House Joint Resolution FF: Make enacted bills effective in 90 days, or sooner with 2/3 vote
Passed 60 to 50 in the House on June 12, 2014, to place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment establishing that bills enacted by the legislature go into effect 90 days after being filed with the Secretary of State, unless the bill is given immediate effect by a roll call vote of two-thirds of the members elected and serving in the House and Senate. A 2/3 vote is required to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692646
Senate Bill 66: Revise high school graduation standards
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to revise procedural details related to the state’s high school graduation and curriculum standards. The bill would require timely responses from the Department of Education to school requests for information that helps them meet the requirements. It also “strongly encourages” schools to establish programs that lead to a professional certificate, training, apprenticeship, or college credit in a specific career and technical field.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692649
Senate Bill 324: Require certification of federal health care law “navigators”
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to require “certification” for the individuals and organizations acting as “navigators” authorized by the federal health care law (“Obamacare”) to assist individuals who apply for government-subsidized health benefits through the law’s “exchange,” including criminal background check and training requirements. The bill requires the Department of Insurance and Financial Services to determine whether a training program not created by the state sufficiently protects the privacy and security of Michigan residents’ personally identifiable information. If it does not, then the state would have to provide its own version. The bill authorizes administrative sanctions and fines for individuals and organizations who violate various rules, including “steering” a person toward a particular policy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692564
Senate Bill 481: Repeal licensure mandate on foresters
Passed 57 to 53 in the House on June 12, 2014, to repeal a licensure mandate imposed on foresters, and eliminate a state “Board of Foresters” comprised political appointees who establish educational and experience requirements for forresters.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692629
Senate Bill 484: Repeal registration mandate on foresters
Passed 61 to 49 in the House on June 12, 2014, to repeal a registration mandate imposed on foresters. This bill repeals associated fees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692630
Senate Bill 535: Mandate retailers check pseudoephed buyers against “meth offender registry”
Passed 107 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to require the State Police to submit information on methamphetamine-related offenders to a national database, and reinforce the mandate that retailers check the names and prohibit sales to anyone buying cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine whose name is on the list, by granting immunity from civil liability to those who rely on and use the information.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692602
Senate Bill 613: Permit keeping road kill
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on June 12, 2014, to allow a driver who kills or injures a game animal other than some birds including turkeys, badgers, bobcats, elk, moose, deer fauns, wolves and bear cubs to keep it, and give the driver first priority if more than one person wants it. The Department of Natural Resources would be required to issue a “salvage tag” if requested, which would be required to get the carcass stuffed or tanned by a taxidermist. The driver would have to keep a record of the circumstances until the game is consumed or discarded.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692608
Senate Bill 633: Allow community service to cover some “bad driver” fees
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to allow a person to do 10 hours of “community service” in lieu of paying a state “bad driver fee” for certain offenses, including accumulating seven or more “points” within a two-year period, driving without a license and failing to produce proof of insurance. These very high, revenue-raising fees were originally imposed in 2003 to avoid spending cuts in that year’s and subsequent state government budgets.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692583
Senate Bill 644: Revise “strict discipline academies” detail
Passed 96 to 14 in the House on June 12, 2014, to allow “strict discipline academies” (which provide alternative schooling for students expelled for certain criminal offenses and juvenile offenders under a criminal sentence diversion agreement) to enroll students from high- or medium-security juvenile facilities, mental health facilities, or child caring institutions that are operated by a private agency.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692605
Senate Bill 674: Establish statutory right to breastfeed in public
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, 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=692577
Senate Bill 674: Establish statutory right to breastfeed in public
Passed 108 to 2 in the House on June 12, 2014, to establish in law that a woman has a right to breastfeed a baby in a “place of public accommodation” or public facility. A woman would be entitled to “the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations” in these places, and if denied them could sue for actual damages or up to $200 in “presumed” damages.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692617
Senate Bill 678: Revise tobacco tax revenue earmarks
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on June 12, 2014, to earmark $3 million of annual state tobacco tax revenue to the state Capitol upkeep fund proposed by Senate Bill 665.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692626
Senate Bill 704: Require “pharmacist in charge” at pharmacies
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, 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.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692609
Senate Bill 715: Adopt “universal certificates of insurance act”
Passed 109 to 1 in the House on June 12, 2014, to prohibit issuing a certificate of insurance that would alter the coverage provided by an insurance policy referred to in the certificate, or which contained false or misleading information concerning a policy, or requiring the issuance of a certificate with false or misleading information regarding a policy. Also, to establish that a person would have a right to notice of cancellation only under the terms of an insurance policy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692607
