738
House Bill 5137: Rename a road
Introduced by Rep. Kristy Pagan (D) on December 9, 2015, to designate a portion of business US-12 in Wayne County the “Officer Gordon Lewis Stevens Memorial Highway”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170739
House Bill 5138: Revise government health care facility ownership form changes
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 9, 2015, to revise details of a law that prescribes regulations and procedures for a municipality converting government health care facilities corporations into nonprofit corporations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170740
House Bill 5139: Allow unequal share “joint tenancyâ€
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 9, 2015, to allow “joint tenant†property ownership where the tenants do not have equal shares. “Joint tenancy†means that if one owner cannot sell his or her share to an outsider (unlike the more prevalent “tenants in common†form of ownership), and if an owner dies his or her share is divided amongst the surviving owners (for which reason it is sometimes jokingly labeled “murder estateâ€).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170741
House Bill 5140: Revise assessor presumptions
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 9, 2015, to require tax assessors considering whether a change in the form of ownership of a parcel triggers a change in its taxable value, to “disregard any guideline or opinion of the state tax commission suggesting that, when in doubt, a transaction should be considered a transfer of ownership under this section.†This refers to the Proposal A taxable value “bump up†that occurs when property changes hands, wherein the basis for property tax assessments becomes a parcel’s state equalized value (market value) rather than its capped “taxable value.†Assessors would also have to send each owner of a parcel an explanation if they determine a change in the ownership form did trigger a taxable value “bump up.†See also House Bills 5139 and 5141.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170742
House Bill 5141: Revise principle residence property tax credit detail
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 9, 2015, to extend the Proposal A “homestead property tax†credit that exempts an individual’s principle residence from local school operating taxes (usually 18 mills) so that it also applies if the form of home ownership is a trust with the home occupant a the trust’s beneficiary.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170743
House Bill 5142: Authorize one-month license plates
Introduced by Rep. Tom Cochran (D) on December 10, 2015, to authorize one-month vehicle registrations (license plates) if a person has insurance for at least that length of time, and prohibit no fault auto insureance policies for a shorter period See also House Bills 5143 and 5144.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170746
House Bill 5143: Authorize one-month license plates
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on December 10, 2015, to require a person who buys an auto insurance policy for less than six months to pay for a full year’s worth the Personal Injury Protection insurance required by state law. See also House Bills5142 and 5144.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170747
House Bill 5144: Authorize one-month license plates
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on December 10, 2015, to establish that if an individual buys a vehicle on terms that require weekly installment payment to the seller, the seller must insure the vehicle at the buyer’s cost. See also House Bills 5142 and 5143.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170748
House Bill 5145: Require state give locals chance to buy surplus equipment
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on December 10, 2015, to require the state Department of Transportation give local governments the right of first refusal when it chooses to sell or dispose of surplus construction and maintenance equipment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170749
House Bill 5146: Increase penalty for importing deer carcass from disease zone
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on December 10, 2015, to increase the penalty for bringing a deer or elk carcass into Michigan from a place where chronic wasting disease has been detected in the wildlife population to a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $2,000.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170750
House Bill 5147: Permit bank and credit union loan raffles
Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R) on December 10, 2015, to allow banks and credit unions to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170751
House Bill 5148: Ban drones over Capitol
Introduced by Rep. George T. Darany (D) on December 10, 2015, to make it a criminal misdemeanor punishable by 90 days in jail or a civil violation with a $500 fine to fly a drone above the state Capitol grounds without permission from the appropriate authority.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170752
House Bill 5149: Create legislative agency oversight commission
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on December 10, 2015, to create a legislative oversight commission to monitor the performance of and need for particular state agencies.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170753
Senate Bill 171: Revise elderly or disabled housing provider tax break detail
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to establish procedures and timetables for a law that authorizes property tax exemptions on residences owned by a government or nonprofit entity for use solely by elderly or disabled families.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719559
Senate Bill 177: Mandate insurance ownership divestment disclosures
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 10, 2015, to mandate that a person with a controlling ownership interest in a Michigan insurance company who plans to divest that interest must submit a statement of intent to the state insurance bureau at least 30 days before the divestment, along with a statement describing the “enterprise risk†of the transaction, defined in the bill as the chances it will have a “material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity†of the insurer. The bill would also authorize public hearings and specify other procedures related to this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719609
Senate Bill 200: Authorize state subsidies to brokers selling certain stock portfolios
Passed 33 to 5 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to authorize state subsidies to investment brokers and dealers that market portfolios of companies “doing business in this state†in which at least 10 percent are firms that that employ 50 or fewer employees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719563
Senate Bill 352: Authorize “designated caregivers†for hospital patients
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to require hospitals to give a patient the opportunity to designate a friend or family member as the individual’s “designated caregiver.†Hospitals would have to notify this person when the patient is transferred or released, consult with them about the discharge plan, instruct them about the patient’s needs after discharge, etc.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719565
Senate Bill 472: Revise tobacco lawsuit assessment law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to revise details of the law that imposes assessments on tobacco companies that were not parties to 1998 tobacco lawsuit master settlement agreement (which compelled companies to pay hundreds of billions of dollars to states for decades into the future). Under this state law, tobacco companies that are not parties to the agreement must pay assessments to the state as if they were subject to the agreement’s terms.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719567
Senate Bill 473: Revise tobacco lawsuit assessment law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to require the Department of Treasury to share with the Attorney General information it obtains that is relevant to the enforcement of the law that imposes assessments on tobacco companies that were not parties to 1998 tobacco lawsuit master settlement agreement (which compelled companies to pay hundreds of billions of dollars to states for decades into the future).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719568
Senate Bill 476: Cap cigar tax
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to repeal the Oct. 1, 2016 sunset on a law that caps the tobacco tax imposed on cigars at 50 cents per cigar. In other words, if the bill becomes law the 50 cent cap would remain in effect.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719569
Senate Bill 500: Revise unemployment benefits employer assessment detail
Passed 60 to 46 in the House on December 10, 2015, to authorize a change in the formula that determines employer payroll tax assessments to a state fund that provides expeditious payment of unemployment benefits, based on whether the fund has sufficient money to cover expected claims.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719611
Senate Bill 507: Impose registration and reporting mandates on larger recyclers
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to impose registration and reporting mandates on recycling facilities that recycle more than 100 tons of material annually, with some specified exceptions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719570
Senate Bill 538: Revise unclaimed property law
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 10, 2015, to revise details of the state â€escheats law†that lets the state government take possession of unclaimed property if the owner does not claim it within three years. Among other changes the bill authorizes a streamlined audit process for some holders of unclaimed assets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719608
Senate Bill 552: Increase groundwater discharge permit fees
Passed 59 to 47 in the House on December 10, 2015, to increase groundwater discharge permit fees, and revise some details of this regulatory regime on enterprises that discharge wastewater onto the ground or into groundwater. The bill would authorize a different fee category for car washes, laundromats, seasonal RV parks and camps, and certain other small commercial facilities.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719607
Senate Bill 554: Track completion of mandated “continuing education†courses
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to allow the state to contract with a private company to provide an electronic tracking service to track the continuing education course completions of licensed health care providers for whom these courses are mandated.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719571
Senate Bill 578: Revise home mortgage lender requirements
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to replace a particular declaration required by a law that regulates and restricts home mortgage providers, with a booklet specified in the federal regulation this requirement is based on.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719564
Senate Bill 615: Revise tax captures under property tax judgement levies
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to prohibit revenue collected by a “judgment levy” property tax from being “captured†by a government entity funded by a “tax increment financing†scheme. Judgment levies are property taxes imposed on property owners in a particular school district or municipality that has lost or settled a big lawsuit.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719566
Senate Bill 642: Allow more municipal debt for home efficiency loans
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 8, 2015, to allow local governments to take on general obligation debt to pay for a program authorized by a 2010 law that allows them to lend money to a property owner for energy efficiency improvements or a renewable energy system. The bill would also remove a requirement that a homeowner’s mortgage lender must agree to the taking on the additional burden.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170709
Senate Bill 643: Assert a “right†to drinking water
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on December 8, 2015, to assert in statute that each person has a “right†to “safe, clean, affordable, and accessible waterâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170710
Senate Bill 644: Revise government health care facility ownership forms
Introduced by Sen. Jim Stamas (R) on December 8, 2015, to revise details of a law that prescribes regulations and procedures for a municipality converting government health care facilities corporations into nonprofit corporations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170711
Senate Bill 645: Ban misclassifying employees
Introduced by Sen. Mike Kowall (R) on December 8, 2015, to prohibit an employer from “misclassifying†an employee as an independent contractor, as defined by a 20-factor test announced by the Internal Revenue Service.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170712
Senate Bill 646: Authorize “second parent adoptionâ€
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 9, 2015, to provide for “second parent adoption†in Michigan law. This allows a party in a same-sex relationship to adopt his or her partner’s biological or adoptive child without terminating the other party’s legal status as a parent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170721
Senate Bill 647: Require CPR and defibrillation classes in high school
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on December 9, 2015, to mandate that public and private middle and high schools provide instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and awareness of automated external defibrillation, and prohibit a student from graduating unless he or she has successfully completed this instruction.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170722
Senate Bill 648: Revise principle residence property tax credit detail
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on December 9, 2015, to establish that the Proposal A “homestead property tax†credit that exempts an individual’s principle residence from local school operating taxes (usually 18 mills) also applies if the form of home ownership is a trust with the home occupant as the trust’s beneficiary.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170724
Senate Bill 649: Authorize “joint tenant†property ownership with unequal shares
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on December 9, 2015, to allow “joint tenant†property ownership where the tenants do not have equal shares. “Joint tenancy†means that if one owner cannot sell his or her share to an outsider (unlike the more prevalent “tenants in common†form of ownership), and if an owner dies his or her share is divided amongst the surviving owners.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170725
Senate Bill 650: Revise assessor presumptions
Introduced in the Senate on December 9, 2015, to require tax assessors considering whether a change in the form of ownership of a parcel triggers a change in its taxable value, to “disregard any guideline or opinion of the state tax commission suggesting that, when in doubt, a transaction should be considered a transfer of ownership under this section.†This refers to the Proposal A taxable value “bump up†that occurs when property changes hands, wherein the basis for property tax assessments becomes a parcel’s state equalized value (market value) rather than its capped “taxable value.†Assessors would also have to send each owner of a parcel an explanation if they determine a change in the ownership form did trigger a taxable value “bump up.†See also Senate Bill 649.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170726
Senate Bill 651: Revise forest property tax breaks
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 9, 2015, to establish and revise procedures for entering or transferring property to or from one government program that gives property tax breaks to owners of large commercial forest properties to another program that gives tax breaks to owners of smaller forested parcels. This is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 651 to 653 that would create a “transitional qualified forest property specific taxâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170727
Senate Bill 652: Revise forest property tax breaks
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 9, 2015, to establish and revise procedures for entering or transferring property to or from one government program that gives property tax breaks to owners of large commercial forest properties to another program that gives tax breaks to owners of smaller forested parcels. This is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 651 to 653 that would create a “transitional qualified forest property specific taxâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170728
Senate Bill 653: Revise forest property tax breaks
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on December 9, 2015, to establish and revise procedures for entering or transferring property to or from one government program that gives property tax breaks to owners of large commercial forest properties to another program that gives tax breaks to owners of smaller forested parcels. This is part of a package comprised of Senate Bills 651 to 653 that would create a “transitional qualified forest property specific taxâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170729
Senate Bill 654: Revise high school “dual enrollment†detail
Introduced by Sen. Mike Shirkey (R) on December 10, 2015, to revise program that allows public school students in high school to take a college course and get both college credits and high school graduation credit. The bill would give a student a choice to not accept the high school credit (which presumably might reduce the option to take another high school courses that fulfills the graduation requirement).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170755
Senate Bill 655: Restrict shutting off delinquent water service customers
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on December 10, 2015, to impose additional restrictions, disclosure requirements, and installment plan mandates, and a duty to facilitate low income households getting welfare subsidies, before a municipal water service can shut off service to someone who hasn’t paid their water bills. See also House Bill 5097.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170756
Senate Bill 656: Clarify “re-po†licensure scope
