Senate Bill 698: Un-do county canvasser transfer
Introduced by Sen. Virgil Smith, Jr. (D) on December 3, 2013, to reverse the provisions of House Bill 4171, now Public Act 51 of 2013, which provides for the replacement of city and township boards of canvassers with county-level boards. The primary function of these boards is to tabulate votes in elections.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161408
Senate Bill 699: Establish scrap metal theft presumption
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on December 3, 2013, to establish a rebuttable presumption that a person caught stripping more than $100 or 100 pounds of metal from a building or structure does not have the permission of the owner, and so is committing larceny as defined in a 2008 scrap metal theft law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161409
Senate Bill 700: Specify catalytic converter regulation in auto recycler law
Introduced by Sen. Morris Hood, III (D) on December 3, 2013, to include catalytic converters in the definition of major recyclable vehicle components in the state vehicle law, which among other things regulates automotive recyclers. This is one of a number of bills targeting scrap metal theft; its introduction comes after news reports of catalytic converter thefts from vehicles in state park-and-ride lots.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161410
Senate Bill 701: Encourage teaching Americas founding documents
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on December 3, 2013, to require public school boards to encourage teachers to read aloud or post in classrooms writings, documents, and records that reflect the founding and history of the United States, including but not limited to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, the Bill of Rights and more.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161411
Senate Bill 702: Revise state competitive bidding criteria
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on December 3, 2013, to require state agency procurement contracts for goods or services worth$100,000 or more to use a bid scorecard system that assesses bids based on technical and critical performance requirements, cost evaluation and labor evaluation, with specified weightings for each factor.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161412
Senate Bill 703: Revise community rehabilitation state purchase detail
Introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R) on December 3, 2013, to add a seventh member, who must be a veteran, to a government committee on the purchase of goods and services from community rehabilitation organizations, which is tasked with helping establish and review fair market prices for goods and services to be purchased by the state from community rehabilitation organizations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161413
Senate Bill 704: Require pharmacist in charge at pharmacies
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R) on December 3, 2013, to require all pharmacies, manufacturers, and wholesale distributors to designate a pharmacist in charge, and provide penalties. This relates to a recent drug compounding scandal in New England that led to contaminated drugs causing meningitis in several people.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161414
Senate Bill 705: Revise court records detail
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 4, 2013, to revise a law that requires audio recordings of court hearings involving a minor to be a permanent record. The bill would specify that how long these recordings need be retained would be set in rules determined by the state Supreme Court.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161416
Senate Bill 706: Restore ban on nude entertainment in liquor license law
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on December 4, 2013, to ban fully nude performers at topless bars, or the display of explicit pornography at bars. This relates to a 2007 federal appeals court ruling that struck down Michigans previous law banning fully nude performers in bars, holding it was a violation of the First Amendment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161417
Senate Bill 707: Expand scrap metal regulatory regime
Introduced by Sen. Virgil Smith, Jr. (D) on December 4, 2013, to impose a full licensure mandate on scrap metal dealers, in addition to an extensive regulatory regime that is already in place (and would be expanded by a number of other proposed new laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161418
Senate Bill 708: Revise second hand and junk dealer licensure
Introduced by Sen. Virgil Smith, Jr. (D) on December 4, 2013, to revise a law mandating local licensure of second hand and junk dealers, so as to eliminate this mandate if a dealer is operating with the state scrap metal dealer license that is proposed by Senate Bill 707.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161419
Senate Bill 709: Restrict no fault auto insurance gamesmanship
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on December 4, 2013, to require Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) auto insurance premium surcharges to be paid up front for the entire period of a policy, rather than pro-rated by installment payment, and prohibit an MCCA refund if the person cancels his or her insurance. This is intended to prevent individuals from purchasing a personal injury policy (required under Michigans no-fault insurance law in order to register a vehicle) and then cancelling the coverage after he or she gets the license plate or tab. MCCA is a reinsurance provider established by the no-fault law that covers unlimited vehicle accident medical claims above $500,000.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161420
Senate Bill 710: Restrict no fault auto insurance gamesmanship
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on December 4, 2013, to prohibit an auto insurer from issuing an auto insurance policy for a term less than one month. This is intended to prevent individuals from purchasing a personal injury policy (required under Michigans no-fault insurance law in order to register a vehicle) and then cancelling the coverage after he or she gets the license plate or tab.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161421
