House of Representatives Week in Review: December 1st - December 5th

Hello Friends,

If you haven’t already updated yourself, here’s a list of the legislation that passed the House last week (December 1st through December 5th). 

Please feel free to contact me (517.373.0826; andyschor@house.mi.gov) if you have any questions or thoughts about any of the below bills.

Thank you!

Andy Schor

State Representative
68th District

Passed 12/1 – 12/5

Revises the number of copies of the journal of the senate and the house to be printed
HB 5610, 12/2/14, Passed: 106-3
HB 5610 would allow the official journals of the House and Senate to be printed in a quantity determined by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, and also require the journals to be available online.

General amendments to the Debt Management Act

SB 664 (H-1), 12/2/14, Passed: 103-6
Senate Bill 664 would make numerous amendments to the Debt Management Act.

Revises the criteria for the doctoral degree program required for licensure as a psychologist

SB 880 (H-1), 12/2/14, Passed: 109-0
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to revise the criteria for the doctoral degree program required for licensure as a psychologist.

Require DHS to implement one year pilot for suspicion-based drug testing of FIP recipients

HB 4118 (S-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 74-35
Require DHS to implement a one-year pilot program for suspicion-based drug testing of Family Independence Program (FIP) applicants and recipients.

Requires suspicion-based drug testing for public assistance recipients

SB 275 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 75-34
Outline the requirements & consequences of a Family Independence Program assistance applicant/recipient testing positive for a controlled substance under HB 4118.

Restitution for violation of a child support order cannot include certain awards

SB 520 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 106-3
Provides that an order for restitution for violation of a child support order cannot include a separate award for the arrearage amount. The restitution order must reference the support order and direct the individual to pay the unpaid amount in arrearage under the support order in accordance with the support order. The court may impose such terms and conditions in the restitution order as are necessary to ensure compliance with the payment of the arrearage due under the support order. The court may order additional restitution as allowed under the William Van Regenmorter Crime Victim’s Rights Act.

Allows the Friend of the Court to issue subpoenas for show of cause and notice to appear

SB 521 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 100-9
Allows the Friend of the Court to issue subpoenas for show of cause and notice to appear when an individual is in arrears or otherwise noncompliant with a child support order. The bill also amends the process and ramifications a court may take depending on the situation and circumstances of the noncompliance hearing.

Extend the MI-Ind State Line Monumentation Act sunset

SB 712, 12/3/14, Passed: 108-1
Extend the MI-Ind State Line Monumentation Act sunset 3 years to Jan 1, 2018.

Repeals certain child support fees

SB 522 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 109-0
Requires the DHS, the State Disbursement Unit, and each Office of the Friend of the Court to cooperate in a transition to the centralized receipt and disbursement of support and fees. This cooperation timeline was established in the Office of Child Support Act.

Allows Friend of the Court to consider actual caregiver as recipient of child support

SB 526 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 109-0
Allows the Friend of the Court Office to consider the person who is providing the actual care, support, and maintenance of a child as the recipient of support. This bill changes language which referred to a person “legally responsible for a child” for a child to a person “who is providing for” a child.

Modifies allocation and distribution authority pertaining to child support

SB 529 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 109-0
Requires the Office of Child Support to develop and implement guidelines for the allocation and distribution of all child support payments that meet the requirements of Federal law, regulation, or rule.

Modifies the powers and duties of the office of child support

SB 530 (H-1), 12/3/14, Passed: 109-0
Amends the Friend of the Court Act first by deleting sections that require the Friend of the Court Office of the Court to receive payments and service fees. The Office of Child Support will be required to report arrearage amounts to consumer reporting agencies and determine what support information should be provided to consumer reporting agencies. The Office of Child Support must determine the agency receiving the report furnished satisfactory evidence that it actually is a consumer reporting agency.