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 10, 2015, to clarify that the act of turning over uncollected bills to a bill collection agency for possible repossession actions, or subsequent communications with that agency, do not come under the regulations, restrictions, licensure requirements and more that apply to “re-po†activities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170757
Senate Bill 657: Clarify “re-po†licensure scope
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 10, 2015, to clarify that the act of turning over uncollected bills to a bill collection agency for possible repossession actions, or subsequent communications with that agency, do not come under the regulations, restrictions, licensure requirements and more that apply to “re-po†activities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170758
Senate Bill 658: Limit large carnivore breeding to zoos
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 10, 2015, to impose a regulatory regime prescribing extensive and detailed standards of care on keepers and breeders of large carnivores, with exceptions for shelters and some existing owners.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170759
Senate Bill 659: Revise foster care trust fund detail
Introduced by Sen. Peter MacGregor (R) on December 10, 2015, to revise management of a state “Foster Care Trust Fund” used to subsidize public or nonprofit programs intended to benefit children in foster care, by allowing the fund’s assets to be invested in the same way as government pension funds.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170760
Senate Bill 660: Codify state historic preservation office
Introduced by Sen. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 10, 2015, to formalize in statute a “state historic preservation office†created by former Gov. Jennifer Granholm in an executive order. Among other things the office would have power to disapprove exterior changes to certain structures on the state or national register of historic sites. See also Senate Bill 661.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170761
Senate Bill 661: Increase historical building DDA restrictions
Introduced by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D) on December 10, 2015, to require a downtown development authority that wants to make exterior changes to a property it owns, or a property owner who is getting DDA subsidies, in cases where the property is on the state or national register of historic sites, to get any changes approved by the state historic preservation office proposed by Senate Bill 660.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170762
Senate Bill 662: Require Detroit school district forensic audit
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on December 10, 2015, to require a forensic audit of the Detroit school district’s financial operations and records. A “forensic audit” means an audit designed to determine whether there has been any violation of law or generally accepted accounting principles.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170763
Senate Bill 663: Give certified nurses 60 days to renew expired certification
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on December 10, 2015, to give certified nurses aid 60 days to renew their certification when it expires.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170764
Senate Bill 664: Authorize more college subsidies
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on December 10, 2015, to authorize a pilot program that would have the state pay a student’s tuition at a state college or university if the student signs a contract to repay this by turning over a percentage of his or her gross income for a specified number of years after graduation. The colleges and universities would get the full tuition and fee payments from the state up front, but would be at risk if the student fails to graduate or make a decent living afterwards.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170765
Senate Bill 665: Criminalize leaving gun where minor can get it
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 10, 2015, to establish sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by Senate Bill 666 of leaving a firearm where a minor can get access to it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170766
Senate Bill 666: Criminalize leaving gun where minor can get it
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 10, 2015, to make it a crime to store or leave a firearm where it may be accessed by a minor, subject to five years in prison if a minor uses the gun to injure or kill himself or another, and lesser penalties if a minor takes the gun out in public, uses it in a threatening or careless manner, and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170767
Senate Bill 667: Revise recent alcohol marketing restriction changes
Introduced by Sen. Jim Stamas (R) on December 10, 2015, to prescribe additional regulations and restrictions on liquor manufacturers and distributors who want to provide “branded logo†products and displays to retailers for marketing purposes. The bill would also add to the list of specific branded logo items that Michigan government gives permission for, including “gravity feed racks, suction cups, cooler door attachments and tear pad holdersâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170768
Senate Bill 668: Expand scope or resisting arrest law
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on December 10, 2015, to add “reserve police officers†to the list of different kinds of law enforcement officers covered by a law that authorizes criminal penalties for resisting arrest, or obstructing and assaulting an officer.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170769
House Bill 4212: Eliminate sunset on road commission eliminations
Passed 26 to 10 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to extent until 2020 a Jan. 1, 2015 sunset on a 2011 law that provides procedures for eliminating a county road commission and transferring its duties to the county board.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719560
House Bill 4215: Eliminate sunset on road commission eliminations
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to extend until 2020 a Jan. 1, 2015 sunset on a 2011 law that provides procedures for eliminating a county road commission and transferring its duties to the county board.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719561
House Bill 4292: Update crime information reward cap
Passed 104 to 2 in the House on December 10, 2015, to update a 1977 law authorizing county rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person who committed a crime, by raising the maximum reward to $20,000.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719612
House Bill 4438: Authorize “epi-pens†in restaurants, camps, arenas and more
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2015, to expand to restaurants, recreation camps, youth sports leagues, amusement parks, sports arenas and other places where allergens capable of causing anaphylaxis may be present, a law that currently allows physicians to prescribe epinephrine auto injectors to schools to keep in their facilities. This law also waives the legal liability of an authorized employee or agent of the facility who has specified training and who provides or administers the drug to a person he or she believes in good faith to be experiencing anaphylaxis, except for gross negligence.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719562
House Bill 4686: Revise city sidewalk liability
Passed 55 to 51 in the House on December 10, 2015, to establish that a municipality being sued for an injury related to a sidewalk “discontinuity†may any use any common law defense available to regular people, not just that the condition was “open and obvious.†Current law limits local government defenses in these suits.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719606
Senate Bill 6: Revise disabled veterans tax exemption detail
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to establish that a homestead property tax exemption for a disabled veteran or his or her unremarried surviving spouse would apply to the residential and agricultural property they inhabit, and extend the exemption to the unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active duty.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719721
Senate Bill 51: Rename a road
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to designate a portion of I-75 in Genesee County as the “John Wayne ‘Dusty’ Marcum Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719727
Senate Bill 216: Revise GED high school equivalency test nomenclature
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to replace references in the school aid act to the “General Educational Development†test (GED) in the school aid act with the term “high school equivalency test”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719723
Senate Bill 418: Revise taxation of airplane fuel
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on December 15, 2015, to earmark a portion of various taxes paid on aviation fuel to a state fund used to pay for airport improvement projects. See also Senate Bill 425 and 613.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719779
Senate Bill 425: Revise aviation fuel tax allocation
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2015, to require revenue from the state aviation fuel tax to be spent on improvements to airports in proportion to the tax revenue collected at those airports. See also Senate Bill 418 and 613.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719780
Senate Bill 426: Revise aviation fuel tax allocation
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2015, to specify details of how revenue from the state aviation fuel tax can be spent. See Senate Bill 425.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719781
Senate Bill 490: Revise library and video rental confidentiality
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise a law that restricts disclosing information about videos, books or recordings borrowed or rented by an individual without notifying the individual. The bill would allow the notification to be a written notice included with the material at the time it is rented or borrowed.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719733
Senate Bill 523: Create a government “Native American historical recognition programâ€
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to create a government “Native American historical recognition program†to disseminate information on Indian history and relevant places. Among other things it would be required to help other entities get government and private grants for this purpose.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719738
Senate Bill 531: Authorize electronic court records system and fees
Passed 34 to 1 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719744
Senate Bill 531: Authorize electronic court records system and fees
Passed 100 to 6 in the House on December 15, 2015, to authorize an electronic system for filing documents in civil cases in state courts, and fees to use and pay for it.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719777
Senate Bill 532: Authorize electronic court records system
Passed 97 to 9 in the House on December 15, 2015, to create a state fund to hold the court case filing fee money authorized by Senate Bill 531.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719776
Senate Bill 533: Authorize electronic court records system
Passed 98 to 8 in the House on December 15, 2015, to prohibit a court or court funding unit from charging a fee to retrieve and inspect a case document including those kept in the electronic filing system proposed by Senate Bill 531, but allow fees to copy a document.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719778
Senate Bill 551: Allow enforceable funeral arrangements in wills
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to allow an individual to designate in a will or other advance directive a person to serve as a “funeral representative†to execute the decedent’s funeral arrangement directions, including the disposition of his or her remains.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719730
Senate Bill 582: Revise county delinquent tax revolving fund details
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise regulations on county borrowing related to the delinquent tax revolving funds they are allowed to maintain, which allow the county to used borrowed money to pay local governments the amount of unpaid taxes they are due, with the county assuming the responsibility for collecting the unpaid taxes and the proceeds when the taxes are collected (for example, when the property is foreclosed and sold at a tax auction).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719734
Senate Bill 583: Revise county delinquent tax revolving fund details
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise regulations on county borrowing related to the delinquent tax revolving funds they are allowed to maintain. See Senate Bill 582 for more details. This bill revises procedures for county’s borrowing against the eventual collection of delinquent tax revenues.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719735
Senate Bill 588: Increase authority of Indian tribe conservation officers
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to give uniformed Indian tribe conservation officers the same authority as state conservation officers, police or a land owner to require an individual who possesses hunting, fishing or trapping apparatus to show his or license.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719739
Senate Bill 591: Regulate small native copper mines separately
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to establish a separate regulatory regime over small native copper mining operations (meaning ones that generate less than 75,000 tons of waste rock a year to extract copper “in its elemental formâ€).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719726
Senate Bill 612: Revise aviation fuel tax allocation
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2015, to revise definitions in a related law that apply to how and where revenue from the state aviation fuel tax can be spent. See Senate Bill 425.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719782
Senate Bill 613: Revise aviation fuel tax allocation
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2015, to revise sales tax collection reporting requirements for sellers of aviation fuel to accommodate proposed changes in how this product is taxed and where the money from the tax may be spent. See also Senate Bill 425.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719783
Senate Bill 614: Revise aviation fuel tax allocation
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2015, to revise use tax collection reporting requirements for sellers of aviation fuel to accommodate proposed changes in how this product is taxed and where the money from the tax may be spent. See also Senate Bill 425.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719786
Senate Bill 616: Exempt developers of “Pyramid†building from sales tax
Passed 61 to 45 in the House on December 15, 2015, to exempt business equipment purchases made by an internet data center from the state sales tax. The bill originally applied only to the developers of proposed data center in the vacant “Pyramid†building near Grand Rapids, but was expanded to all companies in this particular business. The House did not adopt the proposal in Senate Bill 618 to also exempt these firms from property taxes levied on business tools and equipment (the so-called “personal property tax”).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719793
Senate Bill 617: Exempt developers of Steelcase “Pyramid†building from use tax
Passed 61 to 45 in the House on December 15, 2015, to exempt business equipment purchases made by an internet data center from the state use tax. The bill originally applied only to the developers of proposed data center in the vacant “Pyramid†building near Grand Rapids, but was expanded to all companies in this particular business. The House did not adopt the proposal in Senate Bill 618 to also exempt these firms from property taxes levied on business tools and equipment (the so-called “personal property tax”).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719794
Senate Bill 629: Expand law barring parental rights to rapist
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise a law that prohibits granting custody of a child to a person convicted of rape, by expanding the criteria to include men convicted of criminal sexual conduct that resulted in a child being conceived.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719731
House Bill 4095: Authorize $51 million in new debt for college & university building projects
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to authorize $51.3 million in new government spending for several state college and university construction projects. The bill would cause the state to increase its own debt burden by $33.1 million.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719718
House Bill 4314: Expand scope of reckless driving penalties
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to extend the same penalties for committing a traffic violation that causes death or serious injury to another person while driving on public roads to when this involves someone driving on private property open to public, or on frozen lakes and rivers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719722
House Bill 4462: Authorize income tax refund interest payments
Passed 21 to 17 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise details of the calculation of interest payments on overdue city income tax refunds.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719740
House Bill 4581: Increase state payments to liquor distribution oligopolists
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to increase from $7.50 to $8.25 the per-case fee that the private company or companies granted a state monopoly to warehouse and distribute liquor to retailers can collect from the state as a “reimbursement” for its distribution costs. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency the bill would have the effect of transferring an additional $5.8 million annually from taxpayers to these private companies.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719706
House Bill 4658: Revise claims against the state procedures
Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to prohibit the Department of Treasury from authorizing payment of an individual’s successful claim against the state if the individual owes money for back-taxes, child support, or other unpaid levies. Only the amount of the successful claim that exceeds what the person owes could be paid. The bill revises administrative procedures to facilitate this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719728
House Bill 4685: Revise sales tax on motor fuel detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise details of the sales tax “prepayments†made by gasoline and diesel fuel refiners, wholesalers, distributors, etc., when these involve “bulk transfers†between such entities. Under current law most sales tax on fuel is not paid by consumers and collected by retailers “at the pump,†but is collected when the fuel is transferred to a distributor.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719705
House Bill 4713: Require “culpable mental state†for criminal conviction
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to establish that if a law does not indicate whether a “culpable mental state†(“mens reaâ€) is required to establish guilt, the presumption will be that this is required, meaning that prosecutors must show that the defendant violated the law “purposely, knowingly or recklessly.†This would not be the case if a law explicitly imposes a “strict liability†standard. Under current law, many complex “administrative†offenses authorize criminal penalties for actions that a regular person would not know are illegal. However, the bill would not apply to illegal drug laws or offenses listed in the state penal code, which cover actions that reasonable people already recognize as wrongful or know are illegal.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719732
House Bill 4742: Revise interstate child support collection details
Passed 34 to 4 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to repeal a Uniform Interstate Family Support Act that facilitates collection of court-ordered child support payments across state lines, and replace it with an updated version.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719713
House Bill 4744: Revise interstate child support collection details
Passed 35 to 3 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to revise references in the state parenting time law to reflect changes to a uniform interstate child support enforcement code proposed by House Bill 4742.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719714
House Bill 4930: Exempt family’s life estate property from assessment “bump upâ€
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to exempt from the taxable value “pop up,†the transfer of a “life estate†interest in a principle residence from the owner to family members. This is the provision of the 1994 Proposal A tax limitation initiative that makes a property’s new basis for tax assessments the state equalized value (market value), rather than the (lower) “taxable value†of the previous owner, growth of which is restricted by law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719737
House Bill 5028: Authorize electronic court records system and fees
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to authorize an electronic system for filing documents in civil cases in state courts, and fees to use and pay for it. This bill lays out the schedule of electronic filing fees for various actions in various courts, and is part of a package consisting of House Bill 5027 to 5030 and Senate Bills 531 to 533.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719701
House Bill 5029: Authorize electronic court records system and fees
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to authorize an electronic system for filing documents in civil cases in state courts, and fees to use and pay for it. This bill adds relevant definitions to state statutes, and is part of a package consisting of House Bill 5027 to 5030 and Senate Bills 531 to 533.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719703
House Bill 5030: Authorize electronic court records system and fees
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 15, 2015, to authorize an electronic system for filing documents in civil cases in state courts, and fees to use and pay for it. This bill adds new fees for civil actions whether filed electronically or not, and is part of a package consisting of House Bill 5027 to 5030 and Senate Bills 531 to 533.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719704
Senate Bill 446: Extend authority to ban deer feeding
Passed 105 to 0 in the House on December 16, 2015, to repeal the 2016 sunset on Department of Natural Resources authority to prohibit feeding deer and elk.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719922
Senate Bill 492: “Push back” against Obama NLRB franchise unionization rule
Passed 59 to 46 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that the owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers for whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or where prohibited by law. The bill was introduced after President Obama’s appointees on the National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling that all franchise employees are actually employed by the franchiser for purposes of union organizing. Among other things, if sustained this policy would mean that employees at local restaurants franchised by a national chain like McDonalds could be unionized on a nationwide basis.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719926
Senate Bill 493: “Push back” against Obama NLRB franchise unionization rule
Passed 60 to 45 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that for purposes of workers compensation insurance coverage, the owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers for whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719927
Senate Bill 518: Revise child support collection details
Passed 99 to 6 in the House on December 16, 2015, to revise references in the state friend of the court law to reflect changes to a uniform interstate child support enforcement code proposed by Senate Bill 517.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719923
Senate Bill 519: Revise child support collection details
Passed 100 to 5 in the House on December 16, 2015, to revise references in the state child support law to reflect changes to a uniform interstate child support enforcement code proposed by Senate Bill 517.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719924
Senate Bill 571: Repeal annual union PAC contribution “re-up†requirement
Passed 25 to 12 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill, which added provisions revising a number of campaign finance law details, and prohibiting schools and local governments from sending any communication to residents that mentions an upcoming property tax millage election within 60 days of the vote.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719913
Senate Bill 571: Repeal annual union PAC contribution “re-up†requirement
The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on December 16, 2015, to add provisions revising a number of campaign finance law details, and prohibiting school districts and local governments from sending any communications to residents that mention an upcoming property tax millage or other local ballot measure within 60 days of the vote.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170466
Senate Bill 571: Repeal annual union PAC contribution “re-up†requirement
Passed 58 to 48 in the House on December 16, 2015, to repeal a requirement that union members or employees of a corporation who wish to have contributions to a union or corporate PAC automatically deducted from their paycheck must affirmatively give consent on an annual basis by means of signing a permission form. The bill would repeal the annual “re-up†requirement. Also, to add provisions revising a number of campaign finance law details, and prohibit schools and local governments from sending any communication to residents that mentions an upcoming property tax millage election within 60 days of the vote.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719971
House Bill 4563: Authorize townships contracting for domestic violence victim services
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to authorize townships to issue contracts to nonprofit entities to deliver specified services to victims of domestic violence.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719881
House Bill 4596: Revise incumbent judge reelection filing detail
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to revise the candidate committee “statement of organization†form filed by incumbent judges running for reelection, so that it presumes the committee will not spend more than $1,000, which exempts the campaign from state campaign finance disclosure mandates. Under current law, a committee that plans to raise and spend less than $1,000 must file a separate form to get this exemption.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719876
House Bill 4604: Authorize government erosion control permit exemptions
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to exempt certain routine agricultural practices from the mandate to obtain a government erosion control permit, if the activity would not cause soil to erode into lakes and streams. The exemption would apply to fenceline work, removing trees, shrubs and roots, and installing drainage tiles, irrigation or electric lines.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719879
House Bill 4680: Extend prison industry law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to extend for five years a law that allows a private business to market textiles produced cut and sewn by state prisoners if this does not compete with any other products made in Michigan.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719878
House Bill 4983: Refine “free fishing day†detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 16, 2015, to establish that on one of the four free fishing days each year when no license is required, a person would not need a vehicle registration “recreation passport†to use a state boat launch facility.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719880
House Bill 5070: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 59 to 47 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state occupational safety and health regulations, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719934
House Bill 5071: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 59 to 47 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state wage and hour regulations, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719962
House Bill 5072: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 60 to 46 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state minimum wage mandates, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719963
House Bill 5073: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 60 to 46 in the House on December 16, 2015, to establish that for purposes of the state unemployment insurance program, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=719964
Senate Bill 669: Authorize fine for nuisance noise making
Introduced by Sen. Michael Green (R) on December 15, 2015, to authorize a $100 state civil fine for inflicting a range of nuisance noises on neighbors and the public, including gratuitous or excessive use of car horns, blasting car stereos and boom boxes, keeping barking dogs or other animals that cause “frequent or long continued noise (that) disturb the peace or comfort of any individual of reasonable sensitivity,†running motors without a muffler, operating heavy equipment in the middle of the night and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170787
Senate Bill 670: Create World War I centennial commission
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 15, 2015, to create state World War I centennial commission that would plan and encourage activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I. Also called The Great War, WW I began in August of 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918; the United States entered in April 1917. World War I was the first fully “industrialized†war, introducing on a mass scale modern machine guns, artillery, poison gas, aerial bombing and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170788
Senate Bill 671: Revise wine and grape council
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on December 15, 2015, to revise the particular interests that must be represented on a government grape and wine industry council, by adding members who represent brewer and distiller interests. In 2014 this entity reportedly received $927,898 from certain liquor license fees (taxes) and spent $797,000 on things that are supposed to benefit the industry, including $373,000 on compensation for its staff.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170789
Senate Bill 672: Expand children sports liability waivers
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on December 15, 2015, to camping to include “camping activities†in a law that explicitly states that a parent or guardian of a minor who participates in sports or a recreational activity may release the organizer, sponsor or property owner in advance from liability for economic or noneconomic damages for injuries sustained by the minor.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170790
Senate Bill 673: Extend tax breaks for local developers program
Introduced by Sen. Kenneth Horn (R) on December 15, 2015, to extend through 2026 the authority of local governments to grant “Obsolete Property Rehabilitation” property tax breaks to particular developers they select. Under current law this expires at the end of 2016.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170791
Senate Bill 674: Tighten medical facility employee background check mandate
Introduced by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D) on December 15, 2015, to revise a mandate that requires nursing homes and similar facilities to perform annual criminal background checks on employees, by eliminating a provision that allows a person to start working with certain restrictions before the check is completed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170792
Senate Bill 675: Tighten medical facility employee background check mandate
Introduced by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D) on December 15, 2015, to revise a mandate that requires psychiatric facilities and similar facilities to perform annual criminal background checks on employees, by eliminating a provision that allows a person to start working with certain restrictions before the check is completed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170793
Senate Bill 676: Tighten medical facility employee background check mandate
Introduced by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D) on December 15, 2015, to revise a mandate that requires nursing homes and similar facilities to perform annual criminal background checks on employees, by eliminating a provision that allows a person to start working with certain restrictions before the check is completed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170794
Senate Bill 677: Restrict “foreclosure by advertisementâ€
Introduced by Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D) on December 15, 2015, on certain delinquent mortgages to prohibit “foreclosure by advertisement†(instead of the more costly judicial foreclosure process) for certain owner-occupied residences that contain one to four rental units.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170795
Senate Bill 678: Let Detroit water system charge higher rates
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on December 16, 2015, to customers who use more to allow the Detroit water and sewer water authority to charge higher rates on customers who use higher volumes of water (called an “inclining block rate structureâ€).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170797
Senate Bill 679: Mandate county corrections binding arbitration
Introduced by Sen. Kenneth Horn (R) on December 16, 2015, to mandate binding arbitration in labor negotiations between county corrections officers (jail guards) and their employers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170798
Senate Bill 680: Rename a state facility
Introduced by Sen. Peter MacGregor (R) on December 16, 2015, to rename a state facility after a former state department director.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170799
Senate Bill 681: Revise aquaculture regulations
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 16, 2015, to add and revise existing regulations, definitions and procedures for aquaculture facilities, including existing and new licensure and registration mandates, with variations depending on if they are based on land or in bodies of water.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170800
Senate Bill 682
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 16, 2015, to authorize the use of Great Lakes bottomlands for aquaculture facilities if they meet the rules and requirements specified by Senate Bill 681. The facilities would not need to get permits mandated by the state environmental law, but would require permits required under a separate law regulating these facilities, as it is amended by that other bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170801
Senate Bill 683: Revise aquaculture regulations
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 16, 2015, to revise the state law regulating livestock operations to include aquaculture. See Senate Bills 681 and 682.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170802
Senate Bill 684: Declare cherry to be official state fruit
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 16, 2015, to establish that henceforth, as a matter of law and statute, the cherry shall be the official fruit of the state of Michigan. Several previous cherry bills specified that only the tart cherry, prunus cerasus, shall be the official fruit, and no other cherry, but this bill does not specify any particular variety.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170803
House Bill 5150: Require voters approve local “judgement leviesâ€
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on December 15, 2015, to restrict the power of a local government to borrow and levy a property tax dedicated to paying a court judgment in a lawsuit it has lost. Among other things a local “judgment levy†property tax increase would have to approved by voters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170773
House Bill 5151: Require voters approve local “judgment leviesâ€
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on December 15, 2015, to revise the state property tax law to conform to the proposal in Senate Bill 630 to restrict the power of local governments to impose a property tax to pay damages ordered by a judge in a lawsuit.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170774
