Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on April 15, 2008, to leave in place a provision in the charter school law that expires at the end of 2008 which allows charter schools to transfer their property to another school. The effect would be to allow charter schools in Detroit to expand. Also, to allow a school district to share the criminal background check required for substitute bus drivers with another school district if the bus driver gives permission

The vote was 20 in favor, 18 opposed and 0 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 566 at Senate Journal 79)

Click here to view bill details.

Senator Gleason, under his constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill No. 1252 and moved that the statement he made during the discussion of the bill be printed as his reasons for voting “no.” The motion prevailed. Senator Gleason’s statement is as follows: Fellow Senators, I rise in opposition to my own legislation. I believe that again we are doing an injustice to the process. We establish committees for the singular purpose of debating openly and fairly legislation that will come before this body. Allowing substitute bus drivers to be more readily available is quite different than talking about a charter school on the westside of the state of Michigan, and it is similarly disjointed from the efforts of Detroit Public Schools. Now, I know my school districts and yours as well have a shortage of substitute bus drivers, and it is timely to get their criminal background and histories checked into the hands of those who will hire them for maybe a single day. So this legislation means an awful lot to me, but it means an awful lot to the school districts who need these substitute teachers as well. But when we do things wrong, we sometimes have consequences that we don’t realize. I think in recent years we have seen that come to fruition more than any of us would have liked. But we have an opportunity today to say, look it, we will utilize the committee process to openly debate these tremendous issues. We voted in a bipartisan fashion a year ago when Doug Ross presented us with an opportunity to site a charter school down in Detroit—in the heart of Detroit actually. We worked together in a bipartisan fashion to allow another choice for Detroit students. But today we are expediting this process again. So as much as I know the substitute bus drivers are needed, I know that we are doing an injustice to this institution. So I would ask all those who believe the institution is greater than any piece of legislation or any amendment to join me in voting down this legislation, and put the legislation that has been amended, the request that has been asked for this morning, let’s put them in the committee where they belong. We should not disrespect those who ask to serve on particular committees; those who asked to be in leadership or chair these particular committees. So let’s respect the institution. I have tried to be fair, personally, today by saying we should not amend this with a Democratic or Republican proposal in both fashions. Last year, we worked together to support a Republican Representative who had trouble with his school districts in the Perry and Morrice districts. We worked together in a bipartisan fashion to find a resolution so that those schools would not close without losing their teachers. That is the course that we should be taking today. Let’s respect them, the chairmen and chairwomen of our committees, and let’s respect those who make up the committee by putting these vitally important issues in that process. I would like to ask for a “no” vote on my legislation.

admin:

Also, to allow a school district to share the criminal background check required for substitute bus drivers with another school district if the bus driver gives permission.

FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics
$1 Billion Project to Include Images of Irises and Faces
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 22, 2007; A01
The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer data_base_ of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure _base_ment here. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. The FBI will also retain, upon request by employers, the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks so the employers can be notified if employees have brushes with the law.

admin:

Introduced in the Senate on April 15, 2008, to leave in place a provision in the charter school law that expires at the end of 2008 which allows charter schools to transfer their property to another school. The effect would be to allow charter schools in Detroit to expand. Also, to allow a school district to share the criminal background check required for substitute bus drivers with another school district if the bus driver gives permission

The vote was 20 in favor, 18 opposed and 0 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 566 at Senate Journal 79)

Click here to view bill details.

Note that the bill finally passed by both houses preserved the original focus of it, which was to allow sharing of criminal background checks.  The part about leaving in place a provision in the charter school law that expires at the end of 2008 which allows charter schools to transfer their property to another school was added via parliamentary maneuver in the Senate, rejected by the House, and ultimately rejected by the Joint Committee that reconclied the differences between the Senate- and House-passed bills.

In this case, the legislature got its act together and did the right thing in the end.  Unrelated or loosely related amendments to bills like this are sneaky tricks used to circumvent the usual legislative process of deliberation.