Expand the age eligibility and participation requirements for youth offenders

HB 4206 (H-5), 12/3/14, Passed: 97-12
House Bill 4206 (H-5) amends the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (commonly referred to as “HYTA”) to expand the age eligibility and participation requirements for youth offenders.

Eliminates option of placing an individual in prison under the Holmes Youth Trainee Act

HB 5582, 12/3/14, Passed: 100-9
Eliminate a judge’s ability to sentence a Holmes Youth Trainee Act (HYTA) status offender to prison.

Require courts to revoke HYTA status in certain circumstances

HB 5585, 12/3/14, Passed: 103-6
Prohibit a court from assigning HYTA to certain youth offenders. It would also require a court to revoke HYTA-status under certain circumstances.

Allow the State Administrative Board to convey to the state land bank the Western Wayne Correctional Facility

HB 5179, 12/3/14, Passed:106-3
Allow the State Administrative Board to convey to the state land bank all or part of the state-owned Western Wayne Correctional Facility in Plymouth Township for $1.00.

Overhauls public notice posting requirements

HB 5560 (H-2), 12/4/14, Passed: 62-47
Creates a new Act to completely overhaul the public notice (not legal notice) posting requirements for various types of legal and public notices.

Requires city income taxes to be withheld from lottery prizes

HB 5924, 12/4/14, Passed: 99-10
Require city income taxes to be withheld from lottery prize distributions exceeding $5,000, if the claimant resides in a city that has an income tax.

Provides for the continuation of a library in the case of consolidation of participating municipalities

HB 5868, 12/4/14, Passed: 109-0
Stipulates that a district library may continue if a participating municipality is disincorporated, or annexed by or merged into another municipality.

Removes a sunset on the ability of a school district to establish a new district library

HB 5597, 12/4/14, Passed: 109-0
House Bill 5597 amends the District Library Establishment Act to remove a sunset on the ability of a school district to establish a new district library. Under the Act, at least two municipalities, except for two or more school districts that hold their regularly scheduled elections on different dates, may come together to establish and maintain a district library.

Mandates that absences due to religious observance not count against a student’s perfect attendance record

HB 4454, 12/4/14, Passed: 95-14
House Bill 4454 mandates that school districts which recognize or otherwise provide awards/recognition for perfect attendance shall not count any absences due to religious observance against a student.

Creates the “Michigan Religious Freedom Restoration Act”

HB 5958, 12/4/14, Passed: 59-50
House Bill 5958 (Bolger) would create the “Michigan Religious Freedom Restoration Act” to provide, per the bill sponsor, broad protection of the state and federal constitutional right to free exercise of religion.

Specifies that a state or local agency cannot take action against a child placement agency for declining services that conflict with religious beliefs

HB 4927 (H-5), 12/4/14, Passed: 60-49
House Bill 4927 (H-4) specifies that the state or local agency cannot discriminate or take adverse action against a child placement agency because an agency has declined to provide services that conflict with the agency's sincerely held religious beliefs in a written policy, statement of faith, or other document adhered to by the child placing agency.

Prevent child placement agencies from having to provide services that conflict with religious beliefs

HB 4928 (H-6), 12/4/14, Passed: 59-50
HB 4991 (H-4), 12/4/14, Passed: 59-50
House Bill 4928 (H-4) & House Bill 4991 (H-3) prevent a child placing agency from having to provide services related to adoption or foster care if the services conflict with an agency's sincerely held religious beliefs contained in a written policy, statement of faith, or other document. A state or local agency cannot discriminate or take adverse action against an agency on the basis that the agency has declined or will decline to provide services because of the agency's written religious beliefs.

Exempts certain conservation easements from property tax

SB 113 (H-1), 12/4/14, Passed: 93-16
Excludes from a “pop-up” tax increase a conveyance of land under a will or trust or by intestate succession if the land were made subject to a conservation easement or made eligible as a qualified conservation contribution before the conveyance.

