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