To prohibit the state health department from imposing restrictions on members of a family or household observing another member in a sporting event, dining out together at a single table, or otherwise gathering together. Also, to prohibit orders that bar an individual from traveling to another property he or she owns, or ban high school graduation ceremonies, or ban an individual from buying a product in a store.
To place in state law specific disease incidence thresholds and limits for restricting gatherings and occupancy limits in restaurants and other “event venues” during an coronavirus epidemic. The bill would prescribe specific occupancy restrictions based on current local disease incidence levels.
To exempt “broadband equipment” owned by certain internet developers claiming to serve "underserved areas" from personal property taxes levied on business tools and equipment. The bill is connected to Senate Bill 46, and the Senate Fiscal Agency is unable to quantify the amount of foregone revenue the tax subsidies they promise would cost the state, in part because the bills would permit developers to claim them in areas where broadband internet may already be available.
To exempt “broadband equipment” owned by certain internet developers claiming to serve "underserved areas" from personal property taxes levied on business tools and equipment, along with House Bill 4210. See the Senate vote on that bill above.
To authorize a two-year vehicle registration (license plate tab) renewal.
To authorize an enhanced penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5,000 fine for taking a law enforcement or corrections officer's gun by force, which would be added to penalties imposed for the underlying crimes.
To impose a new coverage mandate that would require insurance companies to include coverage for orally administered chemotherapy in all health insurance policies that provide for cancer chemotherapy treatments, without requiring any dollar limit, deductible or co-pay for these that does not apply to other treatments. Also, to ban charging a copay of more than $150 per month on these drugs.
To establish that medical service professionals in another state may provide “telehealth” services to Michigan patients without needing to also get a Michigan license.
To add employee salary and benefit information to information each state department is required to post on a state website. This would include individual employee position titles, (unionized) civil service status, salary and general benefits information, but no names, emails or other identifying information (which may still be obtained through a specific Freedom of Information Act request).
To repeal the exemption in the state Freedom of Information Act for records held by the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices and staff, subject to a broad range of exceptions. These exceptions include records related to gubernatorial appointments; sanctions on judges; pardons, reprieves and commutations; executive budget preparations; deficit-related spending cuts; the annual state-of-the-state address; records subject to executive privilege; communications with constituents; and information related to security, employee personal information and more.
To extend the Freedom of Information Act to legislators, whose offices are currently exempt, subject to a broad range of exceptions and exemptions. This is part of a package comprised of House Bills 4383 to 4392.
To denounce the decision by Attorney General Dana Nessel to not investigate the governor's nursing home policy early in the coronavirus epidemic, along with the data that was reported on deaths in nursing homes, and to encourage county prosecutors to pursue independent investigations.
To exempt “broadband equipment” used by certain internet providers specified in the bill from personal property taxes levied on business tools and equipment.
To allow local governments to permit on-premises liquor sales in bars and restaurants between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. If a municipality did allow this, a bar or restaurant would still need to apply to the state Liquor Control Commission for a special license and pay $250 each year.
To establish that a physician is not liable for civil damages that result if he or she refuses to provide a written verification that an individual is unable to wear a seat belt in a car or wear a helmet where that is required for ORVs, snowmobiles, etc. These laws each permit medical exceptions.
To authorize the Senate Majority Leader to commence legal action on behalf of the Senate, challenging any action by the governor to spend money that has not been authorized in appropriation bills passed by the House and Senate. This relates to vetoes of provisions in House Bills 4047 and 4048 that would prohibit spending part of the state’s federal stimulus and coronavirus relief money unless two provision of two other bills are also signed into law (Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 4049). Those bills would transfer the authority of the state health department to close schools in an emergency to county health departments, and require legislative consent after 28 days to a governor's authority to maintain a state of emergency and issue executive orders. Under this resolution, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey would be authorized to sue the governor if the administration spends money without the legislative authorization required by the Michigan Constitution of 1963.
To override Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's line-item veto of $150 million in state aid for businesses afflicted by coronavirus epidemic lockdowns, and another $150 million for deposit in the state's unemployment insurance account to "offset expected exposure to state fraud and improper payments" during the epidemic.
To restrict emergency orders the state health department (the Department of Health and Human Service) may impose in response to an epidemic to 28 days unless an extension is approved by the Legislature. A state Public Health Code adopted by the Legislature in 1978 gives the department the authority to issue such orders. The bill would also require officials to disclose in such orders how any restrictions on gatherings protects public health, and all the information used in deciding to issue the emergency order.
To appropriate $150 million in state dollars for deposit into the state unemployment insurance benefit fund to offset exposure to fraud and improper payments during the coronavirus epidemic. The bill also appropriates $405 million state tax dollars for tax and fee relief to businesses afflicted by coronavirus lockdowns. These appropriations had been in another bill but were line-item vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
To revise the procedure specified in state election law to remove certain registered voters listed in the qualified voter file who haven't voted since 2000 or who have unknown dates of birth in the voter rolls, and do not respond to a mailing.
To establish that the director of the Department of Health and Human Services does not have the authority to issue epidemic-related emergency orders that close schools for in-person instruction or prohibit school sporting events. The legislature gave this authority to the state health department director in the Public Health Code enacted in 1978; the bill would amend that law by instead giving this authority to local health departments.
To establish that the emergency executive orders issued by the governor or the state health department do not relieve county clerks of their duty to process concealed pistol carry permits, or the State Police of their duty to provide fingerprinting services for this.