Prohibit person from operating an off-road vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 or higher

HB 4445, 12/4/14, Passed: 87-22
HB 4446, 12/4/14, Passed: 85-24
Prohibit a person from operating an off-road vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams or any bodily amount of a schedule 1 controlled substance.  HB 4446 outlines the sentencing guidelines.

Prohibit person from operating watercraft vessels with a BAC of 0.08 or higher

HB 4441, 12/4/14, Passed: 85-25
HB 4442, 12/4/14, Passed: 84-25
Prohibit a person from operating watercraft vessels with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams or any bodily amount of a schedule 1 controlled substance. HB 4442 outlines the sentencing guidelines.

Prohibit person from operating a snowmobile with a BAC of 0.08 or higher

HB 4443, 12/4/14, Passed: 85-24
HB 4444, 12/4/14, Passed: 84-25
Prohibit a person from operating a snowmobile with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams or any bodily amount of a schedule 1 controlled substance. HB 4444 outlines the sentencing guidelines.

Re-establishes a sentencing guidelines commission in Michigan

HB 5928, 12/4/14, Passed: 105-4
Re-establishes a sentencing guidelines commission in Michigan. It will be called the “Criminal Justice Policy Commission” and have the general task of monitoring changes to Michigan’s sentencing practices and potential impact.

Makes revisions to the “Community Corrections Act”

HB 5929, 12/4/14, Passed: 105-4
Makes revisions to the “Community Corrections Act,” which provides locally-operated alternatives to criminal offenders, as opposed to incarceration in prison.

Allows courts more flexibility when sentencing criminal defendants to probation

HB 5930, 12/4/14, Passed: 96-13
Allows courts more flexibility when sentencing criminal defendants to probation for misdemeanor convictions.

Provides for presumptive parole in Michigan

HB 5931, 12/4/14, Passed: 91-18
Provides for presumptive parole in Michigan. With presumptive parole, the Michigan parole board must parole a prison inmate when he or she has served the minimum sentence imposed by the sentencing court.

Expand the expungement statute to allow certain adults to have more crimes removed from their criminal records

HB 4186 (H-5), 12/4/14, Passed: 109-0
Expand the set aside (expungement) statute to allow certain adult offenders to have more crimes removed from their adult criminal records. The (H-5) substitute nearly mirrors House Bill 5545.

Expand the potential use of waste to energy facilities and technologies

HB 5205 (H-3), 12/4/14, Passed: 63-46
Expand the potential use of waste to energy facilities & technologies and also amend the definition of renewable energy resource.

Road Funding Package

HB 4539, 12/4/14, Passed: 56-53

Modifications to the Motor Fuel Tax Act

HB 5477, 12/4/14, Passed: 58-51
HB 5477 (S-13) amends the Motor Fuel Tax Act to, beginning April 1, 2015, increase motor fuel taxes and change the method of taxation from a fixed cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline (19 cents per gallon) and diesel (15 cents per gallon) to an annually adjusted cents-per-gallon rate based on a designated percentage of the average wholesale price of gasoline.

Allow private employees to adopt and apply voluntary veterans’ preference employment

HB 5418 (H-1), 12/4/14, Passed: 110-0
The bill would create the “Private Employer’s Veterans’ Preference Policy Act” to allow private employees to adopt and apply a voluntary veterans’ preference employment policy.

Provides regulations for large scale dog breeding kennels

HB 5095 (H-2), 12/4/14, Passed: 83-27
Provide regulations for large-scale dog breeding kennels.

Mandate that surplus snow removal equipment must first be offered to local units of government

HB 5204, 12/4/14, Passed: 110-0
This bill would clarify the disposal of state surplus snow removal equipment by mandating that the equipment be first offered to local units of government before auctioning it, donating it, or otherwise disposing of it.

Modifies the qualified film production tax credit

SB 1103 (H-1), 12/4/14, Passed: 73-37
Revises the film incentive program to change the expenses that may be reimbursed by funds already appropriated to the program.