Senate Bill 211: Establish firefighters’ cancer presumption
Passed 32 to 6 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to establish a presumption that certain types of cancer contracted by non-volunteer firefighters arose out of and in the course of employment for purposes of granting workers compensation benefits. The burden of proof would be on the employer to show the disease was due to the individual being a smoker, or to nonwork-related causation or specific incidents. This would all be contingent on the legislature appropriating money for the benefits.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690800
Senate Bill 446: Revise hospital “swing bed” regulations
Passed 107 to 1 in the House on May 21, 2014, to revise details in a state “Certificate of Need” medical facility rationing scheme related to hospitals with “swing beds” in short-term nursing care programs (meaning beds that can be used for either acute care or skilled nursing care).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690903
Senate Bill 648: Authorize state grants to certain doctors
Passed 104 to 6 in the House on May 21, 2014, to expand a state scholarship that subsidizes the medical school loans for a student who agrees to provide specified primary care services in an area of the state deemed to have a shortage of such providers. The bill would expand the program to dentists and increase the maximum subsidy to $200,000. Different parts of these provisions are contained in a package comprised of this and Senate Bill 649.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690847
Senate Bill 649: Authorize state grants to certain doctors
Passed 105 to 5 in the House on May 21, 2014, to expand a state scholarship that subsidizes the medical school loans for a student who agrees to provide specified primary care services in an area of the state deemed to have a shortage of such providers. The bill would expand the program to dentists and increase the maximum subsidy to $200,000. Different parts of these provisions are contained in a package comprised of this and Senate Bill 648.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690902
Senate Bill 656: Require certain drug price limits in medical welfare programs
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to revise the formula and procedures prescribed for a “maximum allowable cost” scheme used by the state’s medical welfare programs to determine how much they will reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs dispensed to beneficiaries.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690846
Senate Bill 741: Give temporary health care professional occupational license to military spouse
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to grant a temporary Michigan health care specialty license to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for a maximum of one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690901
Senate Bill 742: Give temporary occupational license to military spouse
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to grant a temporary occupational license mandated by Michigan law to earn a living in certain professions to the spouse of a member of the military from another state if the person has an equivalent license from that state, and if the person also submits fingerprints to meet a background check mandate. The license would be valid for a maximum of one year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690900
Senate Bill 788: Codify property owner trespasser liability waiver
Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to establish in statute (in addition to existing case law or common law) that a property owner, leaseholder, lien-holder or occupant is not liable for physical harm to a trespasser caused by the property owner or possessor’s failure to exercise reasonable care to make the property reasonably safe and not endanger the trespasser. The bill authorizes exceptions for willful and wanton misconduct by the property owner or possessor, or “active negligence,” or in the case of harm to a child, knowing that an “attractive nuisance” exists.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690792
Senate Bill 791: Revise, make permanent non-transportation 7/8th cent gas tax
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to eliminate the 2016 sunset on a 7/8ths cent-per-gallon gas tax that was originally supposed to expire in 1998 and be used to clean up leaking underground fuel tanks, but which has been extended several times and was diverted to other government spending by a 2004 “fund raid.” The 2004 “fund raid” was enacted to avoid state spending cuts and reforms in that year’s budget, and remains in effect.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690799
Senate Bill 846: Revise “development district” liquor license law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to extend to villages and townships the 2005 law that authorizes the issuance of additional on-premises liquor licenses in excess of the number allowed under a state quota system, for businesses in “development” districts, “tax increment finance authority” districts, certain “corridor improvement” districts, “downtown development” districts and “principal shopping districts” (which all enable local governments to impose higher property taxes and/or grant various subsidies in those areas).