House Bill 5152: “Push back†against EPA “Waters of the U.S.†regulatory expansion
Introduced by Rep. Larry Inman (R) on December 15, 2015, to specify in the state environmental protection law that state and federal enforcement of wetlands and water pollution laws and regulations are limited to “navigable waters†as defined in federal statute, rather that the greatly expanded jurisdiction claimed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in a rule promulgated on June 29, 2015.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170775
House Bill 5153
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on December 15, 2015, Close schools with polls on election day to close schools that are used as polling places on election days.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170776
House Bill 5155: Strike fishing without a license from list of crimes
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on December 15, 2015, to eliminate the criminal penalties for catching a fish in an inland lakes without a license or out of season. Current law also authorizes a $100 civil fine, and this would not change.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170778
House Bill 5156: Revise school “professional development†rules
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on December 15, 2015, to prescribe in greater detail the procedures and content of “professional development†and continuing education requirements for public school teachers and administrators. This is part of a package consisting of House Bills 5156 to 5159.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170779
House Bill 5157: Revise school “professional development†rules
Introduced by Rep. Daniela Garcia (R) on December 15, 2015, to prescribe in greater detail the procedures and content of “professional development†and continuing education requirements for public school teachers and administrators. This is part of a package consisting of House Bills 5156 to 5159.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170780
House Bill 5158: Revise school “professional development†rules
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on December 15, 2015, to prescribe in greater detail the procedures and content of “professional development†and continuing education requirements for public school teachers and administrators. This is part of a package consisting of House Bills 5156 to 5159.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170781
House Bill 5159: Require voters approve local “judgment leviesâ€
Introduced by Rep. Ken Yonker (R) on December 15, 2015, to prescribe in greater detail the procedures and content of “professional development†and continuing education requirements for public school teachers and administrators. This is part of a package consisting of House Bills 5156 to 5159.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170782
House Bill 5160: Mandate high school CPR and defibrillation classes
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on December 15, 2015, to mandate that public and private middle and high schools provide instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and awareness of automated external defibrillation, and prohibit a student from graduating unless he or she has successfully completed this instruction.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170783
House Bill 5161: Ban firing medical marijuana users if not incompatible with job
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on December 15, 2015, to make it unlawful for an employer to fire or take adverse employment action against an employee with a medical marijuana card who uses marijuana in a way that is not incompatible with the job or that hinders job performance.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170784
House Bill 5162: Ban state and local agencies from participating in federal “metadata†collection
Introduced by Rep. Martin Howrylak (R) on December 15, 2015, 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.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170785
House Bill 5163: End government “land bank†authorities
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on December 16, 2015, to repeal the 2003 law that authorized state and local “land bank†authorities empowered to acquire tracts of tax-reverted or other properties and develop them or sell them to developers, and which exempted these agencies from many of the taxes, rules, procedures and taxpayer safeguards that apply to private persons in such matters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170811
House Bill 5164: Revise some recorder of deeds fees
Introduced by Rep. Lee Chatfield (R) on December 16, 2015, to repeal an extra fee charged to file and record a subdivision plat with a recorder of deeds, and specify that the fee would be the same as for entering and recording a real estate mortgage.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170812
House Bill 5165: Revise some recorder of deeds fees
Introduced by Rep. Jeremy Moss (D) on December 16, 2015, to specify that the fee for recording real-estate related judgments and decrees would be the same as for entering and recording a real estate mortgage.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170813
House Bill 5166: Revise, expand aquaculture regulations
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on December 16, 2015, to add and revise existing regulations, definitions and procedures for aquaculture facilities, including existing and new licensure and registration mandates, with variations depending on whether they are based on land or in bodies of water.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170814
House Bill 5167: Revise some recorder of deeds fees
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on December 16, 2015, to specify that the fee for recording real-estate related judgments and decrees would be the same as for entering and recording a real estate mortgage.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170815
House Bill 5168: Revise, expand aquaculture regulations
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on December 16, 2015, to add and revise existing regulations, definitions and procedures for aquaculture facilities, including existing and new licensure and registration mandates, with variations depending on whether they are based on land or in bodies of water.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170816
House Bill 5169: Expand property tax income tax credit for disabled veterans
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on December 17, 2015, to eliminate a property value cap that limits the size of an income tax credit for property tax payments, if the owner is a disabled veteran.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170817
House Bill 5170: Take foregone Pyramid and data center tax revenue from non-school spending
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on December 17, 2015, to require the legislature to appropriate money to public schools from other revenue to compensate for the amount that tax breaks granted to “data centers†reduce current state school aid fund revenue. See also Senate Bills 616 and 617 (signed into law at the end of 2015), which began as tax breaks for a particular developer’s project in the vacant “Pyramid†building near Grand Rapids, but finished by authorizing sales and use tax breaks for all data center facilities (if approved by local governments where they are located).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170818
House Bill 5171: Require drivers over 75 renew license at SOS office
Introduced by Rep. Ben Glardon (R) on December 17, 2015, to require drivers age 75 or older to renew their license in person at a Secretary of State office.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170819
House Bill 5172: Repeal “training wage†for youth
Introduced by Rep. Kristy Pagan (D) on December 17, 2015, to repeal a “training†wage provided as an exception to the law that makes employment for less than a minimum wage determined by the government illegal. Under current law, during a young worker’s first 90 days on the job the mandated minimum wage is $4.25 per hour, and after 90 days it is 85 percent of the minimum amount prescribed for adult workers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170820
House Bill 5173: Revise mail-in registration/first-time absentee vote ban
Introduced by Rep. Kristy Pagan (D) on December 17, 2015, to allow first-time voters to vote absentee if they send in identification that meets a standard specified by federal law with their ballot. Under current law first-time voters who registered by mail must vote in person, so that election officials can confirm they are a real individual.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170821
House Bill 5174: Ban coal-tar driveway sealants
Introduced by Rep. Kristy Pagan (D) on December 17, 2015, to ban the sale or use of coal tar sealant or other high PAH sealant for pavement.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170822
House Bill 5175: Mandate employers grant certain employee shift change requests
Introduced by Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D) on December 17, 2015, to mandate that, unless prevented by a “bona fide business reason,†employers must grant an employee’s request for a specified change in the terms and conditions of employment, including shifts, schedules and hours, if the request is based on specified personal matters. The bill would also impose additional pay and minimum hour mandates on employers in the retail, food service, or cleaning service sectors.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170823
House Bill 5176: Revise 2014 “personal property tax†reform law detail
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Farrington (R) on December 17, 2015, to revise details of a mechanism created by a 2014 legislative package enacted to distribute some state use tax revenue to local governments, which would replace revenue they lose due to associated reductions in the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170824
House Bill 5177: Prohibit water authorities from charging for water from public “access pointsâ€
Introduced by Rep. Edward Canfield (R) on December 17, 2015, to require that if a municipal water system has “access points to obtain water for drinking and household purposes†it may not charge a fee for this. The bill does not define “access pointsâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170825
House Bill 5178: Require regular billing for delinquent water service customers
Introduced by Rep. Edward Canfield (R) on December 17, 2015, to require municipal water and sewer systems to keep billing customers on a regular basis even if their accounts are delinquent.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170826
House Bill 5179: Revise property tax “poverty exemption†procedures
Introduced by Rep. Wendell Byrd (D) on December 17, 2015, to revise details of the procedures specified in a law that allows a local government to grant property tax exemptions to certain individuals who claim poverty.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170827
House Bill 5180: Give subsidies to some grocery stores
Introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R) on December 17, 2015, to authorize selective state subsidies for grocery stores in “underserved†communities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170828
House Bill 5181: Give airport police “peace officer†authority
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on December 17, 2015, to give full “peace officer†(police officer) arrest and other powers to airport authority police, including when they are not on airport property but are in “hot pursuit†of a suspect or are cooperating with regular police officers, subject to various restrictions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170829
House Bill 5182: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Rep. Martin Howrylak (R) on December 17, 2015, to eliminate the phrase “deaf and dumb†from a law that authorizes a state school for deaf people, and replace it with just “deafâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170830
House Bill 5183: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Rep. John Bizon (R) on December 17, 2015, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in a law that authorizes a state government bureau to “protect and assist†them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170831
House Bill 5184: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Rep. Jim Runestad (R) on December 17, 2015, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in a law that authorizes a state government bureau to “protect and assist†them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170832
House Bill 5185: Designate road after fallen police officer
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on December 17, 2015, to designate a section of US 2 in Dickinson County as the “Officer Kenneth J. Moraska Memorial Highwayâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=170833
Senate Bill 90: Create African-American Affairs Commission
Passed 34 to 2 in the Senate on January 14, 2016, to create an “Office of African-American Affairs” in the state Department of Civil Rights, and a government African-American Affairs Commission consisting of 15 political appointees who have “a particular interest or expertise in African-American concerns,” with the mission of developing “a unified policy and plan of action to serve the needs of African-Americans in this stateâ€.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=721126
House Bill 4459: Allow embedding emergency contact info in drivers license
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on January 14, 2016, to require the Secretary of State starting in 2017 to embed machine-readable emergency contact information in digitized drivers licenses if a person requests this. Access to the embedded information would be limited to law enforcement agencies.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=721127
House Bill 4460: Allow embedding emergency contact info in state ID
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on January 14, 2016, to require the Secretary of State starting in 2017 to embed machine-readable emergency contact information in digitized state identification cards, if a person requests this. Access to the embedded information would be limited to law enforcement agencies.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=721128
Senate Bill 686: Honor homeowner requests for school district change
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on January 13, 2016, to require requests by residents to have their homes assigned to the jurisdiction of a different school to be approved if 75 percent of the homeowners who live in the affected area request this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171200
Senate Bill 687
Introduced by Sen. Tory Rocca (R) on January 13, 2016, Revise intercounty drainage board detail to revise details of which commissioner of an intercounty drainage board will serve as secretary.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171201
Senate Bill 688: Mandate employers grant certain employee shift change requests
Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D) on January 13, 2016, to mandate that, unless prevented by a “bona fide business reason,†employers must grant an employee’s request for a specified change in the terms and conditions of employment, including shifts, schedules and hours, if the request is based on specified personal matters. The bill would also impose additional pay and minimum hour mandates on employers in the retail, food service, or cleaning service sectors.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171202
Senate Bill 689: Incentivize county jails to not transfer inmates
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on January 13, 2016, to state prisons require the Department of Corrections to create a program to incentivize counties to keep prisoners in county jails rather than state prisons (if the prisoners are eligible for this based on various factors specified in current law). Counties that participate would get $35 per day per prisoner.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171203
Senate Bill 690: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on January 13, 2016, to modernize terminology in a “Michigan telecommunications act†used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171204
Senate Bill 691: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Sen. Marty Knollenberg (R) on January 13, 2016, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the state law that imposes licensure on speech-language pathologists.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171205
Senate Bill 692: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Sen. Dale W. Zorn (R) on January 13, 2016, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the state mental health code.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171206
Senate Bill 693: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Sen. Margaret O’Brien (R) on January 13, 2016, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in a state law that authorizes an advisory council and various programs intended to address this problem.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171207
Senate Bill 694: Revise references to deaf people in state laws
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on January 13, 2016, to modernize terminology used to refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in a state law that authorizes an advisory council and various programs intended to address this problem.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171208
Senate Bill 695: Subsidize some people’s water bills
Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on January 13, 2016, to create a new government program to subsidize low income household water bills.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171209
Senate Bill 696: Mandate arson-caused burn injury reporting
Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on January 13, 2016, to require health care professionals or officials to report to local police when a person seeking treatment for burn injuries shows evidence that these resulted from committing arson.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171210
Senate Bill 697: Mandate arson-related insurance claim reporting
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on January 13, 2016, to require insurers to submit a report to local police before paying a claim for a building fire that may have been the result of arson.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171211