Senate Bill 756: Revise pseudoephed “instant background check” law details
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to revise details of a 2011 law that requires retailers selling pseudoephedrine cold medications to perform an “instant check” on each customer using the “National Precursor Log Exchange” (Nplex) administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI). See also Senate Bill 535.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692603
Senate Bill 817: Move back teacher rating process deadlines
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to revise the criteria for teacher “effectiveness” evaluation, so that student progress would not have to be measured using “assessments and other objective criteria.” Originally under a 2011 law basing school employment decisions on these ratings, half of a teacher’s effectiveness rating was supposed to be based on student academic progress as measured by actual results on state tests. Under the House-passed version of House Bill 5223, only 20 percent of the rating would be based on student test results in “core” subjects, with the remainder based on potentially more subjective “local” measurements of student academic progress.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692606
Senate Bill 846: Revise “development district” liquor license law
Passed 103 to 7 in the House on June 12, 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=692611
Senate Bill 872: Reduce regulatory obstacles to developing stamp-sand property
Passed 29 to 8 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, 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=692589
Senate Bill 872: Reduce regulatory obstacles to developing stamp-sand property
Passed 67 to 43 in the House on June 12, 2014, to establish that property where “stamp sands” have been deposited is not subject to state environmental law restrictions unless the sands contain hazardous substances that exceed the allowable levels for unrestricted residential use. “Stamp sands” are finely grained crushed rock resulting from copper ore processing and are not uncommon in the Keweenaw region.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692645
Senate Bill 904: Require “pharmacist in charge” at pharmacies
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the criminal offenses proposed by Senate Bill 704, which would require pharmacies, manufacturers, and distributors to designate a pharmacist in charge. This relates to a recent “drug compounding” scandal in New England that led to contaminated drugs causing meningitis in several people.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692610
Senate Bill 922: Authorize local “pension obligation bonds”
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to extend for one year the Dec. 31, 2014 sunset on a law passed in 2012 to allow local governments to borrow money to cover unfunded employee pension liabilities, if the local has closed its traditional “defined benefit” pension system to new employees.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692569
House Bill 4465: Lower high school graduation standards
Passed 23 to 14 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise wording in the state’s high school graduation curriculum requirements in ways that generally reduce the rigor of foreign language and math standards, among other things allowing students to substitute certain alternative courses for Algebra II; and also to revise details of physical education and arts standards.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692596
House Bill 4466: Revise high school graduation standards
Passed 23 to 14 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise the high school graduation curriculum requirements adopted in a 2006 law by allowing one of the science course requirements to be met by a course in “agricultural science;” make it easier for a student to get an exemption from the math and other standards (that is, to have a custom “personal curriculum”); and more.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692597
House Bill 4534: Establish “animal abuse registry”
Passed 98 to 12 in the House on June 12, 2014, to mandate that animal shelters run background checks for animal abuse offense on individuals wanting to adopt an animal, using an Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT) maintained by the Department of State Police.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692612
House Bill 4958: Prohibit unemployment benefits for legal aliens on work visa
Passed 34 to 4 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to establish that legal aliens with a work visa are not eligible for Michigan unemployment benefits. Under current law this ineligibility applies to agricultural work, and the bill would expand it to include non-agricultural work. This would mean that their employers wouldn’t have to pay the state unemployment tax (”assessment”) imposed on these workers’ wages.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692571
House Bill 4997: Ban sale of e-cigarettes to minors
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to ban the sale to minors of electronic cigarettes or any oral device that provides vaporized nicotine, and the use of these devices by minors. This bill provides definitions for the proposed law, and Senate Bills 667 and 668 contain the use and sales bans, respectively.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692565
House Bill 5061: Mandate criminal background check to adopt a pet
Passed 89 to 21 in the House on June 12, 2014, to prohibit animal shelters from allowing a person to adopt an animal if the background check mandated by House Bill 4534 showed the person had committed an animal abuse offense in the past five years.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692614
House Bill 5313: Appropriations: 2014-2015 “Omnibus” budget
Passed 24 to 12 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, the final state government budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2014, not including education spending (which is in House Bill 5314.) This would appropriate $37.4 billion, compared to $34.4 billion originally appropriated the previous year (prior to adoption of the federal health care law’s Medicaid expansion). Of this, $17.6 billion comes from state tax, fee and other revenue, compared to $16.9 billion the previous year. The rest of this budget is federal money ($19.8 billion, compared to $18.1 billion the previous year).