Senate Bill 711: Extend Cobo sales tax exemption
Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R) on December 4, 2013, to extend until 2016 a current 2014 sunset on a 2008 law that exempted from sales tax material which is used in repairs or improvements to a regional convention facility, including Cobo Hall in Detroit.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161422
Senate Bill 712: Extend remonumentation of Michigan-Indiana state line authorization
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on December 4, 2013, to extend until 2018 a current 2015 sunset on a 2010 law that authorized the remonumentation of the Michigan-Indiana state line.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161423
Senate Bill 713: Revise mental health services law
Introduced by Sen. Darwin Booher (R) on December 4, 2013, to accommodate rehab to expand the powers of governing board of a community mental health services authority, explicitly authorizing partnering with entities that provide health care and rehabilitative services directly related to community mental health programs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161424
Senate Bill 714: Adopt collaborative law law
Introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R) on December 5, 2013, to adopt a “uniform collaborative law act” similar to a national uniform state law commission model bill, which would establish a statutory framework for an amicable, non-adversarial dispute resolution process similar to mediation.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161467
Senate Bill 715: Adopt “universal certificates of insurance act”
Introduced by Sen. Tom Casperson (R) on December 5, 2013, to adopt a “universal certificates of insurance model act” based on a National Conference of Insurance Legislatorsmodel bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161468
House Bill 5163: Revise large carnivore ban detail
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on December 4, 2013, to create exceptions to a 2000 law that bans possession of large carnivores. The bill would allow possession by a approved science-based breeding program undertaken for conservation purposes, but not for commercial purposes.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161425
House Bill 5164: Mandate posting names of “issue ad” contributors
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on December 4, 2013, to mandate that an individual or organization who buys a political issue ad that references a candidate or ballot question (but does not necessarily engage in campaign-related express advocacy) within 60 days of an election must file a report with the Secretary of State within seven days containing the full name and street address of each person who contributed for the ad. The Secretary of State would then have to post this information on the internet within 24 hours.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161426
House Bill 5165: Repeal transportation-related business subsidy program
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 4, 2013, to repeal the state Transportation Economic Development Fund, which is essentially a form of corporate subsidy in which the state pays for transportation infrastructure projects related to a particular investors or developers new plant or project.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161427
House Bill 5166: Repeal transportation-related business subsidy program
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 4, 2013, to end transportation tax earmarks to the state Transportation Economic Development Fund, which is essentially a form of corporate subsidy in which the state pays for transportation infrastructure projects related to a particular investors or developers new plant or project. The earmarks would continue until money borrowed for past TEDF projects has been repaid.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161428
House Bill 5167: Require competitive bidding on some road maintenance
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 4, 2013, to allow the Department of Transportation to borrow unused state road tax money previously distributed to a local road agency, for the purposes of meeting state matching-fund requirements associated with federal transportation funding. Also, to require the department to seek bids and contract out administration and road maintenance in one of its seven state transportation regions, and require local road agencies that receive at least $20 million in state road tax dollars to also seek bids and contract out at least 20 percent of its road maintenance functions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161429
House Bill 5168: Facilitate federal money for Woodward streetcar
Introduced by Rep. John Walsh (R) on December 4, 2013, to authorize the Detroit area regional transportation authority authorized by a 2012 law to enter agreements with the entity that was authorized by 2008 law to create a Woodward Avenue streetcar in Detroit, for purposes of securing federal funding for that project.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161430
House Bill 5169: Facilitate federal money for Woodward streetcar
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 4, 2013, to revise details of the 2012 law that created a Detroit area regional transportation authority, so as to facilitate the proposal in House Bill 5168 to help secure federal funding for the Woodward Avenue streetcar project authorized by a 2008 law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161431
House Bill 5170: Mandate claw back (penalty) in economic development business subsidies
Introduced by Rep. Jon Switalski (D) on December 4, 2013, to require that state economic development agreements granting tax breaks, loans or cash subsidies to particular corporations or developers must include a clawback provision, requiring the recipient firm to repay the benefits if it does not meet the job or investment promises specified in the agreement.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161432