Senate Bill 699: Regulate drones
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on January 13, 2016, to establish that a property owner has “exclusive control†of the 300 feet of airspace above a parcel, subject to aviation-related and other restrictions specified in the bill. Owners could grant permission to another person (or their drone) to enter the space above their property, and police could only enter this space with a warrant or under “exigent circumstances.†See Senate Bill 700.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171213
Senate Bill 700: Restrict, regulate drone use over public property
Introduced by Sen. Mike Nofs (R) on January 13, 2016, to prohibit operating a drone over public property unless the operator follows regulations specified in the bill or adopted by federal, state or local government, as applicable. Among the proposed regulations are ones limiting speed, weight, hours of operation, a requirement that the operator be able to see the drone, a ban on flying over people, the adoption by reference of federal restrictions on camera use, and more. See also Senate Bill 699.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171214
Senate Bill 701: Ban auto insurance policy of less than 30 days
Introduced by Sen. Marty Knollenberg (R) on January 13, 2016, to prohibit auto insurance policies with durations of less than 30 days. See also House Bill 5142 o 5144.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171215
Senate Bill 702: Revise rules for “wrecker†services
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 13, 2016, to eliminate distance restrictions on “wreckers†hauling damaged vehicles from where the damage occurred.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171216
Senate Bill 703: Repeal new restrictions on taxpayer-funded tax hike electioneering
Introduced by Sen. Dale W. Zorn (R) on January 14, 2016, to repeal a provision of a law passed in 2015 that prohibits taxpayer-funded communications from local governments and school districts that reference their own property tax hike or other ballot measures during the 60 days before the election.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171363
Senate Bill 704: Ban “dismemberment abortionâ€
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 14, 2016, to include “dismemberment abortion†in the acts specified in the state’s ban against late-term “partial birth†abortions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171364
Senate Bill 705: Ban “dismemberment abortionâ€
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 14, 2016, to provide sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by Senate Bill 705 of performing a “dismemberment abortionâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171365
Senate Bill 706: Ban local logging truck regulations stricter than state’s
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 14, 2016, to prohibit local governments from imposing restrictions on logging trucks that exceed those authorized by state law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171366
Senate Bill 707: Clarify driveway entrance “grandfathering†provision
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 14, 2016, to revise a “grandfathering†provision that exempts driveway entrances onto the street from regulations adopted after they were built. The bill would clarify that driveway maintenance including adding more gravel would not invalidate the exemption.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171367
Senate Bill 708: Prohibit county road use restrictions stricter than state’s
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 14, 2016, to prohibit a county road commission from requiring an additional permit for activities on a public right of way that are otherwise permissible under state law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171368
Senate Bill 709: Revise the number of judges
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on January 14, 2016, to revise the number of judges in various districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171369
Senate Bill 710: Overhaul Detroit school district debt and governance
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on January 14, 2016, to revise the state school code to accommodate Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to divide the Detroit school district into two entities. One of these would have the purely administrative function of servicing the bond debt accumulated by the district. The other would be governed by an elected school board and actually manage the schools (including academically failed schools currently under a form of state receivership). The centerpiece of the proposal is financial arrangements to relieve the district of debt incurred to cover regular operations in recent years, and allowing it to redirect property tax revenue that currently supports school operations to instead paying off its bond debt. The state would cover the operations funding shortfall, potentially out of money earmarked to the school aid fund, which is the source of state aid to local district and charter schools.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171370
Senate Bill 711: Overhaul Detroit school district debt and governance
Introduced by Sen. Goeff Hansen (R) on January 14, 2016, to revise details of a Detroit fiscal management oversight commission created by a 2014 law adopted as part of a city of Detroit bankruptcy and “bailout†package, to accommodate the proposal in Senate Bill 712 to reorganize and “bail out†the Detroit school district.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171371
House Bill 5206: Allow individual to not let hospital copy drivers license
Introduced by Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D) on January 13, 2016, to prohibit a health care provider or facility from refusing to provide care because an individual refuses to let them make a photocopy of his or drivers license or state ID card (rather than just look at it and write down the information they need).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171300
House Bill 5207: Authorize tax credit for school “pay to play†expenses
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 13, 2016, to authorize an individual tax credit equal to the amount a person paid in fees charged by a public school for his or her child to participate in a sport, program, or other extracurricular activity.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171301
House Bill 5208: Authorize fine for too many passengers on school bus
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on January 13, 2016, to authorize a civil fine for school bus operators (or a person who “directs†a bus operation) if more passengers are carried than the vehicle’s rated capacity. The fine would de $100 for each extra passenger above the rated capacity.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171302
House Bill 5209: Exclude emergency managers from government official liability waiver
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 13, 2016, to require emergency managers appointed to run fiscally failed municipalities or school districts to post a performance bond, and to not include them in the immunity from personal lawsuits that generally apply to other school and local government officials acting in their official capacity.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171303
House Bill 5210: Exclude emergency managers from government official liability waiver
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 13, 2016, to require emergency managers appointed to run fiscally failed municipalities or school districts to post a performance bond, and to exclude them from the immunity from personal lawsuit provisions that generally apply to other school and local government officials acting in their official capacity.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171304
House Bill 5211: Make personal injury auto insurance charges non-refundable
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 13, 2016, to make the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association auto insurance assessments tacked on to no-fault insurance policies non-refundable if a person cancels their insurance.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171305
House Bill 5212: Revise details of cap on income tax pension exemption
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 13, 2016, to revise details of how a particular cap on a state income tax exemption for pension income is calculated.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171306
House Bill 5213: Ban teacher union negotiation on school calendars
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 13, 2016, to make school calendars a prohibited subject of collective bargaining with teachers unions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171307
House Bill 5214: Let schools start before Labor Day
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 13, 2016, to repeal a restriction on school districts starting a new school year before Labor Day.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171308
House Bill 5215: Criminalize removing collar from other person’s dog
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on January 13, 2016, to make it a crime to remove the collar from a dog owned by someone else, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171309
House Bill 5216: Extend FOIA to legislators
Introduced by Rep. John Bizon (R) on January 13, 2016, to repeal the exemptions from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act for records in the possession of legislators and their staff. The bill does not create a specific exemption for communications from constituents to members of the legislature.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171310
House Bill 5217: Revise expedited evictions for criminal activity
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 13, 2016, to revise a 2012 law that authorizes expedited eviction procedures for a tenant accused of various crimes, by requiring a conviction before it applies.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171311
House Bill 5218: Give new school employees 401(k), not pensions
Introduced by Rep. Tim Kelly (R) on January 13, 2016, to revise details of the school employee pension law to accommodate the proposal in Senate Bill 727 to close the current “defined benefit” pension system to new school employees hired starting July 1, 2015, and instead provide 401(k) contributions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171312
House Bill 5219: Modify restriction on local tax hike electioneering
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on January 14, 2016, to revise a a 2015 law that prohibits local governments and school district communications from referencing in a taxpayer-funded communication their own property tax hike or other ballot measures during the 60 days before the election. The bill would create exceptions for communications containing the actual ballot question language and election date, and also permit discussions of the measure during broadcast meetings of a public body if “both proponents and opponents have an equal opportunity to discuss†it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171374
House Bill 5220: Appropriate money for Flint water contamination response
Introduced by Rep. Phil Phelps (D) on January 14, 2016, to authorize an appropriation to pay for response activities related to the contamination of the Flint water supply. This bill contains a $100 “placeholder†appropriation, with the actual amount to be determined later.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171375
Senate Bill 207: Revise drunk driver roadside sobriety test detail
Passed 29 to 9 in the Senate on January 20, 2016, to replace the term “preliminary roadside analysis†in the state’s law against driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol with the term “preliminary chemical breath analysis.†See also Senate Bill 434, which proposes roadside saliva tests to detect marijuana in a driver’s system.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=721993
Senate Bill 232: Revise vehicle trade in tax break detail
Passed 101 to 5 in the House on January 20, 2016, 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=722017
Senate Bill 233: Revise vehicle trade in tax break detail
Passed 101 to 5 in the House on January 20, 2016, 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 dealers in other states. 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=722018
Senate Bill 434: Authorize highway drug testing pilot program
Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate on January 20, 2016, to authorize a one year pilot program in five counties of roadside drug testing, to determine whether drivers are operating vehicles while under the influence of a controlled substance (marijuana in particular) by means of “oral fluid analysis†(saliva test).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=721995
House Bill 4187: Authorize sanctions for vandalizing road signs, lights, etc.
Passed 88 to 18 in the House on January 20, 2016, to authorize penalties of up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine for vandalizing or removing a traffic control device, light post, sign, etc. on a road or highway. For a third or subsequent offence the penalty would be one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722015
House Bill 4980: Establish drunk driver vehicle interlock device regulatory regime
Passed 92 to 14 in the House on January 20, 2016, to establish sentencing guidelines for violations of the regulatory regime proposed by House Bill 4981 for drunk driver vehicle interlock device vendors and installers. See Senate Bill 176.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722016
House Bill 5220: Appropriate money for Flint water contamination response
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on January 20, 2016, to appropriate $28.0 million to pay for response activities related to the contamination of the Flint water supply, of which $2.8 million is federal money.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722020
Senate Bill 712: Revise liquor license rationing detail
Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R) on January 20, 2016, to revise one of the distance-from-competitors regulatory devices used to ration the number of liquor licenses in communities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171766
Senate Bill 713: Give force to illegal teacher strike sanctions
Introduced by Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) on January 21, 2016, to accelerate, streamline and make more certain the procedures for imposing fines of $5,000 per day against a teachers union that orchestrates an illegal strike, and a fine on each striker equal to a day’s pay for each day of the strike. Sanctions also apply to a school district that imposes an illegal lockout. The timetable for hearings would be changed from 60 days to two days; hearings on all striking employees could be consolidated into one, rather than individual hearings for each required under current law (though still subject to individual appeals). Senate Bill’s 713 to 715 were introduced following a series of “sick-outs†by Detroit teachers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171844
Senate Bill 714: Suspend or revoke teaching certificate of illegally striking teacher
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on January 21, 2016, to suspend for two years the teaching certificate of a public school teacher who engages in an illegal strike. If the teacher did not show up at a hearing on the suspension, the license could be revoked permanently.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171845
Senate Bill 715: Require school districts sanction illegal strikers
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on January 21, 2016, to penalize public school districts that fail to sanction teachers who participated in an illegal strike by forfeiting 5 percent of their state school aid revenue. The proposed teacher sanctions are in Senate Bills 713 and 714.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171846
Senate Bill 716: Extend FOIA to governor and legislators
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on January 21, 2016, to repeal the exemptions from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act for records in the possession of legislators and their staff, the governor, lieutenant governor, their executive offices and employees. This would include communications from constituents.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171847
Senate Bill 717: Revise underground fuel tank cleanup detail
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on January 21, 2016, to revise the “alternative mechanisms†used in underground fuel tank cleanup plans.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171848
House Bill 5221: Repeal restriction on local tax hike electioneering
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on January 20, 2016, to repeal a provision of a law passed in 2015 that prohibits taxpayer-funded communications from local governments and school districts that reference a property tax hike or other measure they have placed on the ballot during the 60 days before the election.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171768
House Bill 5222: Add a judgeship to Detroit district court
Introduced by Rep. Brian Banks (D) on January 20, 2016, to authorize an additional judge for the 36th district court (Detroit).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171769
House Bill 5223: Terminate state receivership of failed Detroit schools
Introduced by Rep. Brian Banks (D) on January 20, 2016, to end a form of state receivership of academically failed Detroit schools under an entity called the “Educational Achievement Authority,†and return management of these schools to the regular Detroit school district.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171770
House Bill 5224: Authorize a “prostate awareness†plate, give profits to group
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 20, 2016, to authorize a “prostrate cancer awareness†specialty license plate, and give the profits to a particular foundation named in the bill (“PCUPS Foundationâ€).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171771
House Bill 5225: Give income tax checkoff donations to prostate awareness group
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 20, 2016, to allow an individual to choose to automatically contribute $5 or more from his or her state income tax refund, which the state would give to a particular foundation named in the bill that does various things related to prostate cancer (“PCUPS Foundationâ€). A person not receiving a refund could use his or her tax return to contribute to the fund.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171772