With education spending, the total state budget for the next fiscal year will be $53.15 billion, up $3.63 billion (7.3 percent) from the $49.52 billion budget originally enacted for the previous year. The state portion of this will be $31.45 billion, up $1.25 billion (4.1 percent) from the $30.18 billion originally approved for the previous year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692513
House Bill 5313: Appropriations: 2014-2015 “Omnibus” budget
Passed 100 to 10 in the House on June 12, 2014, the final state government budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2014, not including education spending (which is in House Bill 5314.) This would appropriate $37.4 billion, compared to $34.4 billion originally appropriated the previous year (prior to adoption of the federal health care law’s Medicaid expansion). Of this, $17.6 billion comes from state tax, fee and other revenue, compared to $16.9 billion the previous year. The rest of this budget is federal money ($19.8 billion, compared to $18.1 billion the previous year).
With education spending, the total state budget for the next fiscal year will be $53.15 billion, up $3.63 billion (7.3 percent) from the $49.52 billion budget originally enacted for the previous year. The state portion of this will be $31.45 billion, up $1.25 billion (4.1 percent) from the $30.18 billion originally approved for the previous year.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692604
House Bill 5397: Authorize local government energy efficiency homeowner loans
Passed 108 to 2 in the House on June 12, 2014, to allow local governments in communities with a municipal utility to provide an energy efficiency loan program for homeowners. Loan payments could be made with utility bills.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692623
House Bill 5414: Reduce, then end “driver responsibility fees”
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to gradually phase out 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 fees for most offenses would be abolished as of Oct. 1, 2019. Reportedly, thousands of mostly low-income individuals have lost their licenses due to inability to pay these penalties. Senate Bill 633 would authorize doing “community service” as an alternative in many cases..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692584
House Bill 5445: Establish rape kit evidence regulations and procedures
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to establish regulations, procedures and timetables with deadlines that law enforcement agencies and health care providers must follow when collecting and using sexual assault kit evidence.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692566
House Bill 5451: Authorize National Guard member tuition subsidies
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to authorize annual college or vocational education tuition subsidies “in an amount determined to be available by the Guard’s Adjutant General” for a current Michigan National Guard member. House Bill 5313 appropriates $4.7 million for this.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692570
House Bill 5478: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new “private employer group self-insurers security fund,” starting in 2020. This fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692498
House Bill 5479: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to replace an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits from a private self-insurer that becomes insolvent with a new entity, starting in 2019. The new fund would pay injured or disabled employees’ claims and impose assessments on member groups to cover the insufficiency if one of them is unable to pay valid claims. . This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692499
House Bill 5480: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692500
House Bill 5481: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise details of the state workers compensation insurance law to conform to the proposal in House Bills 5478 and 5479 to revise a state reinsurance fund to cover claims against self-insured employers who become insolvent. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692501
House Bill 5483: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to authorize the imposition of extra assessments against the members of the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” if its obligations exceed the capacity of the fund to pay. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692502
House Bill 5484: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to establish that the duty of the Attorney General to give legal advice to an existing state “self-insurers’ security fund” for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits would be the same under the replacement entity proposed in House Bills 5478 and 5479. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692507
House Bill 5485: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to establish that the “private employer group self-insurers security fund” proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 ends up paying the benefits of an injured worker (instead of the self-insured employer paying them, it would have the right to seek reimbursement from the insolvent employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692504
House Bill 5486: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to establish that rights to an insolvent employer’s records currently vested in a state workers compensation “self-insurers’ security fund” would be the same under the replacement entity proposed by House Bills 5478 and 5479 for covering worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692508
House Bill 5487: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to increase the assessment imposed on self insured companies and revise the assessment-setting methodology and accounting requirements for a state trust fund created to pay worker’s compensation insurance benefits owed by an insolvent self-insured employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692509
House Bill 5488: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise details of a provision enforcing the duty of an employer who self-insures for potential workers compensation liability to pay into a state trust fund created to cover benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692510
House Bill 5489: Authorize workers comp trust fund payments to former Delphi workers