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690798
Senate Bill 900: Revise workers comp insurance detail
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to give the state agency that oversees the injured workers compensation insurance system discretion to permit reimbursement for certain claims made after statutory deadlines have passed.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690797
House Bill 4656: Revise youth employment limits
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on May 21, 2014, to exempt minors age 16 and 17 who have received a GED high school equivalency certificate from a law that caps the number of hours a minor who is in school can work. Under current law the maximum is 24 hours in one week when school is in session, and not more than “an average of 8 hours per day in one week” during the summer.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690796
House Bill 4985: Redesignate a road
Passed 107 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to designate a portion of portion M-153 in Wayne County as the “Firefighter Brian Woehlke Memorial Highway”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690908
House Bill 5193: Restrict closed-door local government lawsuit meetings
Passed 96 to 12 in the House on May 21, 2014, to prohibit government legislative bodies from holding closed-door sessions to discuss trial or settlement strategies, unless the matter being discussed is already being litigated.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690904
House Bill 5194: Increase Open Meeting Act rigor
Passed 90 to 17 in the House on May 21, 2014, to establish that if a public body takes an action while in violation of the state Open Meetings Act, and then later re-enacts the decision while in compliance with the OMA, this does not exempt public officials from the misdemeanor and civil fine penalties the OMA authorizes for knowingly holding a meeting that violates its public notice and open-door requirements.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690907
House Bill 5414: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to reduce the so-called “driver responsibility fees” (a.k.a. “bad driver tax”) imposed for certain traffic violations, which were originally adopted in 2003 to avoid spending cuts in that year’s and subsequent state budgets. The bill would cut these additional fees in half for offenses committed after Sept. 30, 2014, and abolish them as of Oct. 1, 2017. Reportedly, thousands of mostly low-income individuals have lost their licenses due to inability to pay these penalties.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690910
House Bill 5501: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on May 21, 2014, to eliminate failure to pay the so-called “driver responsibility fees” imposed in 2003 as a revenue measure from a list of possible “licensing sanctions” in an unrelated drivers license statute. This is linked to House Bill 5414, with would gradually phase out these fees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=690911
Senate Bill 945: Transfer student testing oversight to Department of Treasury
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on May 20, 2014, to transfer oversight of statewide K-12 student academic testing from the State Board of Education and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Department of Treasury.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164349
Senate Bill 946: Impose more regulations on debt collectors and loan buyers
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 20, 2014, to impose new restrictions, regulations and disclosure requirements on debt collectors and buyers of consumer loans, and give the state Attorney General additional enforcement powers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164350
Senate Bill 947: Revise collection agency audit details
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on May 20, 2014, to revise details of state audits of licensed collection agency records.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164351
Senate Bill 948: Restrict radioactive material storage and disposal
Introduced by Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) on May 21, 2014, to prohibit storing or disposing radioactive waste from another state or country in Michigan, and ban storing any radioactive material other than what is allowed under current law for nuclear power plants, uranium mines and medical uses. The bill would also create a state advisory board for the purpose of writing a report on the potential impact of depositing radioactive waste deep underground at a site in Kincardine, Ontario, as proposed by an Ontario utility.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164362
Senate Bill 949: Establish new local and school budget process requirements
Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish new budget process, disclosure and audit requirements for local governments and school districts. Among other things local government governing bodies would be prohibited from approving a budget “by reference;” their chief administrative officer would be required to recommend an annual budget that complies with the form and standards prescribed by the state; and they would have to immediately report a current or projected deficit to the state Department of Treasury, along with a plan to correct it. School districts that project a decline in student counts would be required to amend (cut) their current budgets to recognize this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164363
Senate Bill 950: Establish procedures for dissolving fiscally failed school district
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish a process for a public school district that is no longer financially viable to voluntarily dissolve itself, with the property it owns transferred to a “land bank” authority (the students would be assigned to neighboring districts). That entity would first offer the property for transfer to the school districts that absorbed the children in the territory of the dissolved district, then to other districts. If no school district wanted the property the authority would auction it to the highest bidder.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164364
Senate Bill 951: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to expand the scope of a law that prescribes processes and requirements for correcting local government deficit spending, so that it also applies to public school districts. Districts that fail to follow the steps required under a deficit elimination plan could have 10 percent of their state funding withheld until they comply.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164365
