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The House and Senate are not in session until Sept. 9 and Sept. 1, respectively. Therefore, this report contains several recently introduced bills of interest.

Senate Bill 371: Ban intent to sell ivory and rhinoceros horn products

Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D), to ban the importation, sale, purchase, barter, or possession with intent to sell of ivory or rhinoceros horns and products, subject to fines $5,000 or double the value of the products for second offenses. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

2015 Senate Bill 383: Impose licensure on midwives

Introduced by Sen. Michael Green (R), to impose a state licensure mandate on midwives (as distinct from “nurse midwives”), including regulations and license fees. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 387: Restrict injection well placement

Introduced by Sen. Dale W. Zorn (R), to prohibit locating an “injection” well for disposing of hazardous material, or for storing other material (potentially including carbon dioxide), in a region determined to have “Karst geology.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 398: Create government sickle cell awareness campaign

Introduced by Sen. Jim Ananich (D), to require the Department of Community Health to create a sickle cell disease public awareness campaign and to “coordinate services available” from state, federal, and voluntary sickle cell disease programs. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 409: Expand meth-related pseudoephedrine restrictions

Introduced by Sen. Margaret O'Brien (R), to authorize up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine for attempting to persuade a person to purchase ephedrine or pseudoephedrine while knowing that it will be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Current penalties apply only if the attempt succeeds in persuading someone. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 431: Establish process for removing elected official for mismanagement

Introduced by Sen. Rick Jones (R), to establish a process by which the governing body of a city, village, or county can file a petition in circuit court to remove from office an elected official for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance related to the custody and accounting of public money, or for failing to obtain or maintain a performance bond that is statutorily required for the office. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4567: Let public schools engage in commercial business

Introduced by Rep. Bradford Jacobsen (R), to establish that property owned or leased by a public school is considered “exempt and immune” from local zoning ordinances, and establish very broad definitions of “school building” and “school purpose.” “School purpose" would be defined as “any purpose that may provide a benefit to a public school or its governing board, including…a benefit of a commercial or financial nature.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4578: Authorize school recreation millages

Introduced by Rep. Phil Potvin (R), to revise the law which authorizes recreational authorities to be created by several local governments, so that the districts could be organized by a school district. The authorities have the power to levy up to one-mill of property tax for swimming pools, recreation centers, public auditoriums, public conference centers, and parks, upon the approval of voters in each municipality in which the school district is located. The law itself is silent on whether the recreational facilities of an authority may be located at a school, or may be school facilities themselves, but it does require them to be open to the public. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4580: Let local governments selectively revoke selective property tax breaks

Introduced by Rep. Andy Schor (D), to allow local governments to revoke certain property tax breaks selectively granted to particular corporations or developers if the beneficiary does not abide by the terms of the tax break agreement, or is judged to no longer meet the criteria under which the tax break was authorized. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4585: Authorize a state “free speech defense act”

Introduced by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R), to adopt a “free speech defense act” that would prohibit Michigan courts from enforcing a libel judgement issued by a court in a country that does not practice specified due process safeguards, or that upholds a cause deemed “repugnant to the public policy of this state.” Similar laws adopted by other states are seen as a response to so-called “libel tourism,” and in particular to perceived Islamicist persecution. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4619: Ban state contracts with firms that collect bulk “metadata” on residents

Introduced by Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R), to prohibit giving state contracts to companies that participate in the bulk collection of electronic data and “metadata” on residents without informed consent or a warrant. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4629: Repeal “bond” requirement to contest civil asset forfeiture

Introduced by Rep. Peter Lucido (R), to repeal a requirement for property owner whose property has been seized by police and is subject to “civil forfeiture” to provide a cash “bond” to contest the taking, and if unsuccessful to pay all the expenses of the proceedings. Under civil forfeiture laws, police can seize any property that may be associated with a crime using extremely broad definition, and then keep the property even if the owner is never convicted or even charged with a crime. Referred to committee, 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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