Sept. 23 MichiganVotes.org Weekly Roll Call Report

MichiganVotes.org sends a weekly report to newspapers and TV stations around the state showing how state legislators in their service area voted on the most important or interesting bills of the past week.

Senate Bill 567, Create another corporate & developer subsidy program: Passed 35 to 1 in the Senate
To authorize cash subsidies of up to 25 percent of a project’s cost up to $10 million, and also subsidized loans, for developers who create certain “community revitalization” developments meeting a broad definition contained in the bill. Essentially, the political appointees on the board of the state government's “Michigan Strategic Fund” would have extensive discretion to hand out these subsidies to particular developers as they see fit.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 160, Ban “partial birth abortion”: Passed 29 to 8 in the Senate
To prohibit “partial birth abortions” as defined in the bill, except to save the life of a mother. The bill does not specify a "health of the mother" exception. Abortion providers (but not mothers) would be subject to two years in prison and a $50,000 fine; the father could sue the physician for damages (but not the mother).

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 237, Spend "high speed rail" money; repay unemployment debt; more: Passed 30 to 6 in the Senate
To increase state spending by $641.8 million. $358.9 million is federal money for "high speed rail" projects. Another $106 million is payment toward a $3.9 billion debt to the federal government incurred over years by paying out more in unemployment insurance benefits than collected from employer UI taxes. The bill also recognizes savings from ending a particular welfare training program.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4349, Expand law enforcement funding through drug forfeiture money: Passed 34 to 2 in the Senate
To repeal a prohibition on police departments using proceeds from drug-related civil asset forfeitures to pay for any law enforcement purpose, rather than using them only for law enforcement related to controlled substances violations.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4071, Reduce jail double-bunking restrictions: Passed 93 to 15 in the House
To eliminate or reduce certain restrictions and conditions on double-bunking inmates in county jails.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 584, Authorize “closed” GOP presidential primary on Feb. 28: Passed 63 to 45 in the House
To authorize a Republican presidential primary election on Feb. 28, 2012. This would be a “closed” primary, meaning voters would have to “declare” that they want a Republican ballot. The voter lists would become public information.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4915, Increase fees on industries: Passed 63 to 44 in the House
To increase air pollution emissions fees imposed on industries. The House Fiscal Agency reports that this will extract an additional $840,000 annually from Michigan businesses.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4109, Ban “partial birth abortion”: Passed 75 to 33 in the House
To prohibit “partial birth abortions” as defined in the bill, except to save the life of a mother. The bill does not specify a "health of the mother" exception. Abortion providers (but not mothers) would be subject to two years in prison and a $50,000 fine; the father could sue the physician for damages (but not the mother).

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

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 https://www.michiganvotes.org.

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