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Column Descriptions
House Bill 5347: Impose more “liquor control” rules
to revise details of rules for beer festivals, among other things stipulating that they can last more than one day without requiring a separate special license, permitting "micro brewers" to serve their own products at an event, repealing a requirement for regulators to determine whether an event is "appropriate," and more. This is one of a 16-bill package revising many provisions of Michigan’s extraordinarily detailed and extensive “liquor control” regulatory regime, which essentially writes into state law detailed rules governing the members of this cartel that would ordinarily be promulgated by an administrative agency
• House Roll Call 93 on February 20, 2020.
House Bill 5015: Require state agencies post salaries and benefits
to revise the information that must be included in a 2016 law that required each state department to post its organizational staffing chart on a state website. As introduced, the bill required the name of each agency staffer to be listed with the title of their position, and the individuals salary and benefits. The version that passed the House deleted the requirement that the names to be posted
• House Roll Call 63 on February 18, 2020.
Senate Bill 432: Revise research and development subsidies
to exempt from property taxes certain nonprofit operations that do product research and development for business and industry and also get certain state "economic development" subsidies and grants
• Senate Roll Call 53 on February 18, 2020.
Senate Resolution 0: Oppose Mitterling NRC nomination
to disapprove the appointment by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Anna Mitterling to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. Reportedly the real target of this action by the Senate Republican majority is Whitmer’s nomination of current NRC member and former Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell as chair of the commission, which has "exclusive authority to regulate the taking of game and sportfish" and designating which species may or may not be hunted. Heartwell’s nomination is opposed by the National Rifle Association because of his role as a “state membership coordinator” of antigun groups organized by former New York City mayor and current Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg
• Senate Roll Call 52 on February 13, 2020.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 18: To oppose mandating "labor peace agreements"...
[To oppose mandating "labor peace agreements" to get marijuana business license] to oppose a rule proposed by the state's Marijuana Regulatory Agency that would impose a mandate on prospective marijuana business licensees to sign a "labor peace agreement" with a union. The resolution describes this mandate as forcing applicants to "accept the terms of labor unions without negotiation," and asserts it would "set a dangerous precedent for similar requirements for anyone seeking a license or permit issued by the state"
• Senate Roll Call on January 22, 2020.
House Bill 4020: Legalize “stun guns”
to repeal a ban on the sale, possession or use of tasers or stun guns by adults, defined as a “device that is capable of creating an electro-muscular disruption…capable of temporarily incapacitating or immobilizing an individual by the direction or emission of conducted energy." Stun gun does not include a launchable device
• House Roll Call 13 on January 14, 2020.
House Bill 4156: Allow pension “double dipping” by retired...
[Allow pension “double dipping” by retired state psychiatric health care workers] to allow some former government psychiatric health care workers who are collecting state pension benefits to go back to work in certain positions and collect a paycheck without taking a cut in pension benefits
• Senate Roll Call 9 on January 14, 2020.
Senate Bill 309: Impose $50 tax on tow trucks
to impose a $50 annual “motor carrier” fee on tow trucks and wreckers used in “nonconsensual towing operations” within the state (usually this is removing illegally parked cars)
• House Roll Call 3 on January 8, 2020.
House Bill 4508: Regulate travel insurance
to impose an extensive regulatory regime on “travel insurance”
• House Roll Call 107 on February 25, 2020.
House Resolution 227: To reaffirm the right of Michigan residents to...
To reaffirm the right of Michigan residents to keep and bear arms under the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 and the Constitution of the United States
• House Roll Call 103 on February 25, 2020.
House Bill 5159: Ban marijuana with vitamin E acetate
to ban the sale or processing of marijuana that contains or has been combined with vitamin E acetate, which is implicated in a nationwide rash of lung ailments
• House Roll Call 47 on February 6, 2020.
House Bill 5161: Ban vapor products with vitamin E acetate added
to ban the sale of vapor products or alternative nicotine products that contain vitamin E acetate, which is implicated in a nationwide rash of lung ailments. Violations would be a misdemeanor crime subject to $10,000 fines
• House Roll Call 49 on February 6, 2020.
House Bill 5195: Increase license plate transfer fee
to no longer transfer around $6 million in annual vehicle registration (license plate) tax revenue from the state road repair fund to the Secretary of State office, which is part of around $135 million in such transfers each year. Also, to increase the fees imposed for the transfer of license plates from one vehicle to another from $8 to $10, and also tack-on a new fee of $5, which is expected to bring in around $2.3 million more for the road fund
• House Roll Call 33 on January 23, 2020.
