March 2, 2012 MichiganVotes.org Weekly Roll Call

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.

Y = Yes, N = No, X = Not Voting

Senate Bill 971, Limit unionization of grad student research assistants: Passed 62 to 45 in the House
To establish that state university graduate students who work as research assistants are not considered government employees for purposes of enrolling them into a union, if their work terms do not meet an IRS "20 factor test" for employee status.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5335, Ban local government body “phone-in” voting: Passed 94 to 11 in the House
To establish that if a member of a public body is allowed to cast a vote on a decision by the body without being physically present, this is a violation of the state Open Meetings Act.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4134, Grant property tax breaks to residential developers: Passed 74 to 33 in the House
To exempt homes, condos and other "residential structures" built "on spec" by residential real estate developers from property tax until the property is occupied.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 778, Restrict ad hoc road-end “marinas”: Passed 96 to 11 in the House
To establish that unless a property deed or easement expressly provides for it, a waterfront road end may not be used for boat hoists or docks, overnight boat mooring, or any activity that obstructs access to the water.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4619, Bring unemployment benefits extension to a vote: Failed 44 to 62 in the House
A motion to bring to a vote by the full House a bill that would extend state unemployment benefits from 20 weeks to 26 weeks. This vote was on the motion, not the bill.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4846, Authorize fine on water-skier with no PFD: Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate
To authorize a $100 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.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 712, Ban welfare for big lottery winners: Passed 26 to 10 in the Senate
To explicitly authorize in statute an existing asset cap for food stamp eligibility (currently $5,000); and also to include money won in lottery or other gambling as part of “countable income” for purposes of determining eligibility for food stamps and other state welfare benefits.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Interested in a cumulative list of all weekly Roll Call Report Votes for 2012?

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

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