MichiganVotes.org Jan. 28 Weekly Roll Call Report

The House and Senate took no votes on legislation, so this report instead contains several newly introduced bills of interest.

House Bill 4139 (Require government employee health benefit eligibility audits)
Introduced by Rep. Tim Melton (D), to require state and local governments, schools, colleges and universities to immediately perform audits to determine that all persons covered by the health insurance benefits the unit provides are actually eligible to receive them. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

2011 House Bill 4152 (Limit certain automatic government union employee pay hikes)
Introduced by Rep. Marty Knollenberg (R) on January 26, 2011, to establish that when a government employee union contract has expired and no replacement has been negotiated, any seniority-based automatic pay hikes for individual employees (“step increases”) may not occur. Also, that any increase in health benefit costs above the former contract be borne by the employee, and establish that the wages and benefits under a new contract may be made retroactive to the expiration date of the old one. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4140 (Create statewide government employee health benefits system)
Introduced by Rep. Tim Melton (D), to create a single government employee health insurance system that would determine the types of coverage for all employees of the state and local governments, schools, colleges and universities. A benefits board would create specific coverage options, with each public employer would select one of these for its employees, and pay the state to provide it. A public employer could offer a different employee health plan if it could prove that it can provide comparable benefits at a lower price. This is similar to the “Dillon Plan” of last year. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4143 (Ban automatic abortion coverage in state "Obamacare" exchange)
Introduced by Rep. Jud Gilbert (R), to prohibit any state “insurance exchange” created under the federalized health care law from including coverage for abortion except through the purchase of optional rider. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4148 (Bail out towns that borrowed for failed subdivisions)
Introduced by Rep. Cindy Denby (R), to create a state revolving loan fund to bail out local governments that authorized property tax “special assessments” to pay the debt incurred providing infrastructure for subdivision developments that are now less than 20 percent completed (and so not paying the expected special assessments). See also House Bill 4144. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4153 (Declare April to be "Arab-American Heritage Month")
Introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), to establish that henceforth, as a matter of law and statute, April shall be known as "Arab-American Heritage Month" in the state of Michigan. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 67 (Ban state government contracts to firms that use illegal aliens)
Introduced by Sen. Glenn Anderson (D), to prohibit the state from giving contracts to businesses that employ illegal aliens. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 84 (Restrict “bounced check” fees)
Introduced by Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D), to prohibit a bank from imposing more than one overdraft fee per day regardless of how many checks a person bounces, and mandate that this fee be charged against the smallest bounced check. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 87 (Empower PSC to set Detroit water & sewer rates)
Introduced by Sen. Tory Rocca (R) on January 27, 2011, to give the state Public Service Commission the authority to set Detroit water and sewer system rates. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

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 MichiganVotes.org.

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