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to authorize payments from a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation insurance benefits owed by insolvent self-insured employers to former employees of the Delphi Corporation (which was spun-off by General Motors in 1997 and filed bankruptcy in 2005). The trust fund would be allowed to seek reimbursement from whatever entity is ultimately found by a federal court to be liable for these claims. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692511
House Bill 5490: Reorganize workers comp self-insurance trust fund
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise details of the process for resolving disputes between an employer or insurer and the trustees of a state trust fund created to pay workers compensation benefits owed by an insolvent employer. This is part of a legislative package intended to provide several hundred former Delphi Corporation employees with workers’ compensation benefits that reportedly have not been available since 2009 due to the company’s bankruptcy.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692512
House Bill 5558: Clarify preemption of insurance lawsuits under Consumer Protection Act
Passed 24 to 13 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to clarify that a prohibition of “unfair practices” lawsuits against insurance companies under the state Consumer Protection Act (rather than the state’s Insurance Code) applies even if the cause of action occurred before a 2001 law was enacted specifying that industries like insurance which are already subject to a comprehensive state regulatory regime are not covered by the Consumer Protection Act. Lawsuits that have already been filed could still proceed, however.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692585
House Bill 5591: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to exempt a mother’s breastfeeding in a public place from state laws prohibiting open or indecent exposure, “regardless of whether or not her areola or nipple is visible during or incidental to the breastfeeding”.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692567
House Bill 5592: Exempt public breastfeeding from “indecent exposure” law
Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on June 12, 2014, to revise the law that defines indecent exposure as a form of disorderly conduct so that it conforms to the proposal in House Bill 5591 to exempt a mother’s breastfeeding of a child from the indecent exposure law.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692568
House Bill 5608: Provide insurance to fallen public safety dependents
Passed 110 to 0 in the House on June 12, 2014, to require the state to provide the spouse and dependents of a firefighter, law enforcement officer or emergency first responder who dies in the line of duty with health insurance comparable to and on similar terms as the coverage plan provided to Michigan State Policy troopers. This would end when these individuals get comparable coverage from another source.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=692618
House Bill 5655: Give unemployment benefits for domestic violence absence
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on June 11, 2014, to allow unemployment insurance benefits for an individual who leaves a job due to domestic violence.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164573
House Bill 5658: Authorize PPOs for threats against pets
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on June 11, 2014, to authorize courts to issue a personal protection order against an individual who threatens, harms or tries to take an animal in which the petitioner has an ownership interest, or who interferes with the petitioner’s efforts to remove the animal from premises the premises of individual to be restrained.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164576
House Bill 5659: Authorize firearm seizure in domestic violence incident
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on June 11, 2014, to authorize the seizure of legally owned firearms if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe a domestic violence incident has occurred or that the alleged perpetrator is subject to a personal protection order, “conditional release” order or firearms possession prohibition order, and if the officer believes the firearm exposes the victim to risk of harm. The guns would have to be returned unless the individual is otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms or they are held as evidence of a probable-cause based criminal proceeding.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164577
House Bill 5660: Revise county veteran department detail
Introduced by Rep. Greg MacMaster (R) on June 11, 2014, to establish that if a county department of veterans’ affairs contracts to provide services in a different county, a resident of that second county can be on department’s administrative board.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164578
House Bill 5661: Require state to disclose all payments to local governments
Introduced by Rep. Pam Faris (D) on June 11, 2014, to require the state’s “comprehensive annual financial report” to itemize all payments to each local government unit during the year.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164579
House Bill 5662: Require state contract bidders disclose if they are public officials
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) on June 11, 2014, to require all bidders on state contracts to disclose whether they, their spouse, or a relative “to the fourth degree of consanguinity” are public officials. If the bidder is a business this would apply to the partners, officers, directors and principle shareholders.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164580
House Bill 5663: Impose financial disclosure on state department heads and deputies
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on June 11, 2014, to require non-civil service state department employees (which means the small number politically appointed department heads and their deputies) to file extensive financial disclosures listing the assets and incomes of themselves and their spouse, including any future employment agreements.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164581
House Bill 5664: Expand mandated lobbyist contact reporting
Introduced by Rep. Brandon Dillon (D) on June 11, 2014, to expand the list of executive branch employees with whom communications to influence administrative actions is considered “lobbying” and subject to registration and disclosure mandates.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164582