House Bill 5226: Give income tax checkoff donations to prostate awareness group
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 20, 2016, to allow an individual to choose to automatically contribute $5 or more from his or her state income tax refund, which the state would give to a particular foundation named in the bill that does various things related to prostate cancer (“PCUPS Foundationâ€). A person not receiving a refund could use his or her tax return to contribute to the fund.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171773
House Bill 5227: Restrict disclosure of nonpublic personal information
Introduced by Rep. Jeremy Moss (D) on January 21, 2016, to prohibit credit unions from disclosing or sharing nonpublic personal financial information about an individual without his or her prior and specific informed consent, in writing. The bill also establishes a number of regulations and disclosure requirements regarding the release, use or sharing of such information.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171851
House Bill 5228: Restrict disclosure of nonpublic personal information
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 21, 2016, to prohibit savings banks from disclosing or sharing nonpublic personal financial information about an individual without his or her prior and specific informed consent, in writing. The bill also establishes a number of regulations and disclosure requirements regarding the release, use or sharing of such information.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171852
House Bill 5229: Restrict disclosure of nonpublic personal information
Introduced by Rep. Jim Runestad (R) on January 21, 2016, to prohibit banks from disclosing or sharing nonpublic personal financial information about an individual without his or her prior and specific informed consent, in writing. The bill also establishes a number of regulations and disclosure requirements regarding the release, use or sharing of such information.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171853
House Bill 5230: Ban snowplow service contract indemnity clauses
Introduced by Rep. Ken Yonker (R) on January 21, 2016, to prohibit indemnity promises in snowplow and deicing service contracts, which require the party making the promise to indemnify or hold harmless the other party from liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligence or omissions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=171854
Senate Bill 539: Expand “promise zone†tax increment financing authorities
Passed 98 to 9 in the House on January 27, 2016, to impose additional reporting requirements on “promise zone†tax increment financing authorities located in low income and “low educational attainment†areas, and provide a means for dissolving them. These entities were authorized by a 2008 law to “capture” a portion of any increases in the state portion of school property tax revenue in the area, and use the money to partially subsidize college tuition for local students.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722872
Senate Bill 540: Expand allowable uses of state education tax
Passed 100 to 7 in the House on January 27, 2016, to revise the law that authorizes a 6 mill state property tax for school funding, to authorize using some of this money for other purposes. This is related to changes to the proposal in Senate Bill 539 to revise some details of “promise zone†tax increment financing schemes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722873
Senate Bill 680: Rename a state facility
Passed 34 to 3 in the Senate on January 27, 2016, to rename a state facility after a former state department director.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722850
House Bill 4792: Let out of state team phycisians practice while in Michigan
Passed 107 to 0 in the House on January 27, 2016, to establish that a physician licensed in another state can provide medical care to a member of an athletic team under an agreement with that team while the team is in Michigan, subject to various restrictions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=722871
Senate Bill 219: Revise animal abuser ownership ban
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on January 28, 2016, to revise a law that prohibits an individual convicted of animal abuse from owning a similar animal for five years after being sentenced, to instead extend the ban to five years after completing the sentence, or whichever is later.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723007
Senate Bill 220: Waive fee for pet adoption criminal background check
Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on January 28, 2016, to allow animal shelters to access a government “internet criminal history access tool†(ICHAT) at no charge for purposes of checking whether an individual who wants to adopt an animal has been convicted of an animal abuse offense.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723008
Senate Bill 632: Revise appeals court jurisdiction
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on January 28, 2016, to give the state court of appeals jurisdiction on appeals of probate court orders and judgments, with some exceptions (see Senate Bill 633).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723009
Senate Bill 633: Revise appeals court jurisdiction
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on January 28, 2016, to revise the state Estates and Protected Individuals Code to accommodate the procedures specified by Senate Bill 632.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723010
House Bill 4783: Increase landfill permit violation penalties
Passed 77 to 29 in the House on January 28, 2016, to increase the fines a state agency can impose on landfill operators for not meeting state environmental law standards or requirements in their operating permits to $75,000 per day for second or subsequent violations, and $25,000 per day the first time. These are civil not criminal penalties, which means the procedural safeguards available to a criminal defendant do not apply.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723058
House Bill 4868: Ban drone interference with public safety
Passed 89 to 17 in the House on January 28, 2016, to make it a crime to fly a drone in a way that interferes with public safety or public utility activities. The bill would define flying a drone over private property “without authority” as trespassing, and prohibit using one to subject someone to eavesdropping or surveillance.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723059
House Bill 5220: Appropriate money for Flint water contamination response
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on January 28, 2016, to appropriate $28 million to pay for response activities related to the contamination of the Flint water supply, of which $2.8 million is federal money. The Senate revised details of the spending after consulting with on-the-ground experts in the city.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723006
Senate Bill 718: Mandate school music classes
Introduced by Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D) on January 26, 2016, to require that public schools provide children in grades K-5 with 30 minutes of music instruction twice a week, taught by an instructor who has particular academic credentials specified in the bill. Also, to impose a quota of one of these instructors for every 400 children in a school.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172033
Senate Bill 719: Revise payday loan rules
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise certain payday lending rules, and expand the methods by which a lender can collect this debt.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172035
Senate Bill 720: Tighten process for imposing “historic district” property owner restrictions
Introduced by Sen. Peter MacGregor (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the procedure for establishing or eliminating local “historic districts,†whose appointed boards have the power to restrict the improvements that property owners may make to their buildings and land. The bill would require two-thirds of the property owners in the affected to give preliminary approval before the process of creating a district could be initiated, and a majority of voters in the community would have to approve it in an election before the district’s restrictions could be imposed. The bill would also put a 10 year sunset on these restrictions, which could be renewed only by another vote of the people.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172036
Senate Bill 721: Reduce restrictions on taxpayer funded electioneering
Introduced by Sen. Kenneth Horn (R) on January 26, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on taxpayer-funded local governments and school district communications that reference a property tax hike or other local ballot measure during the 60 days before the election. The bill would permit taxpayer funded communications that, “under reasonable interpretation,†do not imply “a vote for or against a proposal†and which “provide a fair interpretation of the facts.†Officials in the state elections bureau would examine contested political flyers and communications to determine what is “reasonable”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172037
Senate Bill 722: Revise liquor marketing regulations
Introduced by Sen. Tory Rocca (R) on January 27, 2016, to revise the very detailed regulations and restrictions on alcohol distribution to permit wholesalers and retailers to use social media to promote product tastings and inform consumers of where their products can be located.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172107
Senate Bill 723: Delete mistaken identity arrest records
Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on January 28, 2016, to authorize the automatic expunction (deletion) of arrest records for a wrongful arrest due to mistaken identity or identity theft.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172156
Senate Bill 724: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on January 28, 2016, to require suppliers of water to schools (including municipal water systems) to test the water from school faucets at least once a year for lead and copper. The bill would also create a school drinking water “task force†consisting of specified political appointees to review and make recommendations on water sampling methods and protocols.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172157
Senate Bill 725: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on January 28, 2016, to permit money in a particular state fund to be used for public water supply contamination sampling and testing.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172158
Senate Bill 726: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on January 28, 2016, to require municipal water systems to adopt specified water testing procedures when changing the source of their water.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172159
House Bill 5231: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Rep. Sheldon Neeley (D) on January 26, 2016, to appropriate extra money for the Department of Environmental Quality to spend on Flint water contamination response activities. The bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172040
House Bill 5232: Tighten process for imposing “historic district” property owner restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Chris Afendoulis (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the procedure for establishing or eliminating local “historic districts,†whose appointed boards have the power to restrict the improvements that property owners may make to their buildings and land. The bill would require two-thirds of the property owners in the affected area to give preliminary approval before the process of creating a district could be initiated, and a majority of voters in the community would have to approve it in an election before the restrictions could be imposed. The bill would also put a 10 year sunset on these restrictions, which could be renewed only by another vote of the people.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172041
House Bill 5233: Revise septage hauler licensure mandate details
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on January 26, 2016, to reduce the hours of “continuing education†classes a septic hauler is required to take to renew the license the state requires to make a living in this profession.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172042
House Bill 5234: Exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax
Introduced by Rep. Sarah Roberts (D) on January 26, 2016, to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172043
House Bill 5235: Give force to illegal teacher strike sanctions
Introduced by Rep. Tim Kelly (R) on January 26, 2016, to accelerate, streamline and make more certain the procedures for imposing fines of $5,000 per day against a teachers union that orchestrates an illegal strike, and a fine on each striker equal to a day’s pay for each day of the strike. Sanctions would also apply to a school district that imposes an illegal lockout. The timetable for hearings would be changed from 60 days to two days; hearings on all striking employees could be consolidated into one, rather than individual hearings for each required under current law (though still subject to individual appeals). House Bills 5235 to 5237 were introduced following a series of “sick-outs†by Detroit teachers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172044
House Bill 5236: Suspend or revoke teaching certificate of illegally striking teacher
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on January 26, 2016, to suspend for two years the teaching certificate of a public school teacher who engages in an illegal strike. If the teacher did not show up at a hearing on the suspension, the license could be revoked permanently.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172045
House Bill 5237: Penalize school district that fails
Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R) on January 26, 2016, to sanction illegal strikers to penalize school districts that fail to sanction teachers who participated in an illegal strike by forfeiting 5 percent of their state school aid revenue. The proposed teacher sanctions are in House Bills 5235 and 5237.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172046
House Bill 5238: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on January 26, 2016, to prescribe procedures for local government architecture, survey or engineering contracts. The bill would allow a government seeking these services to not seek competitive bids if it has “satisfactory relationship†with a particular vendor, and otherwise would not require accepting the lowest bid, but rather would permit price among other decision factors (including potentially more subjective ones).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172047
House Bill 5239: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on January 26, 2016, to revise the general law village act to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172048
House Bill 5240: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the home rule village act to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172049
House Bill 5241: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Jason Sheppard (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the charter county act to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172050
House Bill 5242: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the home rule city act to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172051
House Bill 5243: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the law that prescribes the powers of county governments to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172052
House Bill 5244: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on January 26, 2016, to revise the law that prescribes the “unified†form of county government organization to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172053
House Bill 5245: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on January 26, 2016, to revise the law that authorizes state-appointed emergency managers for fiscally failed local government so it conforms with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172054
House Bill 5246: Authorize “Pueblo†incident veteran plate
Introduced by Rep. John Chirkun (D) on January 26, 2016, to permit individuals who were in the military and involved in the 1968 North Korean seizure of a U.S. spy ship (the Pueblo), and their spouses, to pay an extra $5 to get a license plate with a “veteran†label.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172055
House Bill 5247: Permit green flashing lights on snow plow trucks
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on January 26, 2016, to allow snow plow trucks to use flashing green lights, in addition to the current yellow lights prescribed by law. Having two colors is said to make the trucks easier to notice in snowstorms.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172056
House Bill 5248: Restrict police use of automated license plate readers
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on January 26, 2016, to restrict the use by law enforcement of automated license plate readers unless they are used for a specified (but broad) range of law enforcement purposes, and require the data accumulated by these devices to be purged from the system within 48 hours unless it is related to an active investigation. However, the restrictions would not apply to police use of license plate reader data compiled by private firms.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172057
House Bill 5249: Reduce restrictions on taxpayer funded electioneering
Introduced by Rep. Holly Hughes (R) on January 26, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on taxpayer-funded local governments and school district communications that reference a property tax hike or other local ballot measure during the 60 days before the election. The bill would permit taxpayer funded communications that, “under reasonable interpretation,†do not imply “a vote for or against a proposal†and which “provide a fair interpretation of the facts.†Officials in the state elections bureau would examine contested political flyers and communications to determine what is “reasonable”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172058
House Bill 5250: Authorize use of drivers license photos for CPL license
