September 28, 2012, MichiganVotes.org Weekly Roll Call

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

House Bill 5400, Appropriate money for fruit grower loan subsidies: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
To appropriate $15 million for low-interest loan subsidies for fruit growers who suffered crop damage in 2012 due to an extended March warm spell followed by a hard freeze. Also, to add some spending for lead abatement programs and prison security measures.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 1210, Expand "brownfield" subsidies: Passed 31 to 7 in the Senate
To create a state fund to provide "brownfield" subsidies to developers, with money coming from state education tax revenue "captured" by local brownfield tax increment finance authorities. The bill would also authorize these subsidies for certain parking lots and for developers whose projects are deemed to involve a “historic resource."

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5697, Establish athlete concussion “time out” criteria: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
To require coaches or other adults in charge to remove a student or young athlete from participation in a sports activity due to a suspected concussion until clearance is received from an "appropriate health professional." The bill would also require schools and youth sports associations to distribute specified educational materials about concussions to coaches, young athletes and parents, and require parents and athletes to sign a statement indicating they have read them. The bill would not apply to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), which has separate concussion guidelines.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 1004, Cap cigar tax: Passed 86 to 22 in the House
To cap the tobacco tax on cigars at 50 cents apiece, and mandate that specialty tobacconists must post a sign warning customers that they must pay all state taxes cigars bought over the internet or through catalogs.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 1206, Exempt certain sewage compost from sale restrictions: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate
To waive certain state restrictions on selling or giving away sewage treatment residue for landscaping purposes if it is "mature and stable," has minimal potential to generate a nuisance, is of "exceptional quality” for this purpose, and if the generator of the material has a record of dutiful compliance with state environmental regulations.

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5249, Expand allowable deer hunting guns south of “rifle line”: Passed 106 to 2 in the House
To expand the types of firearms allowed for deer hunting south of the “rifle line” in the Lower Peninsula. In addition to shotguns and muzzle-loading rifles, hunters could also use .35 caliber or larger repeating pistols, and certain .35 caliber or larger straight-walled rifle cartridges (but not "high-power" rifle rounds that carry for very long distances).

 Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 5696, Allow car trade-in “sales tax on the difference” only: Passed 106 to 2 in the House
To exempt from sales tax the value of a trade-in when buying a new motor vehicle or titles watercraft. The buyer would only pay sales tax on the difference between the value of the trade-in and the purchase price of the new car. The tax break would be phased-in in steps through 2015.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

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.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.