House Bill 5665: Make some property transfer forms confidential
Introduced by Rep. Kevin Cotter (R) on June 11, 2014, to make confidential the forms submitted by a property buyer to the local assessor revealing how much was paid in certain property transfers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164583
House Bill 5666: Repeal county promotions tax, except for Washtenaw
Introduced by Rep. Rick Outman (R) on June 11, 2014, to repeal a law that allows counties to impose a 0.5 mill property tax for trade expositions, tourism promotion or to advertise the county’s “agricultural advantages,” except for Washtenaw County, which appears to be the only county that currently imposes this tax.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164584
House Bill 5667: Let clerks choose electronic voting system
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on June 12, 2014, to allow county clerks in cooperation with and local clerks to determine which electronic voting system to adopt, subject to certain requirements specified in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164587
House Bill 5668: Authorize “epi-pens” in restaurants, camps, arenas and more
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R) on June 12, 2014, to expand to restaurants, recreation camps, youth sports leagues, amusement parks, sports arenas and other “authorized facilities” at which allergens capable of causing anaphylaxis may be present, a law that 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.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164588
House Bill 5669: Revise private school teacher “professional development” detail
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on June 12, 2014, to permit a “state-approved nonpublic school” to provide teacher “professional development” for nonpublic school teachers, and credit this toward the issuance or renewal of a teaching certificate or subject area “endorsement,” to the same extent as when this is provided for teachers in public schools.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164589
House Bill 5670: Require city tax liability disclosure on state tax forms
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 12, 2014, to require income tax filers to disclose on state tax returns whether they have local government income tax liability, whether their employer has withheld money from paychecks for this, and how much they owe to the local government. State tax forms would have to include a list of local income taxes and a worksheet to calculate the liability.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164590
House Bill 5671: Restrict government pension “service credit” purchases
Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D) on June 12, 2014, to place additional restrictions on counties allowing an employee to purchase “service credits,” which is a scheme that allows government employees to artificially boost the years-on-the-job component of the formula used to calculate post-retirement pension benefit levels.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164591
House Bill 5672: Mandate child care centers have infant “safe sleep” policies
Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D) on June 12, 2014, to mandate that child care centers, group child care homes, and family child care homes that provide care to infants under age one to implement “safe sleep policies,” the details of which would be determined by a government administrative agency.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164592
House Bill 5673: Expand electricity “net metering” mandate
Introduced by Rep. Edward McBroom (R) on June 12, 2014, to expand and extend a “net metering” mandate imposed on utilities, which requires them to purchase electricity from customers who generate small amounts of electricity. The bill eliminates an overall cap on the amount of electricity utilities can be forced to purchase, and extends the mandate for an additional 10 years.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164593
House Bill 5674: Expand electricity “net metering” mandate
Introduced by Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R) on June 12, 2014, to expand a “net metering” mandate imposed on utilities, which requires them to purchase electricity from customers who generate small amounts, so it would also apply to so-called “community renewable energy gardens,” in which a number of people subscribe to a larger solar or wind facility that sells electricity to the utility and distributes the proceeds to subscribers.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164594
House Bill 5675: Authorize rules for “microgrids”
Introduced by Rep. Jon Switalski (D) on June 12, 2014, to require the Public Service Commission to authorize and establish statewide interconnection standards for “microgrids.” This is a small group of electricity users with their own generation source (including renewable sources such as solar or wind), connected to the main electric grid through a single interconnection but also capable of providing power to users if that connection is disrupted (“island mode”). The bill would require the PSC to submit a report on the concept and convene an advisory panel consisting of individuals representing various interests specified in the bill (including unions, environmentalist organizations, utilities, local governments, consumers, etc.).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164595
House Bill 5676: Expand electricity “net metering” mandate
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Irwin (D) on June 12, 2014, to require the Public Service Commission to establish an alternative methodology for determining rates paid under a “net metering” mandate imposed on utilities, which requires them to purchase electricity from customers who generate small amounts. Among other things the alternative rate would have to compensate a net metering customer for value of electricity to “the electric provider, its customers, and society”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164596
House Bill 5677: Require condo owners approve mineral right sales
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on June 12, 2014, to require a majority vote by co-owners of a condominium for the sale of oil, gas, or mineral rights in land that they own in common.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164597
House Bill 5678: Expand breast feeding nudity exemption to milk pump