Introduced by Rep. Edward Canfield (R) on January 26, 2016, to allow the Secretary of State to provide access to digitized drivers license photographs to the State Police for purposes of using this photo on an individual’s concealed pistol license.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172059
House Bill 5251: Permit bank loan raffles
Introduced by Rep. Brandt Iden (R) on January 26, 2016, to allow banks to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172060
House Bill 5252: Repeal Michigan’s Right to Work law for government employees
Introduced by Rep. John Kivela (D) on January 26, 2016, to repeal the state’s right to work law for government and public school employees. Specifically, the bill would allow public employers to enter an agreement with a union under which all workers would be required to pay “agency fees†to the union as a condition of employment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172109
House Bill 5253: Let local council remove state-appointed emergency manager
Introduced by Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D) on January 26, 2016, to revise a provision that allows a local government under the receivership of a state appointed emergency manager to remove the individual holding this position with a two-thirds vote of its governing body. The bill would remove a provision that only allows this when the emergency manager’s appointment ends.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172110
House Bill 5254: Allow certain local government no-bid contracts
Introduced by Rep. Jason Sheppard (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the charter township act to conform with the local government procurement procedures specified by House Bill 5238.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172111
House Bill 5255: Ban Great Lakes aquaculture
Introduced by Rep. Jon Bumstead (R) on January 26, 2016, to ban fish farms in the Great Lakes and connecting waters.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172112
House Bill 5256: Appropriations: Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Introduced by Rep. Larry Inman (R) on January 26, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Military and Veterans Affairs budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172113
House Bill 5257: Revise liquor marketing regulations
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on January 26, 2016, to revise the very detailed regulations and restrictions on alcohol distribution to permit wholesalers and retailers to use social media to promote product tastings and inform consumers of where their products can be located.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172114
House Bill 5258: Restrict oil and gas drilling in large counties
Introduced by Rep. Jeremy Moss (D) on January 26, 2016, to prohibit oil and gas wells within 2,000 feet of a residential building in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties, unless they hold a hearing in the community. The bill also appears to give local governments to power to enact zoning and other regulations that would ban wells.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172115
House Bill 5259: Lower speed limits on road with hospital driveway
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on January 26, 2016, to reduce the maximum speed on roads that have an entrance to a hospital, extending to 2,000 feet of the hospital property.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172116
House Bill 5260: Repeal expanded emergency manager powers
Introduced by Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D) on January 26, 2016, to repeal the 2012 law that greatly expanded the powers of emergency managers appointed by the state to reform the finances of fiscally failed school districts and municipalities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172117
House Bill 5261: Allow county road loans to townships
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on January 26, 2016, to allow counties to give 10-year road project loans to townships.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172118
House Bill 5262: Appropriations: Department of Education
Introduced by Rep. Phil Potvin (R) on January 26, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Education budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172119
House Bill 5263: Appropriations: State Police
Introduced by Rep. Aaron Miller (R) on January 26, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 State Police budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172120
House Bill 5264: Appropriations: Judiciary budget
Introduced by Rep. Earl Poleski (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Judiciary budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172164
House Bill 5265: Appropriations: Community Colleges
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Community Colleges budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172165
House Bill 5266: Appropriations: School aid budget
Introduced by Rep. Tim Kelly (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for a Fiscal Year 2016-2017 school aid budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172166
House Bill 5267: Appropriations: Department of Environmental Quality
Introduced by Rep. Roger Victory (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Environmental Quality budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172167
House Bill 5268: Appropriations: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172168
House Bill 5269: Appropriations: Department of Natural Resources
Introduced by Rep. Jon Bumstead (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Natural Resources budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172169
House Bill 5270: Let circuit court judges officiate marriages
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on January 28, 2016, to allow circuit court judges to perform (“solemnizeâ€) marriages.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172170
House Bill 5271: Revise drain tax millage base
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on January 28, 2016, to empower county road commissions to place a road repair property tax millage increase on the ballot of “the electorate residing within the jurisdiction of the (road commission)… but residing outside of the jurisdiction of a city or village located within the countyâ€.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172171
House Bill 5272: Appropriations: Department of Corrections
Introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Corrections budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172172
House Bill 5273: Revise parole granting detail
Introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R) on January 28, 2016, to revise the “veto†a sentencing judge or the judge’s successor has over granting parole to a prisoner convicted of a serious crime. Under current law, a sentencing judge and his or her successor can veto a parole. The bill would repeal this for the successor judge.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172173
House Bill 5274: Appropriations: Department of Community Health
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Community Health budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172174
House Bill 5275: Require DNR create forest trail map
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on January 28, 2016, to require the Department of Natural Resources to create a comprehensive inventory of state forest roads that are considered “state roads,†which identifies the condition and development level of the forest roads, and shows the types of motorized and non-motorized uses currently restricted on each segment, including seasonal restrictions. Also, to allow pack-saddle horses in parts of the forests that are otherwise closed to this activity, if it for purposes of hauling out game during hunting season.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172175
House Bill 5276: Appropriations: Department of Talent and Economic Development
Introduced by Rep. Laura Cox (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Talent and Economic Development budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172176
House Bill 5277: Appropriations: General Government
Introduced by Rep. Laura Cox (R) on January 28, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 General Government budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172177
House Bill 5278: Revise drain tax millage apportionment
Introduced by Rep. Ben Glardon (R) on January 28, 2016, to revise details of how to apportion debt service payments on multi-county drain projects that are not completed within the five-year period authorized for such projects.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172178
House Bill 5279: Revise drain project approval process
Introduced by Rep. Ben Glardon (R) on January 28, 2016, to include villages in the law that specifies procedures for gaining approval of drain projects that involve property in more than one drain district. This refers to the networks of ditches and streams that are used to “drain†much of Michigan’s farmland, which was largely swamp and bog before the drain networks were created a century ago and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172179
Senate Bill 136: Flint water contamination response - rebate water bills
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 4, 2016, to appropriate $30 million from state revenue (not federal) to provide water bill refunds to Flint households that were paying for contaminated water.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723707
Senate Bill 501: Require alien drivers have visa or passport while driving
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 4, 2016, to require resident aliens who drive a vehicle in Michigan to have both a valid drivers license issued by their native land and a passport or valid visa. Current law only requires a valid drivers license. (A resident alien legally present here can also get a Michigan drivers license.) Also, to require the Secretary of State to post the countries with which it has (optional) reciprocal drivers license recognition agreements.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723710
Senate Bill 607: Revise payday lenders repayment details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 4, 2016, to allow payday lenders to accept debit cards or telephone bank transactions to “redeem” a loan.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723708
Senate Bill 644: Revise government health care facility ownership forms
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on February 4, 2016, to revise details of a law that prescribes regulations and procedures for a municipality converting government health care facilities corporations into nonprofit corporations.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723711
Senate Bill 719: Revise payday lenders repayment details
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 4, 2016, to revise certain payday lending rules, and expand the methods by which a lender can collect this debt.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723709
Senate Bill 727: Allow dogs in outdoor cafés
Introduced by Sen. Margaret O’Brien (R) on February 2, 2016, to revise a prohibition on restaurants allowing dogs in the dining area, so as to allow a restaurant to allow customers’ dogs in outside dining areas. Under current law only seeing-eye and other service dogs are allowed. Local governments could still choose to ban dogs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172230
Senate Bill 728: Revise judgeships
Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on February 2, 2016, to revise the number of judgeships in the 43rd district (Madison Heights, Ferndale, and Hazel Park).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172231
Senate Bill 729: Allow county road loans to townships
Introduced by Sen. Wayne Schmidt (R) on February 2, 2016, to allow counties to give 10-year road project loans to townships.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172232
Senate Bill 730: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on February 2, 2016, to allow money in a state revolving fund to be used to finance improvements in individual household service lines.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172233
Senate Bill 731: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on February 2, 2016, to allow money in a state revolving fund to be used to finance improvements in individual household service lines.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172234
Senate Bill 732: Exempt Masons lodges from property tax
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on February 2, 2016, to allow local governments to exempt property owned by Masons’ lodges from most property tax levies if the property is used for charitable purposes.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172235
Senate Bill 733: Ban eminent domain by municipality under state receivership
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on February 2, 2016, to prohibit the use of eminent domain property takings by a government entity under the receivership of a state-appointed emergency manager.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172236
Senate Bill 734: Repeal expanded emergency manager powers
Introduced by Sen. David Knezek (D) on February 2, 2016, to repeal the 2012 law that greatly expanded the powers of emergency managers appointed by the state to reform the finances of fiscally failed school districts and municipalities.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172237
Senate Bill 735: Automatically register new drivers to vote
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on February 2, 2016, to automatically register a person getting a drivers license or state I.D. for the first time to vote.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172238
Senate Bill 736: Require offering abortifacient drug to sexual assault victims
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on February 2, 2016, to require emergency room or urgent care clinics to offer an abortifacient drug (a “morning after pillâ€) to a victim of sexual assault who is a woman of childbearing age. Also, to require the state to produce “medically accurate†information about these drugs for distribution.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172240
Senate Bill 737: Revise delinquent tax asset seizure detail
Introduced by Sen. Peter MacGregor (R) on February 2, 2016, to revise the law that empowers the state Department of Treasury to seize and sell assets of a person who is delinquent in tax payments, so as to allow the proceeds of these sales to also be used to pay recorder of deeds fees related to the transactions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172241
Senate Bill 738: Require more state pension fund disclosures
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on February 2, 2016, to require that state pension systems include an executive summary of the system’s unfunded liabilities in annual reports they are already required to produce.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172242
Senate Bill 739: Revise DARTA property tax details
Introduced by Sen. Wayne Schmidt (R) on February 3, 2016, to specify that the property tax (“assessmentâ€) that the Detroit Regional Transit Authority may collect under a 2012 law may be for not more than two mills, and is exempt from being skimmed by a “tax capture†authority’s tax increment finance scheme (for example a downtown development authority).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172277
Senate Bill 740: Let all judges officiate marriages
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on February 3, 2016, to allow all Michigan judges to perform (“solemnizeâ€) marriages.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172278
Senate Bill 741: Revise healthcare facility rationing (“certificate of needâ€)
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on February 3, 2016, to revise the state “Certificate of Need†(CON) program, which rations the availability of health care facilities and technology. The bill would remove cone-beam dental imaging equipment from the list of items for which a company must get government approval before it can be installed in a Michigan facility.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172279
Senate Bill 742: Exempt qualified military spouse from bar exam
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on February 4, 2016, to establish that a person who has passed the legal “bar†exam in another state and has practiced there is not required to complete the college courses the law prescribes as a prerequisite for taking this licensure exam. The bill also removes fee amounts specified in current law for related licensing activities and gives the Supreme Court the authority to set the fees.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172306
Senate Bill 743: Automatically register new drivers to vote
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on February 4, 2016, to require an applicant for a state identification card to check a declaration of United States citizenship on the application in order to be automatically registered to vote as proposed by Senate Bill 735.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172307
Senate Bill 744: Mandate advance notice of vehicle insurance rate hike
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on February 4, 2016, to mandate that auto insurers give 60 day notice of any rate increase.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172308
Senate Bill 745: Automatically register new drivers to vote
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young, II (D) on February 4, 2016, to require an applicant for a drivers license to check a declaration of United States citizenship on the application in order to be automatically registered to vote as proposed by Senate Bill 735.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172309
Senate Bill 746: Make licensure violation that results in child death a crime
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on February 4, 2016, to authorize criminal penalties if a licensed child care provider or organization violates a licensing rule and this results in the death of a child.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172310
Senate Bill 747: Make licensure violation that results in child death a crime
Introduced by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R) on February 4, 2016, to establish that if a licensed child care provider or organization violates a licensing rule and this results in the death of a child it would be considered second degree child abuse.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172311