House Bill 4335: Revise barber licensure detail
to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill
• House Roll Call 28 on January 22, 2020.
House Bill 4816: Authorize local hotel and motel tax
to give certain cities (most likely Kalamazoo) the power to impose a 4 percent room tax on lodging facilities, and use the money to subsidize building and operating a new event center. The tax would go into effect when the owners controlling at least 40 percent of the “transient facility” (hotel and motel) rooms in the jurisdiction request a referendum of all facility owners, which then receives a majority of the votes cast, with lodging owners getting one vote per room
• House Roll Call 21 on January 16, 2020.
Senate Bill 696: Let funeral home manager manage more than one...
[Let funeral home manager manage more than one facility] to authorize waivers from a prohibition on letting licensed funeral establishment manager manage more than one such establishment. The bill would allow this if the individual lives with 75 miles of both establishments, in a region with lower population density than the state average
• Senate Roll Call 77 on February 25, 2020.
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 804142.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Revise research and development subsidies
to exempt from property taxes certain nonprofit operations that do product research and development for business and industry and also get certain state "economic development" subsidies and grants
Senate Bill 711: Create another “liquor control” licensure category
to establish a new “limited production brewer” licensure category in Michigan’s exceptionally detailed and extensive “liquor control” regulatory regime, which would cost $1,000 and be imposed along with detailed regulations on businesses engaged in a narrow class of transactions related to brewing and distributing beer
• Senate Roll Call 31 on January 29, 2020.
House Bill 4335: Revise barber licensure detail
to revise details of a state licensure mandate imposed on barbers that requires 1,800 hours of instruction at a “licensed barber college” before an individual can earn a living at this trade. The bill would permit up to 1,000 hours of “cosmetology” training to be substituted on a one-to-one basis, and also allow prospective cosmetologists to apply 1,000 barber college hours to the requirements for that license
• Senate Roll Call 16 on January 21, 2020.
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 798755.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Allow pension “double dipping” by retired...
[Allow pension “double dipping” by retired state psychiatric health care workers] to allow some former government psychiatric health care workers who are collecting state pension benefits to go back to work in certain positions and collect a paycheck without taking a cut in pension benefits
Senate Bill 319: Make more expensive rental property eligible...
[Make more expensive rental property eligible for developer tax breaks] to concur with the House-passed version of the bill
• Senate Roll Call 1 on January 8, 2020.
Senate Resolution 0: Deny Heartwell nomination to chair Natural...
[Deny Heartwell nomination to chair Natural Resources Commission] to disapprove the appointment by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of former Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell as chairman of Michigan Natural Resources Commission. This follows the reportedly related Feb. 13 denial of Anna Mitterling's appointment to this commission, which has "exclusive authority to regulate the taking of game and sportfish" and designating which species may or may not be hunted. Heartwell’s nomination is opposed by the National Rifle Association because of his role as a “state membership coordinator” of antigun groups organized by former New York City mayor and current Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg
• Senate Roll Call 88 on February 27, 2020.
Senate Bill 686: Create state employee whistleblower protection law
to establish a state employee whistleblower protection law that prohibits a state department or agency from retaliating against a person for communicating with a legislator on the way the department or agency is performing its duties
• Senate Roll Call 78 on February 26, 2020.
Senate Bill 674: Exempt air ambulances from medical services...
[Exempt air ambulances from medical services rationing (“certificate of need”)] to exempt air ambulance services from a state Certificate of Need law that requires medical service providers to get permission from a panel of existing providers before investing in a new or expanded service
• Senate Roll Call 87 on February 26, 2020.
Senate Bill 672: Revise psychiatric hospital rationing ...
[Revise psychiatric hospital rationing (“certificate of need”)] to exempt psychiatric hospitals or units from the rationing restrictions imposed under a state Certificate of Need law that requires medical service providers to get permission from a panel of existing providers before investing in a new or expanded facilities. In return for the exemption, private psychiatric hospitals and units would have to maintain half the beds for "public patients," defined as ones receiving social welfare benefits, or subject to a treatment order signed by a clinical psychiatrist, or deemed by a court to be a threat to themselves or others. See also Senate Bill 669
• Senate Roll Call 85 on February 26, 2020.
House Bill 5576: Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect”...
[Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect” scholarship proposal] to authorize a college and trade school grant program for individuals age 25 and above, with grants in the amount needed to cover tuition and fees for career-oriented classes at a community college that is above the amount covered by other scholarships and government aid. It would also authorize one-time grants of $1,500 for completing a private apprenticeship program. This is the “Michigan Reconnect” program proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her 2019 State of the State address, and is projected to cost $46.3 million
• Senate Roll Call 114 on March 17, 2020.
House Bill 5576: Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect”...
[Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect” scholarship proposal] to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill
• House Roll Call 185 on March 17, 2020.
House Bill 5025: Let townships impose property tax for mosquito...
[Let townships impose property tax for mosquito control] to permit townships to impose special assessment property taxes for mosquito abatement, which would let these governments use existing tax revenue to pay for other spending instead
• House Roll Call 183 on March 17, 2020.
House Concurrent Resolution 17: To urge the United States Secretary of Health...
To urge the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to appeal the federal court ruling invalidating the waiver for Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements, defend the waiver, and uphold its intended purpose of encouraging self-sufficiency
• House Roll Call 151 on March 12, 2020.
House Bill 5479: Ban government gun "buybacks"
to prohibit local governments from using any public resources for firearm purchase (“buyback”) programs. Governments could only buy guns from licensed dealers for law enforcement purposes
• House Roll Call 133 on March 4, 2020.
House Bill 4042: Authorize interstate nurse licensure compact
to authorize Michigan’s participation in an interstate nurses licensure compact that would allow registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/VNs) to get a multi-state license that is good in all states that join the compact
• House Roll Call 128 on February 26, 2020.
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 805584.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Regulate travel insurance
to impose an extensive regulatory regime on “travel insurance.” The bill would add emergency evacuation, repatriation of remains and indemnification of other travel-related contingencies to the current statutory definition of travel insurance, and would also extend an existing business income tax levy on insurance premiums to this type of insurance
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 805579.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: To reaffirm the right of Michigan residents to...
To reaffirm the right of Michigan residents to keep and bear arms under the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 and the Constitution of the United States
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 799664.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Authorize local hotel and motel tax
to give certain cities (most likely Kalamazoo) the power to impose a 4 percent room tax on lodging facilities, and use the money to subsidize building and operating a new event center. The tax would go into effect when the owners controlling at least 40 percent of the “transient facility” (hotel and motel) rooms in the jurisdiction request a referendum of all facility owners, which then receives a majority of the votes cast, with lodging owners getting one vote per room
Senate Bill 340: Authorize remote "satellite" pharmacies
to permit “remote pharmacies” that use a "telepharmacy system" to sell prescription drugs, in which a "continuous, real-time audio and video link to connect a pharmacist parent pharmacy with a remote pharmacy operated by the parent pharmacy.” Licensed “pharmacy technicians” at the remote site would dispense drugs under the remote supervision of a licensed pharmacist under rules and restrictions specified in the bill. Among other provisions the bill would require that patients be able to communicate with the licensed pharmacist through the system
• House Roll Call 355 on December 11, 2019.
Senate Bill 455: Give more tax breaks to particular “data center”
to exempt a particular “data center” business that is also benefiting from state “renaissance zone” subsidies and tax breaks from additional school and local personal property taxes (which are levied on business tools and equipment). The bill would exempt the equipment owned by the Nevada company that occupied the former Steelcase “Pyramid” building in Grand Rapids from local debt millages, local special assessment levies, and some school property tax levies ("revenue enhancement" millages and "sinking fund" taxes). The House-passed version links this to passage of bills that would require the state to reimburse the local school taxes not collected due to granting this privilege
• House Roll Call 358 on December 11, 2019.
House Bill 4908: Increase cap on state housing subsidy debt
to increase to $5 billion the current $3.4 billion cap on the amount of debt backed by the Michigan State Housing Developing Authority, which subsidizes housing developers and loans
• Senate Roll Call 113 on March 17, 2020.
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 808121.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect”...
[Gov. Whitmer’s “Michigan Reconnect” scholarship proposal] to authorize a college and trade school grant program for individuals age 25 and above, with grants in the amount needed to cover tuition and fees for career-oriented classes at a community college that is above the amount covered by other scholarships and government aid. It would also authorize one-time grants of $1,500 for completing a private apprenticeship program. This is the “Michigan Reconnect” program proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her 2019 State of the State address, and is projected to cost $46.3 million
Senate Bill 592: Allow "double dipping" for corrections pensioners
to allow "retired" state prison employees to collect a pension while also getting paid to do corrections work as an independent contractor, or employed by one. Versions of this law are often passed when government agency employees who are permitted to begin collecting full pensions at a comparatively early age take advantage of this rather than continuing to work until a more typical retirement age
• Senate Roll Call 124 on March 17, 2020.
