July 20, 2012, MichiganVotes.org Weekly Roll Call

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

Senate Bill 1040, Senate vote on House pension reform proposal: Failed 16 to 22 in the Senate
To not concur with a House-passed version of the school pension reform bill, which sends the bill to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences. The main dispute is over the Senate-passed provision to “close” the school pension system to new hires, and instead give them a 401(k) account (as has been done for new state employees hired since 1997). The House instead proposes keeping a somewhat less generous "defined benefit" pension system for new employees.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5015, Appropriate foreclosure lawsuit settlement money: Passed 31 to 6 in the Senate
To appropriate $88.8 million from a national mortgage foreclosure lawsuit settlement for various spending, including $25 million for urban “blight” reduction programs (of which $10 goes to Detroit), $20 million for home loan “debt counseling” and legal subsidies, $15 million for home loan subsidies, and more.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5566, Increase school and local “deficit spending” debt: Passed 27 to 10 in the Senate
To greatly increase the level of borrowing from the state that school districts and local governments can use to cover past and current deficit spending that exceeds annual revenues. Specifically, a $5 million annual cap on this state lending would increase to $85 million through 2018, and the maximum amount per loan would increase from $3 million to $20 million. Short term, this would primarily authorize state money for the Benton Harbor, Muskegon Heights, Highland Park and Pontiac school districts.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5015, Appropriate foreclosure lawsuit settlement money: Passed 100 to 3 in the House
To appropriate $88.8 million from a national mortgage foreclosure lawsuit settlement for various spending, including $25 million for urban “blight” reduction programs (of which $10 goes to Detroit), $20 million for home loan “debt counseling” and legal subsidies, $15 million for home loan subsidies, and more.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 1130, Revise state “critical dunes” use restrictions: Passed 63 to 40 in the House
To revise a law restricting the use by property owners of land considered to be “critical dunes.” Among other things this would require state approval of local regulations more restrictive than state ones, and allow use permits to be denied only when it is “more likely than not that the actual harm to the environment will significantly damage the public interest” according to burden of proof criteria specified in the bill.

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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