Introduced by Rep. Margaret O’Brien (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the breastfeeding exemption in a law that defines and bans “public nudity,” so that the exemption also includes a woman exposing her breast for purposes of “expressing” breast milk, meaning taking milk from the breast with a pump or by hand for later use.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164598
House Bill 5679: Expand breast feeding nudity exemption to milk pump
Introduced by Rep. Gail Haines (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the breastfeeding exemption in a law that defines and bans “public nudity,” so that the exemption also includes a woman exposing her breast for purposes of “expressing” breast milk, meaning taking milk from the breast with a pump or by hand for later use.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164599
House Bill 5680: Expand breast feeding nudity exemption to milk pump use
Introduced by Rep. Cindy Denby (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the breastfeeding exemption in a law that defines and bans “public nudity,” so that the exemption also includes a woman exposing her breast for purposes of “expressing” breast milk, meaning taking milk from the breast with a pump or by hand for later use.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164600
House Bill 5681: Expand breast feeding nudity exemption to milk pump use
Introduced by Rep. Eileen Kowall (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the breastfeeding exemption in a law that defines and bans “public nudity,” so that the exemption also includes a woman exposing her breast for purposes of “expressing” breast milk, meaning taking milk from the breast with a pump or by hand for later use. This is part of a package consisting of House Bills 5678 to 5681 that amend different statutes that apply to different kinds of local governments.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164602
House Bill 5682: Revise youth gang offence criteria
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the penalties and the criteria in a a 2008 law that authorizes enhanced sentences for a felony that is committed by a youth gang member. Under current law the criteria for determining gang association is whether the gang provides the “motive, means, or opportunity” to commit the crime. The bill would change this to the presence of much more specific factors, and would change the maximum penalty to 10 years and $10,000, in addition to the penalty for the underlying or “predicate” crime.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164603
House Bill 5683: Revise youth gang offence criteria
Introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the sentencing guidelines for a 2008 law that authorizes enhanced sentences for a felony that is committed by a youth gang member, so as to reflect the changes to this law proposed by House Bill 5682.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164604
House Bill 5684: Expand drain commission powers
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on June 12, 2014, to allow government drainage districts to “acquire interests in real or personal property by gift, purchase, or any other method, including condemnation” (through eminent domain). Current law lets drain districts “hold, manage, and dispose of real and personal property.” “Personal property” is not defined in this statute, and according to one source it is “generally is interpreted to be (property) not permanently affixed to land: e.g., equipment, furniture, tools, computers.” Drainage districts create and maintain the “drains” (usually networks of ditches) that remove surplus water from land, allowing it to be farmed or developed.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164605
House Bill 5685: Authorize local government drain petitions
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on June 12, 2014, to permit local governments (in addition to property owners) to petition a drain commission for a drain (usually a network of ditches) to remove excess water from lands that traverse more than one county. Taxpayers in the petitioning city, village or townships would then be liable for a portion of the costs.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164606
House Bill 5686: Revise drain code provisions for multi-county drains
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on June 12, 2014, to revise the law that authorizes local road commissions or the state Department of Transportation to petition a drain commission for a drain to remove surplus water from land adjacent to a road, so as to extend this authority to requesting a drain that traverses more than one county.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164607
House Bill 5687: Expand drain commission cost assessments
Introduced by Rep. Al Pscholka (R) on June 12, 2014, to empower a drain commission to assess landowners for the “attendant expenses and costs” of building or maintaining drains, including legal costs, claims, and judgments against the commission.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164608
House Bill 5688: Authorize seizure of legal firearms in domestic disputes
Introduced by Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D) on June 12, 2014, to give courts the power to prohibit an individual from purchasing a firearm, and to order police to search seize any firearms the individual possesses, if a petition for this is filed by a person with whom the target has or had a domestic or “close” relationship, and the court determines there is “reasonable cause to believe that the defendant poses a significant risk of personal injury to himself or herself or others” based on evidence provided in the petition.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164609
House Bill 5689: Authorize seizure of legal firearms in domestic disputes
Introduced by Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D) on June 12, 2014, to revise the state pistol laws so as to conform with the proposal in House Bill 5688 to give courts the power to seize legally owned firearms in response to petition filed by a person with whom the target has or had a domestic or “close” relationship.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164610
House Bill 5690: Require advance disclosure of employer “non-compete” requirement
Introduced by Rep. Gretchen Driskell (D) on June 12, 2014, to mandate that an employer who requires employees to sign a noncompete agreement must disclose this at the initial offer of employment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164611
