Following are some of the bills voted on by the House of Representatives in February and March that I thought would be of interest to you. For more information on these or other bills, please contact my office toll-free at (888) 833-6636.
Reducing Our Budget: The House passed a plan to reduce the budgets for the Judiciary and the Legislature, and Legislative Auditor General. These cuts represent approximately 4 percent of total General Fund appropriations for each of these budgets totaling $6.9 million. The appropriation reductions address a portion of the projected FY 2008-09 GF/GP budget deficit.
Extending Unemployment Benefits for Worker Training: The House passed a plan to provide displaced workers who exhaust regular unemployment benefits with up to 26 weeks of "training benefits" during the time period they are enrolled, and are satisfactorily completing an approved job training program.The House also passed a plan to provide unemployment benefits to eligible individuals seeking only part-time work.
Assisting Military Families: The House passed a plan that would allow employees up to 10 days unpaid time off from work when a spouse or their child is called into active duty.
Expanding Tax credits for Solar Energy Companies: The House passed a plan would expand certain Michigan Business Tax (MBT) credits in order to provide incentives to photovoltaic (solar energy) companies to relocate or expand into Michigan from outside of the state or the United States.
Updating Anchor Zone Provisions: The House passed a plan to make technical "clean up" changes to the Anchor Zone Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) provisions passed last session. In an Anchor MEGA, the anchor company would receive a refundable tax credit based on the value of the personal income taxes captured from new jobs created within the anchor company's supply chain or customer base.
Revising CountyAudit Requirements: The House approved a bill that would require counties to obtain an annual audit of its financial records and remove requirements for the department of Treasury to perform audits of the county records and publish a comparative analysis.
Updating the Supportive Housing Act: The House passed a plan to correct a drafting error from last lame duck session. By eliminating the inaccurate tie-bar in the enacting section, Treasury will be able to recognize certain supportive housing units owned by non-profits as principal residence as permitted by the 2008 Supportive Housing package.
Require Disclosure of Relatives When a Child is Being Placed in Foster Care: House Bill 4169 requires the parents of a child who is being removed from the home and placed in foster care to give the Department of Human Services the names and addresses of any relatives of the child.
Expanding Advanced Battery Tax Credits: The House passed a plan to further expand the Michigan Business Tax advanced battery credits by adding an additional credit for the building of a battery manufacturing facility ($100 million), intended for LG Chem, and increasing the vehicle engineering credit ($45 million), intended for Chrysler.
Allowing MacombCounty to Disband its Road Commission: The House passed legislation that would lower the population threshold for a county to be eligible to transfer the duties of a road commission to another entity from 1,500,000 to 750,000. The bill further allows an eligible county to make such a transfer in the process of adopting a charter (with voter approval), rather than amending a charter that is already in place. Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb are the only counties that meet the population threshold. Wayne disbanded its road commission in the 1980s and Oakland does not have a county charter and would not be impacted by the bill.
Protecting Kids from Toxic Chemicals in Toys: The House passed a seven-bill package to establish the Children's Safe Products Act within the Public Health Code. Key provisions include: requiring the Department of Community Health (DCH) to establish and regularly update lists of "chemicals of concern" and "chemicals of highest concern" based on specific health impacts; requiring manufacturers or distributors of children's products to identify such products sold in the state that contain one or more chemicals of highest concern; requiring DCH to report to the legislature every two years on its progress identifying chemicals of concern and chemicals of highest concern and informing consumers about such chemicals; and establishing penalties for noncompliance and authorizing the Attorney General to initiate an injunction to prevent the sale of non-compliant children's products.
Protecting Struggling Homeowners: The House passed a series of bills that would amend the Revised Judicature Act and the process for home foreclosures in Michigan. The bills would impose a 90 day "freeze" on the foreclosure proceedings, if the borrower requests a meeting with the lender to attempt to modify their mortgage. The borrower could elect to have a housing counselor present at the meeting.
Waiving Recretational Fees for Disabled Veterans & POWs: The House passed a plan that wouldreduce the hunting and fishing license fee from $6.00 to $2.00 and waives state park and forest entry and camping fees for residents who are totally disabled veterans or have been a prisoner of war.
Facilitating Updates to the List of Reportable Diseases: The House passed a plan to amend the Public Health Code to allow the Department of Community Health to create, maintain, and update a list of reportable diseases.
Consistent Enforcement of Communicable Diseases: The House passed a plan that would amend the Public Health Code to clarify penalties for the violation of a local health department regulation or a local health officer. The bill ensures that local health departments and officers can operate uniformly statewide.
Protect Prison Guards: The House passed a legislation that revises statutory references in the law that allows a prison guard who suffers an open wound exposure to the blood or body fluids of a prisoner to request that the prisoner be tested for HIV infection and HBV infection.
Allowing 16 And 17 Year Olds to "Pre-register" to Vote: The House passed legislation to allow voter pre-registration for sixteen and seventeen year olds when they go to the Secretary of State to get their drivers licenses.
Multiyear Hunting and Fishing Licenses: The House passed a plan that would allow the Natural Resources Commission to issue an order to create multi-year hunting and fishing licenses.
Establishing Michigan Pollinator Week: The House passed a resolution to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in Michigan and the value of partnership efforts that increase awareness about pollinators and build support for protecting and sustaining pollinators by designating June 21-27, 2009, as Michigan Pollinator Week in Michigan.
Encourage Funds for Advanced Batteries:
The resolution would urge the US Department of Energy to give full consideration to advanced battery manufacturing grant applications from Michigan-based manufacturers.
Prohibiting Stranger Originated Life Insurance: The House passed a plan to outlaw Stranger Originated Life Insurance schemes and pass new statutes to regulate the Life Insurance Settlement Industry under the authority of the Insurance Commissioner within the Michigan Office of Finance and Insurance Regulation.
