Senate Bill 1007: Revise installment tax payment detail
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on July 16, 2014, to establish that tax liens on township special assessment installment payments do not become effective (“attach”) until the payment is due.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164672
Senate Bill 1008: Raise bar for libel claims against politicians
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on July 16, 2014, to establish in statute that a candidate for public office or an elected official has the same protections against libel, slander, and defamation as he or she would have as a private individual (under current law a politician must show that a libel defendant acted “with malice”).
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164673
Senate Bill 1009: Revise cemetery perpetual care trust detail
Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on July 16, 2014, to allow the officers or directors of cemeteries to be trustees of the irrevocable endowment and perpetual care trust fund cemeteries are required to maintain.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164674
Senate Bill 1010: Repeal ban on abortion coverage through federal health care law exchange
Introduced by Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on July 16, 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=164675
Senate Bill 1011: Suspend not terminate Medicaid of prisoner with mental illness
Introduced by Sen. Bruce Caswell (R) on July 16, 2014, to require the state to suspend but not terminate Medicaid eligibility for an individual with a “serious emotional disturbance” or mental illness if the person is in jail, prison, a state mental health inpatient program or a “youth correctional center”.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164676
Senate Bill 1012: Mandate employers give election day paid leave
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on July 16, 2014, to mandate that employers give employees three hours of paid leave to vote on election days if requested.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164677
Senate Bill 1013: Authorize tax credit for autism trust contributions
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D) on July 16, 2014, to authorize an income tax credit equal to the amount an individual contributes to a trust fund whose beneficiary is a child diagnosed with autism. The credit would not be “refundable,” but if large enough could be used to essentially cancel out a contributor’s state income tax liability for the tax year.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164678
Senate Bill 1014: Remove debt cap on certain state job training subsidies
Introduced by Sen. Mark Jansen (R) on July 16, 2014, to repeal a $50 million cap on the debt authorized by a 2008 law that created a job training subsidy program for particular employers, in the form of allowing community colleges to borrow to pay for training the employer’s new hires, with the loans repaid by the state transferring to the college a portion of the personal income tax that the particular employer withholds from the pay of new employees. Essentially, the money comes out of the state general fund.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164679
Senate Bill 1015: Restrict child custody changes for active military member
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R) on July 16, 2014, to revise a 2005 law prohibiting a court from changing an established child custody or parenting time order of a parent has been called to active duty in the military (unless it is the best interest of the child), so as to also allow the military parent at any stage before final judgment in the proceedings to request a stay until he or she has returned from duty.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164680
Senate Bill 1016: Shift road tax money from certain subsidies to road projects
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on July 16, 2014, to not earmark $12 million in annual road tax money to the state “Transportation Economic Development Fund” in fiscal year 2013-2014, and instead use it for regular road building and repair projects. TEDF money is essentially a form of corporate subsidy in which the state pays for transportation infrastructure projects related to a particular investor’s or developer’s new plant or project.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164681
Senate Bill 1017: Revise digital tobacco stamp reimbursement detail
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on July 16, 2014, to clarify details of a 2012 law that allows tobacco wholesalers authorized by the state to affix digital tax stamps to individual packs of cigarettes to retain 0.5 percent of the tax due on cigarettes as compensation for equipment and technology upgrades necessitated by digital stamps.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164682
Senate Bill 1018: Impose tobacco tax on e-cigarettes
Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on July 16, 2014, to impose on electronic vapor cigarettes and “alternative nicotine products” the same 32 percent tax on the wholesale value that applies to smokeless tobacco.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164683
Senate Bill 1019: Revise PEO unemployment assessment detail
Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on July 16, 2014, to clarify details of the “look-back” period in a 2012 law related to unemployment insurance premium assessments on professional employer organizations (PEOs) and their client firms.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164684
House Bill 5701: Authorize sanctions for bad-faith patent infringement claims
Introduced by Rep. Mike Callton (R) on July 16, 2014, to prohibit claims of patent infringement that are made in bad faith (as defined in the bill), subject to triple damages or $50,000, whichever is greater, plus other sanctions.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164650
House Bill 5702: Require corporate subsidy recipients hire Michigan contractors first
Introduced by Rep. Theresa Abed (D) on July 16, 2014, to require recipients of certain state corporate and developer subsidies and tax breaks for construction or rehab projects, to seek competitive bids for the work and make a “good faith effort” to contract with and hire Michigan residents. The bill would also ban discriminating against either union or non-union contractors who bid on the job.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164651
House Bill 5703: Ban “sexual orientation change efforts” with minor
Introduced by Rep. Adam Zemke (D) on July 16, 2014, to prohibit a mental health professional from undertaking “sexual orientation change efforts” with a minor.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164652
House Bill 5704: Mandate employers outside city withhold city’s income tax
Introduced by Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D) on July 16, 2014, to mandate that employers located outside a city with an income tax must withhold city income tax from the pay of an employee who lives in such a city.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164653
House Bill 5705: Mandate senior housing contracts disclose emergency power availability
Introduced by Rep. Theresa Abed (D) on July 16, 2014, to require rental agreements for senior citizen or disabled housing to indicate whether electricity will be provided by a backup generator in the event of a power outage.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164654
House Bill 5706: Ban local government fees for emergency services at vehicle crash
Introduced by Rep. Ben Glardon (R) on July 16, 2014, to prohibit local governments from charging a fee or seeking reimbursement for emergency police, fire, ambulance and inhalator services at a motor vehicle accident.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164655
House Bill 5707: Restrict more drugs