House Bill 5691: Impose MIOSHA regulations on unpaid interns
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on June 12, 2014, to clarify that regulations imposed under the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA) apply to a person who is performing work primarily for educational purposes, such as a student intern, whether or not the individual receives pay or any other form of compensation.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164612
House Bill 5692: Restore state sentencing commission
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on June 12, 2014, to restore a state sentencing commission, tasked with researching and analyzing information on the state’s sentencing guidelines. An earlier version of this entity was abolished in 2002, three years after its work was completed with the adoption of new sentencing guideline laws.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164613
House Bill 5693: Authorize elections by mail
Introduced by Rep. David Knezek (D) on June 12, 2014, to authorize elections by mail, starting 20 days before the vote, with ballots mailed no later than 14 days before. The Secretary of State would be required to promulgate rules for this.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164614
House Bill 5694: Impose charter school cap
Introduced by Rep. Terry Brown (D) on June 12, 2014, to impose a cap of 200 charter schools statewide, or the number in existence should this proposal become law. A 2011 law eliminated an earlier charter school cap of 150 authorized by state universities (which are the primary charter authorizers in this state).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164615
House Bill 5697: Repeal ban on abortion coverage through federal health care exchange
Introduced by Rep. Sarah Roberts (D) on June 12, 2014, to repeal the 2013 law initiated by a petition from the people and enacted by a legislative majority to prohibit health insurance policies sold through the federal health care law’s “exchange” from including abortion coverage, which requires individuals to use their own money to purchase a policy “rider” covering abortion if this is what they want.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164618
House Bill 5698: Mandate mass transit-friendly transportation project priorities
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on June 12, 2014, to require the Department of Transportation to establish “performance measures” for transportation infrastructure projects that include among other things “support of multimodal transportation choices,” “reduction of carbon emissions” and “maximization of the social equity benefits” as measured by an index created by a Chicago-based nonprofit that promotes mass transit and “reducing greenhouse gas emissions”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164619
House Bill 5699: Create mass transit-friendly transportation commission
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on June 12, 2014, to create a government “transportation advisory commission” consisting of individuals representing certain interests including “transportation advocacy groups,” environmental organizations, organizations representing the “nonmotorized transportation community” and “social equity organizations,” among others. See also House Bill 5698.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164620
House Bill 5700: Ban placing wind turbines close to gas lines
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on June 12, 2014, to prohibit placing large wind turbines within a distance from a gas line that is two times the height of the turbine.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164621
House Bill 5640: Ban asking annuity owners why they want a payment
Introduced by Rep. Fred Durhal, Jr. (D) on June 10, 2014, to prohibit insurance companies that sell fixed annuity contracts from requiring contract holders to answer survey questions related financial situation or the reason the contract holder is seeking a payment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164512
House Bill 5641: Mandate new road funding go only to “preservation”
Introduced by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on June 10, 2014, to mandate that all state road funding be used to maintain and preserve existing roads rather than build new ones, until all roads in the state are in at least “fair” condition, with exceptions for bond payments, for previously earmarked revenue, and some others.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164513
House Bill 5642: Limit imposing building code regulations for barn events
Introduced by Rep. Ray Franz (R) on June 10, 2014, to exempt from state building code standards barns and other unheated and un-air conditioned buildings that are on agricultural land and are not used for retail business, but are used for “seasonal private events”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164514
House Bill 5643: Mandate informing of detectable fetal heartbeat before abortion
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on June 10, 2014, to establish that a physician may not perform an abortion without first determining whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat, and if there is, informing the woman, except in medical emergencies. See also House Bill 5644.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164515
House Bill 5644: Mandate informing of detectable fetal heartbeat before abortion
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on June 10, 2014, to make it a crime punishable by four years in prison and $50,000 fine for a physician to perform an abortion without first determining whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat, and if there is, informing the woman, except in medical emergencies. See also House Bill 5644.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164516
House Bill 5645: Require doctor tell woman of detectable fetus heartbeat before abortion
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R) on June 10, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by House Bill 5644 of a physician performing an abortion without first determining whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat and informing the woman.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164517
House Bill 5646: Revise weight and measures inspection fees
