In order to keep you and your neighbors better informed about the legislation we discuss, I am posting the agenda for any scheduled committee meetings at the beginning of the week and an update with any votes that were taken that week in committee or on the House floor. I hope you find this information helpful and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Feb. 25-27, 2014: House Votes
For votes of the full legislature, I will include a summary of each bill with the sponsor, the vote totals and the next step in the legislative process for the bill. If you would like to read more information about a given bill you can head to www.legislature.mi.gov.
Revision of Procedure for Preliminary Examinations in Criminal Cases and Establishment of a “Probable Cause Conference”
HB 5155 (Walsh), Passed: 110-0
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 5155 would revise the procedure for preliminary examinations in criminal cases and establish in statue a “probably cause conference,” which is already in practice in many jurisdictions throughout Michigan.
Allowing the City of Lansing to Issue Negotiable Bonds to Refund Other Refunding Bonds
SB 629 (Jones), Passed: 110-0
SB 630 (Jones), Passed: 110-0
Next: Sent to Senate for reconsideration
SBs 629 and 630 amend the state’s local building authority statute and the Tax Increment Financing Act to: (1) Allow, in one specific case related to the City of Lansing, a local building authority to issue negotiable bonds to refund other refunding bonds (i.e., issue new bonds to pay off bonds that were issued to refinance an original bond that financed authority projects); (2) Provide that if the refunding bonds are issued before December 31, 2019, they would be exempt from certain provisions of the Revised Municipal Finance Act as under current law and, in addition, exempt from another provision that sets forth conditions and procedures for a municipality to issue a refunding security; (3) Amend the definition of “qualified refunding obligation” under the Tax Increment Financing Act to facilitate the above provisions.
Allowing Copies of a Lost or Destroyed Mortgage to be Effective
HB 4638 (Pettalia), Passed: 106-4
HB 4639 (LANE), Passed: 106-4
HB 4640 (Pettalia), Passed: 106-4
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 4638, HB 4639 and HB 4640 would allow, in the case of an unrecorded, lost or destroyed mortgage, an affidavit and a copy of the original document to be recorded and have these documents be effective.
Additional Transparency for Michigan’s Audit Procedures
HB 4291 (Farrington), Passed: 108-0
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 4291 provides additional transparency to Michigan’s audit procedures by requiring Treasury to provide a complete copy of a taxpayer’s audit to the audited taxpayer upon request.
Repealing the Ban on Scalping of Tickets for Sporting and Entertainment Events
HB 5108 (Kelly), Passed: 66-42
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 5108 amends the Michigan Penal Code to repeal the ban on the scalping of tickets for sporting and entertainment events.
Requiring Individuals with Lottery Winnings of $1,000 or more to repay any Debt to DHS
HB 4855 (Kurtz), Passed: 107-1
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 4855 requires individuals with lottery winnings of $1,000 or more to repay any outstanding debt to the Department of Human Services (DHS).
Creation of Requirements for the Children’s Ombudsman Office
HB 5039 (Kurtz), Passed: 108-0
Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 5039 will create requirements for the Children’s Ombudsman Office in regards to child fatality investigations linked to child abuse or child neglect.
Week of Feb. 24, 2014: Committee Meetings
For each bill considered I will include the vote total or write “testimony only” if no vote was taken. Due to the complexity of certain issues, some bills receive multiple committee hearings before being put to a vote. If you would like to read further analysis of a bill you can access that at www.legislature.mi.gov.
If you would like to read the minutes from a particular hearing or testimony on a bill, you can access that by going to http://house.mi.gov/MHRPublic/committee.aspx and selecting the relevant committee from the dropdown menu.
Appropriations Subcommittee on Community Health
Agenda:
Public Testimony – Executive Budget Recommendation for FY 2014-2015 on Public Health, Office of Services to the Aging, Health Policy, and Crime Victim Services Commission
Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Agenda:
Presentations and testimony on MI Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) and Conservation Districts.
Regulatory Reform
Agenda:
SB 575 – (Sen. Schuitmaker) – Occupations; health care professions; disciplinary subcommittees; provide for removal of members for conflicts of interest.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote.
SB 576 – (Sen. Schuitmaker) – Public employees and officers; ethics; penalties for noncompliance with conflict of interest disclosure; implement into statute.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote.
SB 577 – (Sen. Jones) – Occupations; health care professions; grounds for administrative sanctions; expand for licensed health professionals.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote.
SB 578 – (Sen. Jones) – Health; occupations; decisions of disciplining subcommittees; establish process for review before decision is final.
Reported from committee by a 15-0 vote.
SB 329 – (Sen. Hildenbrand) – Liquor; other; provision regarding the acquisition, sale, development, or operation of real property to another vendor by a brewer; expand to include wine maker, distiller, or brandy manufacturer and limit the number of real properties.
Testimony Only
HB 5284 – (Rep. Lane) – Occupations; residential builders; relicensing of certain formerly licensed residential builders and residential maintenance and alteration contractors; expand authority of board.
