February 7, 2014, MichiganVotes Weekly Vote Report

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

To establish standards and regulations for recreational trampoline court facilities 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 146, Extend enterprise zone tax breaks to a particular development: Passed 93 to 17 in the House

To revise a law that authorizes tax breaks for developers whose projects are in an area deemed a “neighborhood enterprise zone,” in a way that would allow the tax break for a particular developer's project, notwithstanding this developer's failure to request the tax break before getting a building permit, which the current law requires.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 319, Repeal mandatory life sentences for minors: Passed 62 to 48 in the House

To revise Michigan's mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for certain very serious crimes committed by minors. Life without parole would no longer be automatic in these cases but prosecutors could request it. Otherwise, the minimum sentence would be 25 to 40 years, and the maximum at least 60 years. The measure responds to the U.S. Supreme Court's Miller v Alabama decision, and would not apply the new standard retroactively to the approximately 350 current prisoners in this category. However, it does have a provision authorizing parole hearings for them if a future ruling requires this.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4825, Require candidates to disclose felonies: Passed 105 to 3 in the House

To require a candidate for public office to disclose when filing for the race whether the individual has been convicted of a felony in the past 10 years, and to disclose the crimes.

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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