Senate Bill 952: Establish new local and school budget process requirements
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to prescribe procedures, notification and budget-cutting requirements, and monitoring for a public school district that experiences a gap between projected revenue and actual spending (a deficit), or is in the midst of “rapidly declining financial circumstances,” including substantial declines in enrollment. The bill tasks the state Department of Education with specific duties in such situations, which could include authority over academic matters in addition to financial ones. This is part of package comprised of Senate Bills 949 to 957.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164366
Senate Bill 953: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to authorize appointment by the governor of an Emergency Manager for a public school district that fails to comply with an “enhanced deficit elimination plan” required by Senate Bill 952 for a district whose first plan failed to fix the problem, or is in “rapidly declining financial circumstances”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164367
Senate Bill 954: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on May 21, 2014, to give the Department Treasury the authority to withhold state school aid payments “to incentivize” an overspending school district that fails to submit an acceptable “deficit elimination plan” as required by Senate Bill 952, or which falls more deeply into financial trouble and must operate under an “enhanced” deficit plan.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164368
Senate Bill 955: Increase school “emergency loan” funding
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 21, 2014, to increase from $50 million to $100 million the amount allocated through 2018 for “financial emergency” loans from the state to public school districts.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164369
Senate Bill 956: Expand criteria allowing “emergency loans” to schools
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on May 21, 2014, to revise details of a law that allows the state to loan money to a public school district that has a deficit and an approved plan to eliminate it. Among other this he bill expands loan eligibility to districts that have already borrowed against anticipated state school aid payments, as provided in another law.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164370
Senate Bill 957: Expand state oversight of public school overspending
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on May 21, 2014, to establish a process whereby a public school district experiencing “conditions of fiscal stress, a deficit, or a potential financial emergency” can apply for “technical assistance” from the state including data analysis tools, so as to avoid further state intervention. The bill would also give the state Superintendent of Public Instruction or the state Treasurer the authority to require a public school district experiencing financial stress to submit periodic financial status reports as specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164371
House Bill 5584: Eliminate February election date
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on May 20, 2014, to eliminate the regular February election date (the fourth Tuesday in February), which is one of four regular election date established for almost all state and local elections (the others being the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, August and November).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164376
House Bill 5585: Revise criminal defendant “youthful trainee status”
Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R) on May 20, 2014, to require that if a criminal defendant assigned to “youthful trainee status” (which provides a mechanism for not including an offense on the youth’s permanent record) is convicted with a serious felony listed in the bill, the “trainee” status must be revoked (which means the previous crime also goes on the person’s record).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164377
House Bill 5586: Expand home health agency fingerprinting mandate
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to add additional home health care agency services for which the individual providing the service must get a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164378
House Bill 5587: Expand home health agency fingerprinting mandate
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to revise the definition of a “home health agency” in a law that requires fingerprint-based criminal background checks for their employees who provide service.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164379
House Bill 5588: Authorize enhanced penalty for assaulting home health provider
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the penalties associated with House Bill 5589 for assaulting a home health care service provider.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164380
House Bill 5589: Authorize enhanced penalty for assaulting home health provider
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to expand a law that authorizes enhanced penalties for committing an assault in which the victim is targeted because he or she is performing duties as an employee the state welfare agency, so that this also applies to home health care workers. The bill would also increase the maximum penalties.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164381
House Bill 5590: Ban employer ban of home health worker having pepper spray
Introduced by Rep. Henry Yanez (D) on May 20, 2014, to prohibit public and private employers of home health workers from sanctioning workers for having a self-defense spray device if the person has taken a safety training course.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164382
House Bill 5591: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691163
House Bill 5592: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on May 27, 2014.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=691164
House Bill 5593: Revise mortgage lender licensing detail
Introduced by Rep. Peter Pettalia (R) on May 20, 2014, to revise details of a law mandating licensure for mortgage loan originators.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164385