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Graves (R) on June 10, 2014, to establish in state law the inspection fees charged by the state Agriculture Department bureau in charge of inspecting various instruments used in commerce to weigh and measure different commodities (including retail gas pumps). Under current law the department itself sets these fees.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164518
House Bill 5647: Repeal unemployment benefits drug test
Introduced by Rep. Ken Goike (R) on June 11, 2014, to repeal the one-year expiration date (sunset) on a 2013 law that makes a person ineligible to collect unemployment benefits if a prospective employer requires a drug test as a condition of a job offer and the individual either refuses to take the test or fails it.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164565
House Bill 5648: Ban smoking in car with minor
Introduced by Rep. Dale W. Zorn (R) on June 11, 2014, to ban smoking in a vehicle with a minor present, subject to a $100 civil fine.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164566
House Bill 5649: Recognize terminal patients’ “right to try” unapproved treatments
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Jenkins (R) on June 11, 2014, to prohibit state officials and licensing boards from sanctioning health care providers who participate providing non-FDA approved experimental drugs and treatments to terminal patients in accordance with the conditions specified in the “right to try” law proposed by House Bill 5651 and Senate Bill 991.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164567
House Bill 5650: Revise delinquent municipal borrower’s repayment procedure
Introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey (R) on June 11, 2014, to establish that lenders who loan money to a local government, with the loan secured by the borrower’s “unlimited tax pledge,” have a “statutory first lien” (legal claim) on “all taxes subject to the (municipality’s) unlimited tax pledge.” Under the bill, such lenders would not have to go to court to establish their claim.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164568
House Bill 5651: Let terminal patients try non-FDA approved treatments
Introduced by Rep. Gail Haines (R) on June 11, 2014, to establish that a person diagnosed with a terminal illness has a “right to try” experimental drugs or therapies, notwithstanding laws that prohibit treatments not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, subject to various conditions specified in the bill. The bill would prohibit state employees or officials from interfering, and ban licensing boards from sanctioning health care providers who participate, subject to specified conditions. Insurers would not have to cover these treatments, and drug makers who comply with the specified conditions would be immune from liability if the patient is harmed. The bill was introduced in response to criticism of FDA mandates that drug makers prove new drugs are “safe and effective” are improperly applied in these cases, leading to many preventable deaths.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164569
House Bill 5652: Restrict imposing mediation in domestic relations disputes
Introduced by Rep. Harvey Santana (D) on June 11, 2014, to prohibit a court from ordering the parties in a domestic relations dispute to enter mediation against their will unless certain factors are present, including a personal protection order restraining one of the parties, a court “no contact” order, child abuse or neglect by one of the parties, health and safety concerns, or some other “good cause” for the mandatory mediation.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164570
House Bill 5653: Create new crime of assaulting pregnant woman
Introduced by Rep. Amanda Price (R) on June 11, 2014, to make assault and battery against a pregnant women a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment up to 93 days and a $500 fine, with higher penalties (up to five years) for those with prior convictions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164571
House Bill 5654: Create domestic violence confidential address program
Introduced by Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright (D) on June 11, 2014, to establish an address confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence crimes, in which the state Attorney General would give the victim a “designated address” to which mail could be sent, and would forward first class mail to where the individual actually lives. The person’s real address would be kept confidential and not be subject to disclosure under open records laws, and the person could also vote using the designated address.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164572
House Bill 5656: Make domestic violence victims civil rights law “protected class”
Introduced by Rep. Sam Singh (D) on June 11, 2014, to add domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking victimhood to the characteristics that define membership in a protected class against whom it is a crime to discriminate in matters of housing under the Michigan civil rights law. This would make it a civil rights violation to deny housing to a person who happens to be a victim of these crimes.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164574
House Bill 5657: Encourage school “teen dating violence and adolescent relationship abuse” curriculum
Introduced by Rep. John Olumba (D) on June 11, 2014, to require the Department of Education to develop a model curriculum and policies on teen dating violence and “adolescent relationship abuse,” and encourage school districts to implement them. These terms are not defined in the bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164575
House Bill 5695: Ban charter school management company leases; cap cyberschool aid
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) on June 12, 2014, to prohibit a charter school from leasing property from a management company that runs the school, and require charter school leases to reflect market conditions and be approved by the entity that authorized the charter. Also, to prohibit online cyberschool appropriations from exceeding 50 percent of the foundation allowance of the school district in which the online school is located.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164616
House Bill 5696: Ban school employee contract non-disclosure provisions
Introduced by Rep. Charles Brunner (D) on June 12, 2014, to prohibit conventional public schools and charter schools from requiring or requesting an employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement concerning the terms of his or her employment.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164617