Testimony Only
Appropriations: Subcommittee on General Government
Agenda:
Testimony on proposed FY 2014-15 budgets:
- Department of Treasury
- Revenue Sharing, Economic Vitality Incentive Program, and County Incentive Program
Energy and Technology
Agenda:
HB 5282 – (Rep. Pscholka) – Crimes; other; right to use force when providing security at a nuclear generating facility; clarify.
Testimony Only
Health Policy
Agenda:
HB 5136 – (Rep. Lori) – Mental health; other; uniform mental health release form; create.
Reported from committee by a 18-0 vote.
TESTIMONY ONLY:
HB 5345 – (Rep. Lori) – Crime victims; other; reference to mentally retarded and mental retardation; modify.
HB 5346 – (Rep. Cavanagh) – Children; child care; reference to mentally retarded and mental retardation; modify.
HB 5347 – (Rep. Haines) – Mental health; developmental disability; reference to mentally retarded and mental retardation; change to developmental disability.
HB 5348 – (Rep. Leonard) – Mental health; developmental disability; reference to mentally retarded and mental retardation; change to developmental disability.
HB 5349 – (Rep. Cotter) – Mental health; developmental disability; reference to mentally retarded in revised judicature act; replace with developmentally disabled.
HB 5350 – (Rep. Cochran) – Children; other; reference to mentally retarded and mental retardation; modify.
HB 5351 – (Rep. Knezek) – Mental health; developmental disability; reference to mentally retarded children to developmentally disabled children; modify.
HB 5352 – (Rep. Somerville) – Mental health; developmental disability; reference to mentally retarded; change to developmentally disabled.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Agenda:
HB 4916 – (Rep. Brown) – Traffic control; traffic regulation; solicitation of charitable donations in public right-of-way; allow under certain circumstances.
Testimony Only
HB 5257 – (Rep. Franz) – Highways; name; portion of highway M-116 in Mason county; designate as the “Trooper Paul K. Butterfield, II Memorial Highway”.
Reported form committee by a 15-0 vote
HB 5064 – (Rep. Rutledge) – Highways; name; designation of I-75 as the “Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway”; provide for.
Reported from committee by a 15-0 vote
HB 5168 – (Rep. Walsh) – Transportation; authorities; agreement between a regional transit authority and a street railway; allow, and provide other general revisions.
Testimony Only
HB 5169 – (Rep. Schmidt) – Transportation; authorities; definition of public transportation provider in regional transit authority act; amend to exclude street railways. Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid
Testimony Only
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military and Veterans Affairs
Agenda:
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency: Veterans Homes
Natural Resources
Agenda:
HR 305 – (Rep. LaFontaine) – A resolution to urge complete hydrologic separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, to call for the formation of a regional body to negotiate terms of hydrologic separation, and to urge Congress and other entities to take interim steps to prevent Asian carp movement into the Great Lakes.
Reported from committee
HCR 22 – (Rep. LaFontaine) – A concurrent resolution to urge complete hydrologic separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, to call for the formation of a regional body to negotiate terms of hydrologic separation, and to urge Congress and other entities to take interim steps to prevent Asian carp movement into the Great Lakes.
Reported form committee
SB 719 – (Sen. Booher) – Natural resources; funding; clean Michigan initiative loans; allow to renegotiate.
Testimony Only
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and School Aid
Agenda:
Deficit and Distressed Districts: Proposed Financial Independence Teams, Enhanced Deficit Elimination Plans, and Periodic Financial Status Reports
Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation
Agenda:
Public Testimony on Governor’s FY 2014-15 State Transportation Budget Proposal
Oversight
Agenda:
-Testimony from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Unemployment Insurance Agency on the Performance Audit of the Collection of Delinquent Unemployment Taxes and Reimbursements, January 2012
-Testimony from the Department of Human Services and Department of Technology, Management, and Budget on the Performance Audit of Interface and Change Controls of the Bridges Integrated Automated Eligibility Determination System, May 2013
Tax Policy
Agenda:
SB 114 – (Sen. Gregory) – Property tax; assessments; assessment of commercial rental property; revise.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote
SB 711 – (Sen. Marleau) – Sales tax; exemptions; tax exemption on tangible personal property used in construction or renovation of qualified convention facility; extend sunset.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote
SB 735 – (Sen. Marleau) – Use tax; exemptions; tax exemption on tangible personal property used in construction or renovation of qualified convention facility; extend sunset.
Reported from committee by a 14-0 vote
SB 327 – (Sen. Robertson) – Taxation; administration; certain guidelines used by employees involved in the administration, collection, or auditing of taxes; clarify.
Testimony Only
HB 5342 – (Rep. Lyons) – Use tax; exemptions; over-the-counter medications sold pursuant to a prescription; exempt
Testimony Only
Appropriations
Agenda:
SB 608 – (Sen. Kahn) – Appropriations; zero budget; supplemental appropriations; provide for fiscal year 2013-2014.
Reported from committee by a 18-11 vote
HB 4295 – (Rep. Haveman) – Appropriations; supplemental; multisection school aid; provide for 2012-2013.
Reported from committee by a 29-0 vote
HB 4982 – (Rep. Schor) – School aid; categoricals; year-round school district pilot program; create.
