October 18, 2013, MichiganVotes Weekly Vote Report

Senate Bill 307, Let more cities impose additional public safety property tax: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate

To allow cities with less than 70,000 residents impose "special assessment" property taxes to pay for police and fire services. These taxes would be imposed over and above regular property taxes, and require voter approval. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, this could allow 278 cities to impose these additional taxes.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4952, Halt unemployment benefits for failed drug test: Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate

To make a person ineligible to collect unemployment benefits if a prospective employer requires a drug test as a condition of a job offer and the individual either refuses to take the test or fails it.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 475, Establish trampoline court regulations & liability limits: Passed 25 to 12 in the Senate

To establish standards and regulations for trampoline courts and operators, and grant these businesses limited immunity from lawsuits if the proposed regulations are followed.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 277, Repeal requirement commercial trucks display owner's name: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate

To eliminate a requirement that commercial vehicles weighing more than 5,000 pounds must display the owner’s name on the cab. Wrecker trucks and road service vehicles would still be subject to the mandate.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4866, Authorize new bicycle rider hand signals: Passed 106 to 0 in the House

To establish new signals for bicycle riders. Left turns would be indicated by extending the left arm straight out; right turns by either extending the right arm, or the left arm with forearm raised (which is the current standard), and slowing or stopping by “extending the left hand and arm downward.”

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 332, Exempt “natural fertilizer” from phosphate content restrictions: Passed 102 to 6 in the House

To exempt “natural fertilizer” from restrictions imposed by a 2010 law restricting spreading a fertilizer containing more than 0.5 percent of the plant nutrient “available phosphate” (p2o5) on a lawn, golf course or other grass.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 489, Revise detail of property tax imposed on business tools and equipment: Passed 82 to 26 in the House

To revise details of a 2012 law that exempts from property tax up to $80,000 ($40,000 in “taxable value”) worth of tools and equipment owned or leased by a business in a particular jurisdiction. (This so-called "personal property tax" imposes annual property taxes on business tools and equipment.) The bill would empower local assessors to retroactively deny exemptions for the three past years; authorize criminal penalties for claiming the exemption on ineligible property; revise what property is eligible; impose new record-keeping requirements on businesses; and more. It and Senate Bill 490 are considered a "clean up" of provisions in that 2012 law.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4121, Give five-year tax break to buyers of school property: Passed 62 to 44 in the House

To give owners of property purchased from a public school district a five year property tax exemption. Local tax-collecting units (including local governments, taxing authorities, taxing "districts," etc.) could opt out of providing the exemption.

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.

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