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 Sept. 8, 2014: Committee Meetings
Regulatory Reform
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 521, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
HB 5419 – (Rep. LaFontaine) – Occupations; athletic trainers; license fee and continuing education hours for athletic trainers; modify, and require training on use of automated external defibrillator.
SB 1017 – (Sen. Kahn) – Taxation; tobacco; compensation for upgrades to technology and equipment; clarify.
HB 5455 – (Rep. Santana) – Tobacco; retail sales; prohibition on sale of cigarette separate from individual package; increase fines and allocate fine revenue.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 521, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
SB 915 – (Sen. Casperson) – Vehicles; registration; fraudulently indicating that there is no security interest in a vehicle; prohibit.
SB 916 – (Sen. Nofs) – Vehicles; title; electronic title for vehicles with a lienholder; allow.
SB 917 – (Sen. Bieda) – Vehicles; title; electronic title for vehicles with a lienholder; allow.
SB 918 – (Sen. Brandenburg) – Vehicles; title; electronic title for vehicles with a lienholder; allow.
SB 277 – (Sen. Hune) – Vehicles; trucks; requirement that commercial vehicles weighing over 5,000 pounds display certain identification information; revise to apply to vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds.
Health Policy
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building
SB 02 – (Sen. Jansen) – Occupations; nurses; advanced practice registered nurse (a.p.r.n.); establish license for nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists and provide other general amendments.
Oversight
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9
Time: Noon
Location: Room 326, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
Presentation by new Auditor General Doug Ringler on changes and goals for the Office of the Auditor General under his leadership.
HB 5580 – (Rep. MacMaster) – Civil rights; open meetings; open meetings act regarding county commissioners; expand to require minutes to include all topics of discussion, and eliminate anonymity in voting
Natural Resources
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9
Time: Noon
Location: Room 307, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
HB 5709 – (Rep. Stamas) – Natural resources; land acquisition; use limitations imposed by funding source; apply to area proportional to amount of funding from that source.
Tax Policy
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 10
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building, Lansing
SB 113 – (Sen. Green) – Property tax; exemptions; certain conservation easements; exempt.
Criminal Justice
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 10
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 327, House Office Building, Lansing
SB 602 – (Sen. Hune) – Criminal procedure; sex offender registration; definition of tier II offender; revise to include crime of soliciting prostitute.
SB 205 – (Sen. Emmons) – Crimes; penalties; crime of soliciting sex act from a minor who is 16 years of age; increase penalties.
SB 206 – (Sen. Schuitmaker) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of soliciting a minor 16 years of age to commit prostitution; provide to reflect increased penalty.
SB 589 – (Sen. Caswell) – Children; parental rights; grounds for termination of parental rights; expand to include certain victims of human trafficking.
Appropriations: Subcommittee on Community Health
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 10
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 352, House Appropriations, State Capitol Building, Lansing
Performance Metrics and Measurements
Families, Children and Seniors
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 10
Time: Noon
Location: Room 519, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
SB 275 – (Sen. Hune) – Human services; services or financial assistance; suspicion-based drug testing for public assistance recipients; require.
Financial Services
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 10
Time: Noon
Location: Room 326, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
HB 5412 – (Rep. Jenkins) – Financial institutions; banks; savings promotion raffles by state banks; allow.
HB 5413 – (Rep. Jenkins) – Crimes; gambling; gambling and lottery crimes; clarify exclusion for savings promotion raffles by state banks.
Financial Liability Reform
Date: Thursday, Sept. 11
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: Room 519, House Office Building, Lansing
Agenda:
SB 922 – (Sen. Brandenburg) – State financing and management; bonds; issuance of certain types of bonds; extend sunset.
Appropriations: Subcommittee on School Aid and Education
Date: Thursday, Sept. 11
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Senate Appropriations, State Capitol Building, Lansing
Quarterly Report by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan on Deficit Districts