Reported from committee by a 29-0 vote
Agriculture
Agenda:
Presentation on Industrial Hemp
Criminal Justice
Agenda:
HB 5110 – (Rep. Heise) – Law enforcement; investigations; disclosure of call location information by wireless providers to requesting law enforcement agency; require.
Reported from committee by an 8-1 vote.
HB 5237 – (Rep. Cavanagh) – Criminal procedure; sentencing; William Van Regenmorter crime victim’s rights act; amend human trafficking restitution provisions.
Reported from committee by a 9-0 vote.
HB 5240 – (Rep. Banks) – Criminal procedure; statute of limitations; limitation of actions related to human trafficking; extend.
Reported from committee by an 8-1 vote.
Education
Agenda:
HB 5223 – (Rep. O’Brien) – Education; teachers; performance evaluation requirements for teachers; revise.
Testimony Only
HB 5224 – (Rep. Zemke) – Education; employees; performance evaluation requirements for school administrators; revise.
Testimony Only
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Agenda:
Presentation by Stephanie Comai, LARA Deputy Director, pertaining to the implementation of and expenditures for the Unemployment Insurance Agency’s Integrated System project (UIA-IS), including the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS), the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM), the Interactive Voice Response System (IVR), and the Enterprise Fraud Detection System (EFDS)
Financial Services
HB 5277 – (Rep. Callton) – Civil procedure; foreclosure; property inspections during redemption period; revise procedures for.
Reported from committee by a 11-0-1 vote
HB 5030 – (Rep. Brinks) – Financial institutions; credit unions; written disclosure of rights of account holders; require for joint accounts.
Testimony Only
HB 5031 – (Rep. Cochran) – Financial institutions; savings banks; written disclosure of rights of account holders; require for joint accounts.
Testimony Only
HB 5032 – (Rep. Cochran) – Financial institutions; banks; written disclosure of rights of account holders; require for joint accounts.
Testimony Only
Families, Children and Seniors
Agenda:
SB 276 – (Sen. Hune) – Human services; other; public assistance recipients to perform community service as a condition of eligibility; require.
Reported from committee by a 6-3 vote.
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Human Services
Agenda:
Public Testimony
Appropriations: Subcommittee on ASC Joint Capital Outlay
Agenda:
- Planning Authorization for G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility
- DTMB FY 2014-15 Capital Outlay Project Request Review and Evaluations Process
Appropriations: Joint House and Senate Subcommittee on School Aid
Agenda:
Quarterly Report by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan on Deficit Districts
Appropriations: Subcommittee on State Police
Agenda:
State Executive Security Division, Forensic Science Division, and the Biometrics and Identification Division
Appropriations: Subcommittee on ASC Environmental Quality
Agenda:
DEQ Presentation:
- Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater (SAW) Program
- Drinking Water Revolving Loan Program
Judiciary
Agenda:
HB 4155 – (Rep. Nesbitt) – Weapons; licensing; certain firearm licensing information; exempt from freedom of information act.
Reported from committee by a 6-0-2 vote.
HB 5324 – (Rep. Jenkins) – Weapons; licensing; firearm records; clarify exemption under the freedom of information act.
Reported from Committee by a 7-0-3 vote.
HB 5325 – (Rep. Crawford) – Weapons; licensing; definition of firearms records; provide for.
Reported from committee by a 7-0-3 vote
HB 5326 – (Rep. McBroom) – Weapons; licensing; firearms records; clarify what records are exempt under the freedom of information act.
Reported from committee by a 7-0-3 vote
HB 5327 – (Rep. Rendon) – Weapons; licensing; firearms records; exempt from freedom of information act and provide for disclosure only under certain circumstances.
Reported from committee by a 6-0-5 vote.
HB 5328 – (Rep. Cotter) – Weapons; licensing; firearm records; clarify what is exempt under the freedom of information act.
Reported from committee by 7-0-4 vote
HB 5329 – (Rep. Pettalia) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guideline for certain firearm licensing information; provide for.
Reported from committee by a 6-1-4 vote.
SB 610 – (Sen. Green) – Weapons; firearms; manufacture, possession, or transfer of certain short-barreled shotguns or rifles; allow.
Reported from committee by an 8-0-3 vote.
HB 5091 – (Rep. Johnson) – Weapons; other; brandishing a firearm; exempt the carrying of a firearm that is holstered or carried on a sling.
Testimony Only
HB 5092 – (Rep. Dillon) – Weapons; other; definition of brandish; provide for.
Testimony Only
HR 199 – (Rep. Shirkey) – A resolution to urge the state of Illinois to recognize Michigan concealed pistol license holders as being automatically legal to carry concealed handguns in the state of Illinois.
Testimony Only
Local Government
Agenda:
HB 4804 – (Rep. Lund) – Labor; collective bargaining; prohibited subjects of bargaining; include bargaining in conflict with ordinance or charter provision prohibiting defined benefit retirement plans.
Testimony Only
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Community Colleges Agenda:
- Michigan Center for Student Success
- Michigan Transfer Agreement
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Agenda:
DNR Presentations:
- Invasive Species Initiative
- Law Enforcement Program
- Marine Safety Grant Program
- Michigan Wildlife Council