Senate Bill 713: Revise mental health services law to accommodate rehab
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, 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.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687835
House Bill 4593: Expand scrap metal regulatory regime
Passed 98 to 12 in the House on March 19, 2014, to expand an existing scrap metal dealer regulatory regime that applies to purchases of nonferrous scrap metal so that it also applies to purchases of scrap iron (ferrous metals). The bill would also impose restrictions on the form of payment a dealer could use to purchase “scrapped” catalytic converters, air conditioners and stripped copper wire. Payment in cash would be prohibited, and payments greater than $25 would have to be sent by mail to the seller’s address as indicated on valid form of identification. If the scrap metal industry creates a real time database of each purchase, some payment restrictions would be less stringent. The bills would also require dealers to keep specified records of sellers and purchased items, and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687918
House Bill 4885: Cut tax on oil and gas from “enhanced recovery”
Passed 25 to 13 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to reduce the “severance tax” or royalty paid to the state on oil and gas extracted from state land to 4 percent for hydrocarbons extracted using “enhanced recovery” technology, which injects carbon dioxide into wells to force out more product (this is different from hydraulic fracturing). The current tax ranges from 5.0 to 6.6 percent.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687838
House Bill 5121: Revise judgeships
Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to increase by one the number of judgeships in the 16th circuit court in Macomb County.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687846
House Bill 5122: Revise judgeships
Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to increase the by one the number of judgeships in the sixth circuit court in Oakland County.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687847
House Bill 5123: Revise judgeships
Passed 26 to 12 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to increase the number of judges in some judicial circuits and districts, and decrease them in some others. Among other changes the bill would reduce by one the number of judges in the 36th district in Detroit.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687850
House Bill 5124: Revise judgeships
Passed 24 to 14 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to reduce the number of district judgeships in the third judicial circuit in Wayne County from 60 to 56.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687848
House Bill 5125: Revise judgeships
Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate on March 19, 2014, to consolidate and revise the number of judgeships in several district courts around the state.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687849
House Bill 5234: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 19, 2014, to revise and update definitions in the state criminal law that covers human trafficking.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687865
House Bill 5235: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 108 to 1 in the House on March 19, 2014, to revise the state sentencing guidelines to conform to the proposal in House Bill 5234 to update definitions in the state criminal law that covers human trafficking.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687866
House Bill 5236: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 19, 2014, to revise the law authorizing seizure and forfeiture of property related to the commission of a crime or the proceeds from a criminal act so that it explicitly applies to human trafficking crimes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687867
House Bill 5237: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 19, 2014, to include human trafficking crimes in the state’s victim restitution law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687868
House Bill 5239: Human trafficking crime package
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 19, 2014, to require Department of Human Services employees to promptly report to law enforcement suspected child abuse or child neglect involving human trafficking crimes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687869
Senate Joint Resolution V: Call for “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention
Passed 77 to 32 in the House on March 20, 2014, to submit an application to Congress calling for a “convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Consitution,” limited to proposing an amendment that prohibits the federal government from spending more in any fiscal year than it collects in tax and other revenue (balanced budget amendment). Legislatures representing two-thirds of the states must request this to get a convention, and three-quarters of the states must approve any amendment proposed by an “Article V” convention for it to become part of the constitution. The resolution names 17 states that have submitted applications.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688039
Senate Bill 641: Revise real estate license details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to allow inactive real estate salespersons and brokers to renew their license within three years, subject to conditions and requirements specified in the bill. Also, to revise a six-hour annual “continuing education” mandate to instead allow licensees to take 18 hours spread over three years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687993
Senate Bill 719: Allow renegotiation of state environmental cleanup and recreation loans
Passed 103 to 7 in the House on March 20, 2014, to allow local governments with financial problems to negotiate more favorable terms on loans made to them by the state using money the state itself borrowed under the 1998 “Clean Michigan Initiative” ballot proposal, which authorized $675 million of new government debt (“bond sales”) for environmental cleanup and recreation projects. They would not be allowed to negotiate a reduction the amount of the outstanding loan principal.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687996
Senate Bill 805: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the mental health code with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687998
Senate Bill 807: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute regulating certain kinds of insurance with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688000
Senate Bill 808: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute regulating Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688001
Senate Bill 809: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the law setting standards for defendant competence in criminal trials with the term “intellectually disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making a similar change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688002
Senate Bill 810: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute authorizing an exemption from the requirement to have a fishing license to go fishing with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688003
Senate Bill 811: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute specifying the duties of the state Office of Services to the Aging with the term “developmentally disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688004
House Bill 4001: Cap FOIA charges and increase government FOIA scofflaw penalties
Passed 102 to 8 in the House on March 20, 2014, To establish statewide standards for the costs a government body may charge to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act open records request. Among other things the bill would prohibit charging more than the wages (not including benefits) of the lowest paid employee capable of meeting the request (or of deleting information exempt from disclosure), whether or not that person does the actual work. If the exempt information deletion work were done by a contract employee, the charge for the person’s time could not be greater than six times the state minimum wage. “Overhead” or overtime costs could not be included in the charges.
