August 16, 2013, MichiganVotes.org Weekly Vote Report

The House and Senate are in the midst of a summer break, so rather than votes this report contains several recently introduced bills of interest.

Note: The will be no Roll Call Report next week. The next report will go out as usual on Friday, Aug. 30.

Senate Bill 450: Give certain public employees property tax break
Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D), to grant a state income tax credit to teachers and public safety personnel who buy and move into a home in a run-down area that has been repossessed by the federal Housing and Urban Development agency and sold at a steep discount. Under a federal “Good Neighbor Next Door Program,” such purchase discounts are available only to these government employees. The bill would allow these buyers to cut their state income tax liability by the amount they owe each year in property tax. If the property tax amount is higher than their income tax liability the difference could not be “refunded,” however. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 457: Authorize “second parent adoption”
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D), to provide for “second parent adoption” in Michigan law. This is a legal procedure that allows a same-sex parent to adopt his or her partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first parent's legal status as a parent. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 458: Give tax break to new oil refinery
Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R), to grant a 10 year property tax exemption to the owners of a new oil refinery that is built in Michigan. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 461: Impose term limits on charter school boards
Introduced by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D), to impose five-year “term limits” on charter school board members (but not on members of conventional school boards), after which they would be prohibited from being on the board again for 10 years. The bill also would require at least two parents be on the charter board, impose board meeting attendance requirements, require there be at least seven members on the board, and more. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4706: Mandate Michigan employers provide paid sick leave
Introduced by Rep. Rudy Hobbs (D), to mandate that employers grant employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours annually for small businesses, and 72 hours annually for larger employers. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4719: Ban unreasonable unattendedness of children
Introduced by Rep. Sean McCann (D), to revise a 2008 law that made it a crime to leave a child unattended in a vehicle for a period of time that a reasonable person would determine poses a risk of harm or injury. The bill would apply the same reasonableness standard and penalties to leaving a child in any location. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4723: Expand ticket points-avoiding driver course eligibility
Introduced by Rep. Kevin Daley (R), to revise a 2008 law that lets an individual cited for a minor moving traffic violation (with some exceptions) to avoid getting drivers license “points” by taking a driver improvement course. Under current law a person can only do this one time, and the bill would change this to once every three years. These courses are offered by a number of private, for-profit companies, who would benefit from the expansion of their market. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4736: Authorize sexually transmitted disease "expedited partner therapy"
Introduced by Rep. George T. Darany (D), to authorize the use of "expedited partner therapy" to limit the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, which allows a health professional to give a person diagnosed with gonorrhea or chlamydia a single-dose antibiotic for his or her sexual partner, even though that person has not been seen by the health professional. The bill would also extend limited legal immunity to health professionals providing this, except for gross negligence. Reported from committee, pending before full House.

House Bill 4747: Designate tree frog as official state amphibian
Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R), to establish in law that henceforth the eastern gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) shall be designated as the official State of Michigan amphibian. Note: At present, Michigan does not have an official state amphibian. Past bills have proposed designating the northern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) and the marbled salamander (Ambystome opacum) as the official state amphibian. Michigan does have an official state reptile, which is the painted turtle. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4759: Create government “small business and entrepreneurship services office”
Introduced by Rep. Collene Lamonte (D), to create a government “small business and entrepreneurship services office” that would, among other things, maintain a website with “step-by-step instructions on the governmental requirements of how to start and operate a business in this state,” coordinate government programs intended to create and retain small business jobs in this state, and more. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4763: Authorize automated "photo cop" citations
Introduced by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R), to allow local governments to issue traffic citations to motorists based on images collected by automated, unmanned traffic monitoring devices ("photo-cops") at intersections. Drivers who do not contest a citation would be subject to fines of up to $130 fine plus unlimited “administrative fees;” if a driver challenged a citation and lost the levy would be a fine of up to $130 plus up to $130 in costs and some smaller additional fees. Referred to committee and hearings held, but no further action at this time.

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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