House Bill 5171: Revise environmental law details
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on December 4, 2013, to extend for another year a number of rules promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality related to environmental contamination response activities, and to PCBs, which under a 2012 law were supposed to be rescinded at the end of 2013. The bill would also modify other technical details of the law governing environmental cleanup criteria.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161433
House Bill 5172: Ban assessors entering property without written permission
Introduced by Rep. Robert Genetski (R) on December 4, 2013, to prohibit government property tax assessors from entering a private dwelling or structure without the written permission of the owner, and prohibit assessors from increasing assessments based on an assumption that unobserved improvements may exist.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161434
House Bill 5173: Ban assessors entering property without written permission
Introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey (R) on December 4, 2013, to require the state property tax assessors manual to explain that a property owner is not required to grant permission for an assessor (or an assessors agent) to enter the property; and that assessors are prohibited from entering without the owners written permission. The bill also establishes a process for assessors to formally request entry in writing, bans assessors from taking pictures of the inside, and specifies that an owner who refuses entry shall not have his or her assessment increased because of this, or be penalized in any other way. See also House Bill 5172.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161435
House Bill 5174: Require retail refund policy on receipt
Introduced by Rep. David Nathan (D) on December 4, 2013, to require retail businesses to print a written notification of their return policy on each customer receipt.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161436
House Bill 5175: Permit non-husband-and-wife state income tax joint filing
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on December 4, 2013, to establish that individuals who file a joint federal income tax return may also file a joint state income tax return, even if they are not husband and wife.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161437
House Bill 5176: Ban investigating health professional based on reality TV show
Introduced by Rep. Kevin Cotter (R) on December 4, 2013, to prohibit state authorities from investigating a report or allegation of misconduct by a licensed health care professional if it is based on information seen on a reality television show.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161438
House Bill 5177: Mandate employer give notice of discipline record
Introduced by Rep. George T. Darany (D) on December 5, 2013, to require an employer who retains a record of an employees disciplinary report, letter of reprimand, or other record of disciplinary action for more than 30 days to provide notice of the record to the employee.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161470
House Bill 5178: Expand property owner recreation liability waiver
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on December 5, 2013, to expand a property owner liability exemption that currently applies to someone fishing, hunting, trapping, camping, hiking, sightseeing, motorcycling, or snowmobiling on a persons land, so that it also applies to operating non-commercial aircraft (aviation activities). In other words, someone cant sue a landowner for injuries sustained doing any of these things, as long as the individual hasnt paid for the privilege.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161471
House Bill 5179: Transfer western Wayne correctional
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on December 5, 2013, to land bank to transfer the former western Wayne correctional facility property to a government land bank authority, which in turn would be required to sell it in a manner and on terms that the authority in its discretion calculates will realize the greatest benefit to this state.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161472
House Bill 5180: Revise animal feed regulatory regime
Introduced by Rep. Joel Johnson (R) on December 5, 2013, to revise and update details of a law that imposes regulations (including some licensure mandates) on commercial animal feed manufacturers and sellers, and which among other things specifies what may or may not be included in animal feed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161473
House Bill 5181: Allow more school retiree double dipping
Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R) on December 5, 2013, to extend for another two years a July 2014 sunset on a law that allows a former school employee to work as a teacher and still collect a pension in addition to the current pay, subject to specified limitations and qualifications.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=161474
Senate Bill 94: Prohibit Michigan National Guard executing federal indefinite detention
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on December 10, 2013, to prohibit members of the Michigan National Guard or other state and local government employees from participating in the investigation, prosecution, or detention of any person under a recent federal law giving the current or a future President the power to order the indefinite detention of persons arrested on U.S. soil, without charge or trial (Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Year 2012).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=676379
Senate Bill 373: Require pharmacy best practices pilot programs
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on December 10, 2013, 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=676291
House Bill 4064: Authorize all-electronic court records
Passed 109 to 0 in the House on December 10, 2013, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=676340