Senate Bill 748: Expand bank examiner authority, provide revenue stream
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on February 4, 2016, to permit state bank examiners to include addenda to their reports that recommend “best practices or other improvements in the operation of a bank†not required by law or regulation. Also, to deposit fees and charges related to these activities into a segregated state fund that the relevant bureau could draw on at will, as opposed to being subject to annual appropriations from the legislature.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172312
Senate Bill 749: Expand bank examiners authority, provide revenue stream
Introduced by Sen. Dale W. Zorn (R) on February 4, 2016, to permit state bank examiners to include addenda to their reports that recommend “best practices or other improvements in the operation of a bank†not required by law or regulation. Also, to deposit fees and charges related to these activities into a segregated state fund that the relevant bureau could draw on at will, as opposed to being subject to annual appropriations from the legislature.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172313
Senate Bill 750: Expand bank examiners authority, provide revenue stream
Introduced by Sen. Mike Nofs (R) on February 4, 2016, to revise details of the state banking code to conform with the proposal in Senate Bill 748 to expand the authority of state bank inspectors.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172314
Senate Bill 751: Permit bank loan raffles
Introduced by Sen. Margaret O’Brien (R) on February 4, 2016, to allow banks to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172315
Senate Bill 752: Permit bank loan raffles
Introduced by Sen. Peter MacGregor (R) on February 4, 2016, to allow banks to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172316
House Bill 5131: Revise business tax detail
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on February 4, 2016, to exempt certain “flow-through entity†type businesses (partnerships, subchapter-S corporations) from having to withhold individual income taxes on distributed income, with some exceptions.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723766
House Bill 5176: Revise 2014 “personal property tax†reform law detail
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on February 4, 2016, to revise details of a mechanism created by a 2014 legislative package enacted to distribute some state use tax revenue to local governments, which would replace revenue they lose due to associated reductions in the “personal property tax” imposed on business tools and equipment.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=723767
House Bill 5280: Appropriations: Higher Education
Introduced by Rep. Michael McCready (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Higher Education budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172244
House Bill 5281: Revise rules for state “surplus†property sales
Introduced by Rep. Larry Inman (R) on February 2, 2016, to establish new procedures for state sales of “surplus†equipment and property, including criteria for determining what to sell and how to value it, how it is to be sold and where the proceeds would be deposited (the state general fund).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172245
House Bill 5282: Revise municipal sewer backup immunity
Introduced by Rep. Michael Webber (R) on February 2, 2016, to revise details of a 2002 law that gives local governments limited immunity for damages caused by municipal sewer backups if they are properly operating and maintaining the sewer. The bill would revise details of where that immunity ends.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172246
House Bill 5283: Revise unclaimed property law
Introduced by Rep. Michael Webber (R) on February 2, 2016, to revise the state â€escheats law†that lets the state government take possession of unclaimed property if the owner does not claim it within three years, by allowing the state to sell information on this property to “locator†services that make money by finding apparent owners who pay them for having found the information.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172247
House Bill 5284: Mandate school music classes
Introduced by Rep. Erika Geiss (D) on February 2, 2016, to require that public schools provide children in grades K-5 with 90 minutes of music instruction a week, taught by an instructor who has particular academic credentials. Also, to impose a quota of one of these instructors for every 650 children in a school.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172248
House Bill 5285: Flint water contamination response bills
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on February 2, 2016, to require suppliers of water to schools (including municipal water systems) to test the water from school faucets at least once every three years for lead and other contaminants.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172249
House Bill 5286: Add condition to air emissions permit
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on February 2, 2016, to require that air emissions permits have a provision that requires the permit holder to reduce emissions when a weather-related “thermal inversion†or other condition causes air pollution levels to spike.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172250
House Bill 5287: Revise air pollution standard for “thermal inversionâ€
Introduced by Rep. Stephanie Chang (D) on February 2, 2016, to revise state air pollution standard details, and convene a work group to determine what actions should be taken when a weather-related “thermal inversion†or other condition causes air pollution levels to spike.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172251
House Bill 5288: Exempt military spouse from bar exam
Introduced by Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D) on February 2, 2016, to allow the spouse of member of the military who is stationed in Michigan who has completed to the college courses specified to be eligible to practice law here to do so without taking the state Bar exam.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172252
House Bill 5289: Exempt military spouse from bar exam
Introduced by Rep. David Maturen (R) on February 2, 2016, to allow the spouse of member of the military who is stationed in Michigan who has completed to the college courses specified to be eligible to practice law here to do so without taking the state Bar exam.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172253
House Bill 5290: Require extended tax millage proposals explain why
Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R) on February 2, 2016, to require the ballot language on local property tax millage increases that will have duration greater than five years to include an explanation for the extended duration.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172254
House Bill 5291: Appropriations: “Omnibus†education budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for a Fiscal Year 2016-2017 “Omnibus†school aid, higher education and community colleges budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172255
House Bill 5292: Appropriations: Supplemental school aid budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental school aid appropriation for the current fiscal year. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172256
House Bill 5293: Appropriations: Department of Health and Human Services
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Community Health budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172257
House Bill 5294: Appropriations: 2016-2017 “Omnibus†budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for a Fiscal Year 2016-2017 “Omnibus†budget funding all state departments. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172258
House Bill 5295: Appropriations: Capital Outlay
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 capital outlay budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172259
House Bill 5296: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental multidepartment appropriation for Fiscal Year 2016-2017. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172260
House Bill 5297: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental multidepartment appropriation for Fiscal Year 2015-2016. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172261
House Bill 5298: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental Department of Natural Resources appropriation for Fiscal Year 2015-2016. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172262
House Bill 5299: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental Department of Environmental Quality appropriation for Fiscal Year 2016-2017. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172263
House Bill 5300: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a template or “place holder” for a potential supplemental multidepartment appropriation for Fiscal Year 2016-2017. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172264
House Bill 5301: Repeal ban on bearing concealed arms without government permit
Introduced by Rep. Lee Chatfield (R) on February 2, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on carrying a concealed firearm in public unless an individual has a concealed pistol license, unless the person is barred by state or federal law from possessing a gun.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172265
House Bill 5302: Repeal ban on bearing concealed arms without government permit
Introduced by Rep. Tom Barrett (R) on February 2, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on carrying a concealed firearm in public unless an individual has a concealed pistol license, unless the person is barred by state or federal law from possessing a gun. House Bill 5301 repeals the current ban, and this bill revises references in other sections of the law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172266
House Bill 5303: Repeal ban on bearing concealed arms without government permit
Introduced by Rep. Jim Runestad (R) on February 2, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on carrying a concealed firearm in public unless an individual has a concealed pistol license, unless the person is barred by state or federal law from possessing a gun. House Bill 5301 repeals the current ban, and this bill revises references in the natural resources and environmental protection act.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172267
House Bill 5304: Repeal ban on bearing concealed arms without government permit
Introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R) on February 2, 2016, to repeal a prohibition on carrying a concealed firearm in public unless an individual has a concealed pistol license, unless the person is barred by state or federal law from possessing a gun. House Bill 5301 repeals the current ban, and this bill revises references in state sentencing guidelines.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172268
House Bill 5305: Appropriations: Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Introduced by Rep. Chris Afendoulis (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172269
House Bill 5306: Appropriations: Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Introduced by Rep. Chris Afendoulis (R) on February 2, 2016, to provide a “template†or “place holder†for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Department of Insurance and Financial Services. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172270
House Bill 5307: Expand school vision testing
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on February 3, 2016, to require public schools to give vision screening exams to all students in grades 3, 6 and 8.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172283
House Bill 5308: Exempt school board security discussions from OMA
Introduced by Rep. Robert Kosowski (D) on February 3, 2016, to exempt school board preventive security planning discussions from the state Open Meetings Act.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=172284
Senate Bill 513: Redesignate a bridge
Passed 105 to 0 in the House on February 9, 2016, to designate a bridge on U.S. 10 in Midland as the “Seaman Aaron D. Ullom Memorial Bridge”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724367
House Bill 4353: Mandate pet adoption criminal background check
Passed 88 to 17 in the House on February 9, 2016, to mandate that animal shelters must check a government criminal records database before letting person adopt an animal, and prohibit adoptions if the records show a person committed an animal cruelty offense in the past five years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724373
House Bill 4455: Revise highway bridge inspections
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 9, 2016, to require the Department of Transportation to adopt a “federally compliant and risk-based plan of biennial inspection†for all highway bridges.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724356
House Bill 4853: Increase cap on motorcycle safety course price
Passed 27 to 10 in the Senate on February 9, 2016, to increase from $25 to $50 the maximum price that governmental agencies can charge for a state-approved motorcycle safety course. Taking this course is necessary to get a drivers license motorcycle “endorsement.†See also House Bill 4854.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724358
House Bill 4854: Revise motorcycle operators license detail
Passed 33 to 4 in the Senate on February 9, 2016, to waive the requirement that an applicant for a drivers license motorcycle “endorsement†must take a written knowledge test, road sign test, and driving skills test, if the person has successfully passed a motorcycle safety course approved by the state.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724360
Senate Bill 292: Disclose unfunded pension liabilities costs in state budget
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 10, 2016, to require the executive budget the governor must submit each year to include an accounting by department of how much is needed pay the annual “catch up” costs on unfunded liabilities incurred to pay future pension and post-retirement health benefits promised to retired state employees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724597
Senate Bill 302: Ban nude entertainment in bars
Passed 27 to 10 in the Senate on February 10, 2016, to ban fully nude performers at “topless†bars, or bars showing videos that depict this. This relates to a 2007 federal appeals court ruling that struck down Michigan’s previous law banning fully nude performers in bars, holding it was a violation of the First Amendment. The bill would specifically ban a performance that “exposes to public view the pubic region, anus, or genitalsâ€.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724596
Senate Bill 503: Revise “Indian family preservation†law
Passed 106 to 0 in the House on February 10, 2016, to revise some procedural details specified in an “Indian family preservation†law enacted in 2013 that requires officials to make active efforts to provide “culturally appropriate†services†that “assure cultural connections†to the tribe.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724633
Senate Bill 738: Require more state pension fund disclosures
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on February 10, 2016, to require that state pension systems include an executive summary of the system’s unfunded liabilities in annual reports they are already required to produce.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724598
House Bill 4344: Authorize fines for not “registering†an auto repair shop
Passed 84 to 22 in the House on February 10, 2016, to codify into law a comprehensive regulatory regime that is currently imposed on vehicle repair facilities through administrative regulations, including a state registration mandate. The bill also revises some details and definitions in these requirements. House Bill 4343 would authorize fines for failing to register a facility.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724629
House Bill 5147: Permit bank and credit union loan raffles
Passed 105 to 1 in the House on February 10, 2016, to allow banks and credit unions to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724630
House Bill 5163: Rearrange government “land bank†activities
Passed 104 to 2 in the House on February 10, 2016, to repeal a state revolving loan fund used by local governments to assemble tracts of tax-reverted or other properties for sale to developers, and transfer the money it holds to a state “land bank” authority created by a 2003 law that does similar activities, along with local versions of the same thing.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724632
House Bill 5251: Permit bank loan raffles
Passed 104 to 2 in the House on February 10, 2016, to allow banks to hold loan promotion raffles, which would not be considered a violation of the state’s illegal gambling laws.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724631
House Bill 5070: Clarify franchised business employee status
The amendment failed 11 to 26 in the Senate on February 11, 2016, to establish that the bill would not apply if appointees to the National Labor Relations Board define the employees of all franchised businesses as actually being employed by the franchisor (which they have done).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724838
House Bill 5070: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on February 11, 2016, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state occupational safety and health regulations, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724842
House Bill 5071: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on February 11, 2016, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state wage and hour regulations, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724844
House Bill 5072: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on February 11, 2016, to establish that for purposes of enforcing state minimum wage mandates, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724846
House Bill 5073: Clarify franchised business employee status
Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate on February 11, 2016, to establish that for purposes of the state unemployment insurance program, the actual owner of a business franchise rather than the franchisor is considered the sole employer of the workers to whom he or she provides a benefit plan or pays wages, except as otherwise specified in the franchise agreement, or as prohibited by law. See also House Bill 4901 and Senate Bill 492.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=724848
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