MichiganVotes.org July 16 Weekly Roll Call Report

Every week, MichiganVotes.org sends a report to newspapers and TV stations showing how just the state legislators in each publication's service area voted on the most important and interesting bills and amendments of the past seven days. The legislature did not meet this week, so instead of votes this report contains eight newly introduced bills of interest:

House Bill 6245 (Authorize more MSHDA secrecy)
Introduced by Rep. Ed Clemente (D) on June 9, 2010, to prohibit the Michigan State Housing Development Authority from disclosing certain “trade secrets, and commercial, financial, and proprietary information.” This would potentially extend government secrecy to applications from developers for subsidies, loans or loan guarantees, and exempt details of these transactions from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

House Bill 6259 (Create incentive for state employees to spend less than appropriated)
Introduced by Rep. David Agema (R) on June 15, 2010, to give employees in a state agency 30 percent of the savings realized in a given fiscal year between the amount that was appropriated for the agency’s annual budget and how much less than this was actually spent.

House Bill 6273 (Grant small business hiring tax credit)
Introduced by Rep. Jim Slezak (D) on June 17, 2010, to grant a $10,000 “carry forwardable” business tax credit for every new full time employee hired by a small business in 2010 and 2011. “Carry forwardable” means the firm could offset business tax liability for up to 10 years if the credit exceeds how much it owes in the first year.

House Bill 6310 (Expand Medicaid subsidies)
Introduced by Rep. Vincent Gregory (D) on July 1, 2010, to include teeth cleaning and related services performed by a dental hygienist in the items the state will subsidize under Medicaid.

House Bill 6311 (Impose regulations on amateur mixed martial competitions)
Introduced by Rep. David Agema (R) on July 1, 2010, to extend to amateur mixed martial competitions the same regulations, licensure mandates and fees as professional events. The bill establishes a new comprehensive regulatory regime.

House Bill 6318 (Impose $500 fine on water skiers and raft riders for no life preserver)
Introduced by Rep. David Nathan (D) on July 1, 2010, to authorize a $500 civil fine for operating a boat that is towing skiers or people on a raft who are not wearing personal flotation devices, and the same fine for a skier or towed raft rider age 16 or older who does not wear a life vest.

House Bill 6320 (Increase fees on boat rental operators)
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) on July 1, 2010, to increase the registration inspection fee from $2 to $5 for each boat or personal watercraft operated by a rental livery service.

House Bill 6319 (Impose annual registration and fees on canoes and kayaks)
Introduced by Rep. Richard J. Ball (R) on July 1, 2010, to impose registration with a $5 fee on canoes and kayaks. Owners would have to attach the same kind of registration decal as is required on power boats or larger sailboats. Failure to register and display the decal would be punishable by a fine of up to $500. Note: The legislature imposed this mandate once before in the 1980s and was forced to repeal it and issue refunds because of public objections.

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, nonpartisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit www.MichiganVotes.org.

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