To revise a law that punishes a school district that hires an instructor, counselor or administrator who has not complied with the licensure mandates imposed by law on these professions. Currently, the amount paid to the individual is deducted from state school aid. The bill would deduct 50 percent for 10 days after a district is notified, and then revert to the usual 100% deduction. The same law makes it a felony subject to a $1,500 fine for a school official who fails to comply. The Senate Fiscal Agency reports that just under $1.0 million in penalties was assessed on districts in the 2019-20 school year.
To appropriate $1.946 billion in additional school spending in the 2021-22 fiscal year, of which $1.876 billion is federal money and $170 million comes from state tax collections. However, $840 million of the federal money may only be spent if House Bill 4049 becomes law, which transfers the power to close schools during an epidemic from the state health department to local health departments.
The House vote on the school spending bill described above.
To appropriate $2.309 billion in state and federal epidemic relief dollars, with $1.677 federal money and $632 million coming from state taxpayers. Of this, $600 million would go for food stamps, $150 million for unemployment benefits, $150 million to temporary raises for front-line social welfare direct care workers, $110 million for vaccines, $547 million for more coronavirus testing and lab grants, $282 million in rental housing subsidies of which $62 million is for administration, $300 million state dollars for property tax relief and much more. Of the testing and lab grant dollars, $347.3 million can only be spent if a bill passes limiting state health department emergency orders to 28 days without legislative approval (see Senate Bill 1).
The House vote on the supplemental spending bill described above.
To prohibit officials including the governor from using an official “Integrated Public Alert Warning System” to transmit an announcement of a new law or change in government policy, and instead limit its use to emergencies involving immediate or nearly immediate loss of life or property. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used this system during a 2020 state of emergency she had ordered to make announcements that did not meet this standard. The system is described as a “secure network connecting all of the public alert and warning systems in the United States into a single system.”
To appropriate $672.7 million federal dollars and $55 million collected from state taxpayers for various coronavirus response activities including $390.1 million more for vaccine distribution and virus tests, $282.5 million more for rental subsidies, and $55 million state dollars to give a $2.25 hourly raise to certain social welfare direct care workers through September.
To appropriate an additional $1.246 billion for Michigan's public school system in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Of this, $932 million is federal money and the rest comes from state taxpayers. A total of $807 million would be allocated to school districts based on the number of children from lower income households they enroll. Another $90 million would go to K-8 summer school programs and $45.0 million for high school credit recovery programs, with smaller amounts for other purposes.
To add to the dozens of violations specified in a state consumer protection act a new one that applies to a private third party who offers “online services that are performed by a state agency, department, or division” without “conspicuously” indicating that the operation is not a government entity, and without disclosing the prices and terms.
To place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment to require that bills passed in a “lame duck” legislative session held after the election in an even year must get a two-thirds House and Senate majority vote to become law. To be placed on the ballot, a House or Senate Joint Resolution proposing a constitutional amendment much get at least a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. Approval by the governor is not required.
To exempt “broadband equipment” used by some internet providers from personal property taxes levied on business tools and equipment. The beneficiaries would be firms claiming to "resolve a lack of broadband service," which is undefined in the bill. For this reason the Senate Fiscal Agency is unable to estimate how much revenue the state and local governments may forego if the bill becomes law.
To authorize Michigan’s participation in an interstate physical therapist licensure compact that would make it easier for a therapist seeking licensure in more than one state to demonstrate licensure status in his or her home state. The bill would establish that a therapist licensed in a member state that has complied with the compact’s detailed provisions would be granted a “compact privilege” to practice in other compact member states, subject to those other states' laws.
To appropriate $868.5 million in recently-approved federal coronavirus relief money, which is about 25% of the entire amount available to the state, with the rest to be allocated later. The appropriation directs $510 million federal dollars to expand food stamp distributions and related programs; $165.5 million for household rent and utility subsidies; $143.7 million for coronavirus testing and contact tracing; and smaller amounts for other purposes.
To revise school spending in the 2021-22 fiscal year to accommodate a $1.8 billion increase in federal coronavirus relief. The bill would allocate $1.490 billion to school districts, which they can spend on any of 15 specific activities listed in the federal relief bill. Among other items this bill also authorizes $86.7 million for non-public schools, $21 million for extra grants to summer school teachers, and more. The bill also appropriates $363 million state dollars to pay for extra “incentives” to get teachers back in public school classrooms. The bill is "tie-barred" to House Bill 4049, which transfers the power to close schools during an epidemic from the state health department to local health departments; this means the school spending bill can't become law unless that bill also becomes law.
To establish that the director of the Department of Health and Human Services does not have the authority to issue epidemic-related emergency orders that close schools for in-person instruction or prohibit school sporting events. The legislature gave this authority to the state health department director in the Public Health Code enacted in 1978; the bill would amend that law by instead giving this authority to local health departments.
To appropriate $393.5 million state dollars to give property tax and other relief to “afflicted businesses” impacted by state coronavirus lockdowns including restaurants and bars, “exercise facilities, “recreation facilities or places of public amusement,” and “entertainment venues." Also, to appropriate $150 million to the state unemployment insurance system “for offsetting expected exposure to state fraud and improper payments" during the epidemic.
To restrict emergency orders issued by state Department of Health and Human Services in response to an epidemic to 28 days unless an extension is approved by the legislature.
To revise the state’s public sexual offender registry law in response to a court ruling that banned enforcing new registrations, restrictions and requirements on individual registrants if these were not in force when the individual was required to register. The bill also adds some new restrictions and requirements.
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Contact my lawmakers
Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr., D-East Lansing, District 23. 517-373-1734 . senchertel@senate.michigan.gov
Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, District 68. (517) 373-0826. sarahanthony@house.mi.gov
SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit www.MichiganVotes.org.
Permission to reprint this legislative summary in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that www.MichiganVotes.org is properly cited.
