In order to help make our state government more transparent and accessible to my constituents, each week that there is session I am going to post to my website a synopsis of the work each House committee will do for the week. This will include the time and location for the meeting as well as any bills or presentations the committee will hear. Each agenda item will include the bill number, the sponsor, and a brief summary of the legislation. If you would like to read in greater detail about any of these bills, you can read them in their full-text at www.legislature.mi.gov.
Please also note that you and your neighbors are welcome to observe any committee meeting or legislative session. Most House committee meetings are in the House Office Building (124 N. Capitol Ave. in Lansing) but some convene in the Capitol across the street.
As your elected officials, it is our job to conduct legislative business with efficiency and transparency. I hope you find these posts helpful and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Week of Feb. 3, 2014: Committee Meetings
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 307, House Office Building
Agenda:
Presentation from Michigan State University on sustainable agriculture and regional food systems
Regulatory Reform
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 521, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 5163 – (Rep. VerHeulen) – Agriculture; animals; persons allowed to breed large carnivores; expand.
Energy and Technology
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 4885 – (Rep. Nesbitt) – Taxation; severance; tax on production of oil and gas produced by enhanced recovery projects; reduce.
HB 5254 – (Rep. Outman) – Natural resources; gas and oil; pipeline definition; expand to include pipelines carrying carbon dioxide gas for certain purposes.
HB 5255 – (Rep. Stallworth) – Natural resources; gas and oil; condemnation authority for pipelines; expand to include pipelines carrying carbon dioxide for certain purposes.
HB 5274 – (Rep. Pettalia) – Natural resources; gas and oil; regulations for carbon dioxide pipelines; provide for.
HB 5013 – (Rep. Stamas) – Public utilities; electric utilities; certain industrial customers; allow to negotiate new contracts, and remove sunse
Health Policy
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Room 352, House Appropriations, State Capitol Building
Agenda:
Presentation from the Mental Health and Wellness Commission on the final 2013 report.
Tax Policy
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 9:45 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
Agenda:
Presentation by Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Association of Counties on Downtown Development Authorities and Tax Increment Financing Authorities.
Criminal Justice
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 327, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 5231 – (Rep. Graves) – Crimes; prostitution; gender references in certain prostitution statutes; eliminate, and provide for increased penalties.
HB 5232 – (Rep. Jenkins) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for certain prostitution offenses; revise.
HB 5088 – (Rep. Kivela) – Law enforcement; other; reporting certain methamphetamine-related offenses to department of state police; require, and prohibit sale of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to individual convicted of methamphetamine-related offense without a prescription.
HB 5089 – (Rep. Genetski) – Crimes; controlled substances; purchasing or attempting to purchase ephedrine or pseudoephedrine knowing that it will be combined with any other quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for the purpose of manufacturing or attempting to manufacture methamphetamine; prohibit and provide a penalty.
HB 5090 – (Rep. Nesbitt) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of purchasing or attempting to purchase ephedrine or pseudoephedrine knowing that it will be combined with any other quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for the purpose of manufacturing or attempting to manufacture methamphetamine; enact.
Commerce
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 5216 – (Rep. Kesto) – Corrections; parole; issuance by department of corrections of certificate of employability to certain prisoners; allow.
HB 5217 – (Rep. Walsh) – Labor; other; limited liability for employers that employ individuals issued a certificate of employability; provide for.
HB 5218 – (Rep. Santana) – Occupations; individual licensing and regulation; prerequisite of “good moral character”; eliminate for occupational licensing purposes.
Appropriations
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Room 352, House Appropriations, State Capitol Building
Agenda:
Presentation of Governor Snyder’s fiscal year 2015 and 2016 budget recommendations
Families, Children and Seniors
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: Noon
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 5038 – (Rep. Kurtz) – Children; services; child welfare caseloads; codify.
HB 5039 – (Rep. Kurtz) – Children; protection; duties of children’s ombudsman; expand.
HB 5228 – (Rep. Kurtz) – State agencies (existing); human services; access to certain substance abuse records; allow.
Testimony from Director Corrigan, Department of Human Services, Director Ruffin, Office of the Children’s Ombudsman
Michigan Competitiveness
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 12:25 p.m.
Location: Room 521, House Office Building
Agenda:
Presentation: Aquaculture & Net Pen Fish Farming in Washington State – Alan Cook, Icicle Seafoods, Inc. Seattle, Washington
Education and Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Room 326, House Office Building
Agenda:
Public testimony on the Report on Options for Assessments Aligned with the Common Core State Standards
Also, meeting jointly with the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on K-12, School Aid, Education. Sen. Howard Walker, Chair
Judiciary
Date: Thursday, Feb. 6
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 521, House Office Building
Agenda:
HB 5061 – (Rep. Santana) – Animals; animal shelters; animal shelters to deny adoptions under certain circumstances; require, and allow animal shelters to consider prior criminal history before adoption.
HB 5062 – (Rep. Santana) – Law enforcement; reports; access by animal shelter to certain criminal history record information through ICHAT; allow without a fee for purposes of animal adoption.
HB 5063 – (Rep. Santana) – Criminal procedure; prosecuting attorneys; prosecuting attorneys to report charges of animal abuse to department of state police; require for purposes of animal adoption.
Financial Liability Reform
Date: Thursday, Feb. 6
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
Agenda:
HJR CC – (Rep. Franz) – Legislature; other; federal balanced budget amendment; petition congress.
SJR V – (Sen. Green) – Legislature; other; federal balanced budget amendment; petition congress.