Introduced by Rep. George T. Darany (D) on July 16, 2014, to include “Mitragyna speciosa” (or “kratom”) in the schedule 5 controlled substances list, meaning they would be in the same restricted drug category as widely used, mild morphine or codeine-based drugs, ephedrine, etc.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164656
House Bill 5708: Lower allowable truck weights
Introduced by Rep. George T. Darany (D) on July 16, 2014, to lower the maximum gross weight for vehicles on Michigan roads from 164,000 pounds to 120,000 pounds.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164657
House Bill 5709: Minimize certain DNR land use restrictions
Introduced by Rep. Jim Stamas (R) on July 16, 2014, to establish that if the use of land owned by the Department of Natural Resources is subject to restrictions because of the source of money used to buy it, or to buy other land that was exchanged for the new DNR land, then the restrictions can only be imposed on a proportion of the land area that does not exceed the proportion of the restrictive funding used for the acquisition.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164658
House Bill 5710: Restrict use by police and others of cell phone surveillance devices
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on July 16, 2014, to require law enforcement agencies to get a search warrant before using surveillance devices to intercept cell phone and mobile device information. The bill was introduced in response to the controversial use by the Oakland County Sheriff Department of “Hailstorm” and “StingRay” cell phone tower simulator technology, which is capable of intercepting cell phone and mobile device data or voice communications. It would also prohibit use of such devices by other persons, subject to criminal penalties of 93 days in jail and up to four years for subsequent violations.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164659
House Bill 5711: Restrict use by police and others of cell phone surveillance devices
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on July 16, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by House Bill 5710 of intentionally using a surveillance device capable of intercepting cell phone and mobile device data or voice communications without first getting a search warrant.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164660
House Bill 5712: Restrict use by police and others of cell phone surveillance devices
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on July 16, 2014, to create a state board to promulgate rules for the possession and use by police agencies and officers of surveillance technology, and require law enforcement agencies to file confidential monthly reports to this board detailing the devices they possess, whether and when these were used, why they were used, and the outcome. The bill was introduced in response to the controversial use by the Oakland County Sheriff Department of “Hailstorm” and “StingRay” cell phone tower simulator technology, which is capable of intercepting cell phone and mobile device data or voice communications.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164661
House Bill 5713: Restrict warrantless cell phone surveillance device use
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on July 16, 2014, to establish sentencing guidelines for the crime proposed by House Bill 5712 of disclosing confidential information in the law enforcement surveillance reports proposed that bill.
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=164662
Initiated Legislation 2: Preempt referendum banning wolf hunt
Passed 23 to 10 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to preempt the effect of a referendum placed on the November ballot by interests opposed to wolf hunting, which otherwise would ban wolf hunts if approved by voters. Specifically, this measure would make “referendum-proof” a 2013 law giving the legislature and Natural Resources Commission exclusive authority to decide which species may be hunted in Michigan. It would do so by making a small change to that law and adding a modest appropriation, which under a 2001 Supreme Court ruling makes the law not subject to referendum (see House Joint Resolution Q for an explanation). This measure (Initiated Legislation 2) was sponsored by groups in favor of a wolf hunt, and triggers a process specified by Article 2, Section 9 of the state constitution, in which the legislature has 40 days to pass initiated legislation, or else it automatically goes on the ballot. In short, if the House and Senate both this measure, an initiative banning wolf hunts that has already been approved for the November 2014 ballot will not go into effect, even if a majority of voters approve it.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694560
Senate Bill 616: Appropriations: Supplemental budget
Passed 26 to 7 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to revise Medicaid accounting to reflect the transition from a 1 percent “health insurance claims tax” to the imposition of the 6 percent “use tax” on Medicaid managed care health care providers (hospitals). These various levies are designed to “game” the federal Medicaid program in ways that result in higher federal payments to Michigan’s medical welfare establishment (including those same hospitals). See Senate Bill 893 and Senate Bill 913.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694566
Senate Bill 753: Exempt municipalities from sanctions for a few leaking septic systems
Passed 22 to 11 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to exempt municipalities from sanctions authorized by state environmental laws for limited discharges of untreated sewage into a lake or river from three or more septic tank systems within the municipality’s jurisdiction.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694562
Senate Bill 938: Revise nursing home regulation detail
Passed 33 to 0 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to revise the extensive regulatory regime imposed on nursing homes, so as to establish that patient care policies and compliance procedures should be based on nationally recognized guidelines or best-practices (rather than a similar but less specific prescription in current law), along with other detail changes.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694564
Senate Bill 969: Authorize local nuisance suits to shut drug or prostitution house
Passed 33 to 0 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to authorize a city, village, or township to file a nuisance lawsuit to shut down the activity at a building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or place that is being used for prostitution, illegal drug, animal fighting, or unlawful alcohol-related offenses.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694561
Senate Bill 977: Allow military to renew CPL by mail
Passed 32 to 1 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to allow military personnel on duty outside of Michigan to submit a renewal application for a concealed pistol license (CPL) by mail.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694563
Senate Bill 991: Let terminal patients try non-FDA approved treatments
Passed 31 to 2 in the Senate on August 13, 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. House Bill 5651 proposes the same thing..
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694565
Senate Bill 1017: Revise digital tobacco stamp reimbursement detail
Passed 30 to 2 in the Senate on August 13, 2014, to clarify details of a 2012 law that allows tobacco wholesalers authorized by the state to affix digital tax stamps to individual packs of cigarettes to retain 0.5 percent of the tax due on cigarettes as compensation for equipment and technology upgrades necessitated by digital stamps.
See Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No” at http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=694567