Senate Bill 370: Authorize income tax checkoff for particular...
[Authorize income tax checkoff for particular nonprofit] to allow an individual to choose to automatically contribute $5 or more from his or her state income tax refund to provide grants to a particular nonprofit organization named in the bill
• Senate Roll Call 93 on March 3, 2020.
Senate Bill 956: Ban transferring coronavirus patients to...
[Ban transferring coronavirus patients to nursing home] to ban transferring patients in a medical care facility who test positive for COVID-19 to nursing homes, with exceptions for patients who have recovered from the disease or nursing homes with a designated coronavirus area meeting standards specified in the bill. Also, to require state regulators to create a “centralized intake facility” in each of the state’s eight “health care regions” to treat coronavirus patients who are “ineligible for admission at a hospital”
• House Roll Call 333 on July 22, 2020.
Senate Bill 899: Coronavirus epidemic response bills: Liability...
[Coronavirus epidemic response bills: Liability waiver for medical care providers] to extend through the end of the coronavirus state of emergency a medical malpractice liability exemption granted to health care professionals and facilities by the 1976 state “Emergency Management Act.” This law limits the governor's exercise of extraordinary emergency powers - and the liability exemptions the bill would extend - to 28 days unless the legislature approves an extension, which it has declined to do.
This likely means that Gov. Whitmer's epidemic related executive orders now rest their authority primarily on a 1945 “Emergency Powers of Governor Act,” which does not place limits on how long a governor may retain such powers, and also does not grant liability protections to doctors and hospitals during an epidemic
• House Roll Call 336 on July 22, 2020.
House Bill 5672: Ban employer requiring employee implants
to prohibit an employer from requiring employees to get a device implanted in their body as a condition of employment
• House Roll Call 299 on June 24, 2020.
House Bill 4437: Require relicensure of transfered funeral...
[Require relicensure of transfered funeral establishments] to impose new mandates and conditions on getting the state license required to operate a funeral home, including a new mandate to complete a three-year mortuary science training program, to pass state tests, to get four hours of annual "continuing education" and more. Also, to establish that a change in the ownership of a licensed funeral establishment cancels the license, and thereby subjects the new owner to the same array of regulatory requirements and restrictions
• House Roll Call 293 on June 24, 2020.
House Bill 5589: Increase pawnbroker interest rate cap
to increase from 3% to 4% the maximum rate of interest per month a pawnbroker may levy on a loan secured by pawned goods. See also Senate Bill 369
• House Roll Call 276 on June 24, 2020.
Senate Bill 248: Mandate prescriptions be emailed to pharmacies
to mandate that prescriptions be electronically transmitted to a pharmacy of the customer's choice, with various exceptions, and revise other rules related to prescription drugs
• House Roll Call 260 on June 24, 2020.
WARNING: This roll call vote duplicates Roll Call ID 810233.
Remove this duplicate roll call.
View Bill: Mandate prescriptions be emailed to pharmacies
to mandate that prescriptions be electronically transmitted to a pharmacy of the customer's choice, with various exceptions, and revise other rules related to prescription drugs
House Resolution 282: Affirm House support of Mackinac pipeline tunnel
to express the support of the House for "the timely issuing of permits for the construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel Project," meaning the Line-5 gas pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac
• House Roll Call 265 on June 24, 2020.
House Bill 5407: Ban replaceable-battery smoke alarms
to prohibit the sale of smoke alarms powered by a replaceable and removable battery starting on April 1, 2022, and instead mandate that all smoke alarms must be powered by a nonremovable and nonreplaceable battery that lasts at least 10 years, or by another power source utilizing new technology. This would not apply to alarms powered by a building electrical system and some other exceptions
• House Roll Call 274 on June 24, 2020.
House Bill 4459: Restrict excessive charges for emergency...
[Restrict excessive charges for emergency medical care] to prohibit hospital emergency rooms or other emergency medical care providers from charging a person whose health insurance provider does not have a negotiated deal with the provider more than the average amount negotiated by the patient’s insurer, or more than 150% of the Medicare fee for service fee, with various exceptions
• House Roll Call 301 on June 24, 2020.
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