House of Representatives Week in Review: February 25th - 27th

Hello Friends,

Below please find an update on legislation passed by the House of Representatives this week (February 18th through 20th).  Please feel free to contact me (517.373.0826; andyschor@house.mi.gov) if you have questions or thoughts about any of the below bills. 

Thank you! 

Andy Schor

State Representative

68th District

Revision of Procedure for Preliminary Examinations in Criminal Cases and Establishment of a “Probable Cause Conference”

HB 5155 (Walsh), Passed: 110-0

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 5155 would revise the procedure for preliminary examinations in criminal cases and establish in statue a “probably cause conference,” which is already in practice in many jurisdictions throughout Michigan.

Allowing the City of Lansing to Issue Negotiable Bonds to Refund Other Refunding Bonds

SB 629 (Jones), Passed: 110-0

SB 630 (Jones), Passed: 110-0

Next: Sent to Senate for reconsideration

SBs 629 and 630 amend the state’s local building authority statute and the Tax Increment Financing Act to: (1) Allow, in one specific case related to the City of Lansing, a local building authority to issue negotiable bonds to refund other refunding bonds (i.e., issue new bonds to pay off bonds that were issued to refinance an original bond that financed authority projects); (2) Provide that if the refunding bonds are issued before December 31, 2019, they would be exempt from certain provisions of the Revised Municipal Finance Act as under current law and, in addition, exempt from another provision that sets forth conditions and procedures for a municipality to issue a refunding security; (3) Amend the definition of “qualified refunding obligation” under the Tax Increment Financing Act to facilitate the above provisions.

Allowing Copies of a Lost or Destroyed Mortgage to be Effective

HB 4638 (Pettalia), Passed: 106-4

HB 4639 (LANE), Passed: 106-4

HB 4640 (Pettalia), Passed: 106-4

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 4638, HB 4639 and HB 4640 would allow, in the case of an unrecorded, lost or destroyed mortgage, an affidavit and a copy of the original document to be recorded and have these documents be effective.

Additional Transparency for Michigan’s Audit Procedures

HB 4291 (Farrington), Passed: 108-0

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration

HB 4291 provides additional transparency to Michigan’s audit procedures by requiring Treasury to provide a complete copy of a taxpayer’s audit to the audited taxpayer upon request.

Repealing the Ban on Scalping of Tickets for Sporting and Entertainment Events

HB 5108 (Kelly), Passed: 66-42

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration

HB 5108 amends the Michigan Penal Code to repeal the ban on the scalping of tickets for sporting and entertainment events.

Requiring Individuals with Lottery Winnings of $1,000 or more to repay any Debt to DHS

HB 4855 (Kurtz), Passed: 107-1

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration

HB 4855 requires individuals with lottery winnings of $1,000 or more to repay any outstanding debt to the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Creation of Requirements for the Children’s Ombudsman Office

HB 5039 (Kurtz), Passed: 108-0

Next: Sent to Senate for consideration
HB 5039 will create requirements for the Children’s Ombudsman Office in regards to child fatality investigations linked to child abuse or child neglect.