The charge for standard size copies could not exceed 10 cents per page, periodically adjusted for inflation, and the amount charged for the person making the copies (paper or electronic) could not exceed three times the state minimum wage. A government body could choose to provide bulky information in electronic format (on CD), and if the requested information is on its website could just reference this in its reply. FOIA requestors would have to be given an itemized list of the costs, and a government body’s procedures, guidelines and fees would have to be posted on its website (if it has one). The penalty for wrongfully denying a request would increase from $500 to $2,000 (and up to $7,500 if this is “willful and intentional”), and $1,000 for charging excessive fees (as determined by a judicial appeal process the bill would authorize)..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688023
House Bill 4118: Require drug testing of welfare applicants
Passed 25 to 11 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to require a one-year pilot program in at least three counties that would require drug testing of state welfare benefit recipients and applicants if an “empirical screening tool” indicates a reasonable suspicion of drug use. Benefits would be halted for six months if a person tests positive or refuses to take the test, with an exception for medical marijuana. If a welfare recipient who is a parent tests positive, the child would still be eligible for assistance, and a “protective payee” would be designated to receive the parent’s welfare money. The bill appropriates $500,000 for the pilot program.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687945
House Bill 4295: Adjust school budget projections, appropiate extra money
Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to make adjustments to the school aid budget for the current fiscal year to reflect lower than expected student counts, and appropriate extra money for various purposes, including a $51.7 federal “early learning challenge grant” the state applied for. This will pay for government programs that are “culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate...for high-needs children from birth to kindergarten entry” and that “promote children’s physical, social, and emotional health” among other things; training for employees who perform these activities; monitoring systems and more. It appropriates $5 million for transition costs related to dissolving the fiscally failed Buena Vista and Inkster school districts; $2 million for a year-round school pilot program; $2 million for class size reductions; $3.9 million for contracts to provide students “information technology education opportunities; and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687931
House Bill 4369: Codify “education achievement authority” for failed schools
Passed 56 to 54 in the House on March 20, 2014, to codify in statute the authority of a state “education achievement authority,” which is an office in the Department of Education tasked with reforming public schools whose performance is in the bottom 5 percent for two consecutive years. Not more than 50 schools could eventually be subject to this office’s authority (phased in through June 2017), and their management could be transferred to a charter school or another conventional school district. Alternatively, the local intermediate school district could choose to take over a failed school’s management.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688021
House Bill 4484: Cap rental self-storage late fees, revise liability
Passed 34 to 2 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to cap rental payment late fees to a self-storage space rental facility at $20 per month or 20 percent of the monthly rental amount, whichever is greater (with certain exceptions), allow additional means of disposing of property subject to sale for non-payment of rent, and revise details of the facility owner’s liability for stored documents or other media that is sold or destroyed when a tenant defaults on a rental agreement.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687940
House Bill 5119: Revise Uniform Commercial Code fund transfer details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to revise and update definitions and details of the Uniform Commercial Code law that governs funds transfers and electronic funds transfers.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687997
House Bill 5332: Establish “uniform credentialing” for government substance abuse services
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on March 20, 2014, to require the Department of Community Health to develop a “uniform credentialing program” for individuals who provide “substance use disorder services through a state department or agency” and who are not licensed health care professionals. The bill would require these individuals to meet the conditions the program would establish.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687995
House Bill 5345: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to remove the term “mentally retarded” in the law setting standards for defendant-competence in certain criminal trials, and replace it with the term “intellectually disabled.” This is part of a multi-bill package making a similar change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687932
House Bill 5346: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the statute regulating child care organizations with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687933
House Bill 5347: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a section of the Public Health Code with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687934
House Bill 5348: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the state Insurance Code with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687935
House Bill 5349: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a section of the Revised Judicature Act with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687936
House Bill 5350: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a statute regulating surrogate parenting with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687937
House Bill 5351: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in a law related to intermediate school district jurisdiction with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687938
House Bill 5352: Remove “mentally retarded” references from statute
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on March 20, 2014, to replace the term “mentally retarded” in the school employee pension law with the term “developmental disability.” This is part of a multi-bill package making the same change to various statutes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687939
House Bill 5380: Call for “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention
Passed 62 to 47 in the House on March 20, 2014, to provide a process for the legislature appointing delegates to a potential “Article V” U.S. balanced budget amendment convention of the states (as opposed to electing delegates), and prescribe the powers and duties of those delegates. House Joint Resolution CC and Senate Joint Resolution V call for such a convention.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=688040
House Bill 5396: Trim mandated barber college instruction hours
Passed 103 to 7 in the House on March 20, 2014, to reduce from 250 to 225 the number of hours of classroom study, demonstrations, and recitations that a licensed barber college must offer, and reduce from 1,750 to 1,575 hours the amount of required “practical barber training” it must provide.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=687994