Adding "Green Chemistry" Incentives to the Michigan Strategic Fund Act: The House passed a bill to add the definition of "green chemistry" to the Michigan Strategic Fund Act which would allow for approved economic development projects to be eligible for certain incentives. The Michigan Strategic Fund is an autonomous entity that assists in promoting economic development in the State.
Adding "Green Chemistry" Incentives to the Michigan Economic Growth Authority Act: The House passed a plan to add the definition of "green chemistry" to the Michigan Economic Growth Authority Act which would allow for approved economic development projects to be eligible for certain incentives. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority was created in 1995 to promote high quality economic growth and job creation.
Adding "Green Chemistry" Incentives Under the Centers of Energy Excellence: The House passed a plan to add the definition of "green chemistry" to the Michigan Strategic Fund Act which would allow for approved economic development projects to be eligible for certain incentives under the Centers of Energy Excellence portion of the Act. The Centers of Energy Excellence grant program brings businesses, universities and the state together to create jobs in the alternative and advanced energy industry.
Updating the Criminal Code: The House passed legislation to clarify the effective date so that defendants who were placed on probation under the statutory language that existed before March 1, 2003 for an offense committed before this date are subject to the conditions of probation that are currently within the Code of Criminal Procedure. This change corrects a drafting error that has resulted in disparate treatment of some offenders; those who committed a crime prior to the effective date in 2003, but were convicted and sentenced after the date.
Updating the Mandatory Minimum Law: The House passed a plan to clarify the dispensation of cases for those convicted of offenses that previously required a mandatory minimum sentence. Additionally the bill repeals provisions which provide for a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a second or subsequent conviction of manufacture/delivery/possession, or conspiracy to commit the same, involving schedule 1 & 2 narcotics.
Reforming Michigan's Drug Law: The House passed a plan that will make individuals convicted of drug offenses eligible for parole earlier than they currently are; it allows a prisoner who has served 15 years of a life sentence for various drug offenses to have his or her case reviewed by the parole board.
The House also passed legislation to update the Code of Criminal Procedure to eliminate language that currently prohibits individuals convicted of major controlled substance offenses from being sentenced under the state's habitual offender provisions. With the removal of this language, individuals convicted of drug crimes can be subject to an enhanced sentence, depending upon the number of previous felony convictions.
Creating Bias-Motivated Crime within the Penal Code: The House passed a plan that creates a new bias-motivated crime within the Penal Code. The bill provides enhanced penalties if an individual is the victim of crime because they fall into one of the following protected classes: disability; gender; national origin or ancestry; race, color, or ethnicity; religion; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression of gender; age and status as a veteran.
The House also passed a plan that adds the bias-motivated crime created in House Bill 4836 to sentencing guidelines.
Establishing Falconry Season: The House passed a plan that would direct the Department of Natural Resources to establish a season or seasons for falconers to take live raptors for use in falconry.
Supplemental Budget Directing Stimulus Money: The House passed a bill to authorize $193.6 million of federal stimulus dollars to be spent in FY 2008-2009. The spending is split between the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Updating our Tax Code to Assist Aviation Firms: The House passed a plan to create a tax exemption from the Michigan Use Tax, for companies that do custom alterations and installations on new aircraft in the state prior to the plane being relocated outside of or sold outside of Michigan.
The House passed another plan to create a tax exemption from the Michigan Sales Tax, for companies that do custom alterations and installations on new aircraft in the state prior to the plane being relocated outside of or sold outside of Michigan.
Sentencing Guidelines for Fraudulent Beverage Container Returns: The House passed legislation that amends sentencing guidelines in the Code of Criminal Procedure to establish Class H felonies with a maximum five year sentence for individuals, beverage dealers, and beverage distributors who are prosecuted for a violation involving more than 10,000 non-returnable containers and a Class G felony with a maximum two year sentence for changing altering or modifying a reverse vending machine or data maintained by a reverse vending machine.
Revise County Road Revenue Provisions: The House passed a plan that would increase from 30 percent to 50 percent, the amount of state transportation tax revenues returned to counties that may be used on the county local road system, rather than on the county primary road system.
Indoor Smoking Ban: The House passed a plan to expand current smoking prohibitions to any place of employment or public place. This means that smoking would be banned in most indoor areas, including restaurants and bars. The bill provides exemptions for private residences, cigar bars, tobacco specialty stores, casino game room floors and existing collectively bargained agreements.
Continuing Education for Hearing Aid Dealers: The House passed a plan to require a hearing aid dealer or hearing aid salesperson to demonstrate continuing professional competency as a condition for the renewal of licensure.
Establishing Penalties for Obstructing Roadways: The House passed a bill to make it a criminal offense to endanger another person by recklessly placing or causing the placement of an obstruction in a road.
Updating Rules for the Course Content for Boiler Operators: The House passed a plan that would amend the Boiler Act to require the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG), rather than the board of boiler rules, to promulgate rules designating the course content for boiler operators and stationary engineers.
Updating the Definition of Veterans Organization Gaming Regulation: The House passed a plan to update the Bingo Act to specify that the term "veterans' organization" includes an auxiliary of a nationally chartered veterans' organization allowing them to apply for a charitable gaming license.
Modifying Hunter Orange Requirements: The House passed a bill to remove the requirement to wear garments that are at least 50 percent orange while hunting fox, bobcat and coyotes.
Allowing School Districts to Establish Recreational Authorities: The House passed a plan to amend the recreational authorities act by adding school districts to the definition of municipalities, allowing them to establish a recreational authority with one or more municipalities.
To monitor legislation, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.