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By Jack McHugh
The Legislature did not meet this week, so the Roll Call Report continues its review of key votes from the 2015-2016 session.
House Bill 4122, Repeal film producer subsidies: Passed 58 to 51 in the House on March 11, 2015
To repeal the program that gives Michigan tax dollars to film producers. Since 2008 some $500 million was distributed to producers by the state.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4122, Repeal film producer subsidies: Passed 24 to 13 in the Senate on June 18, 2015
The Senate vote on the bill described above.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4328, Suspend state funding for defiantly overspending school districts: Passed 61 to 47 in the House on June 18, 2015
To give the Department Treasury the authority to withhold state school aid payments from an overspending school district that fails to submit an acceptable “deficit elimination plan” as required by law, or which falls more deeply into financial trouble and must operate under an “enhanced” deficit plan. This was part of package creating an “early warning system” for school district with financial problems.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4328, Suspend state funding for defiantly overspending school districts: Passed 25 to 12 in the Senate on June 18, 2015
The Senate vote on the bill described above.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4637, Regulate Uber, preempt local bans: Passed 71 to 39 in the House on June 17, 2015
To establish a generally permissive regulatory framework that would enable “transportation network companies” like Uber and Lyft to operate in this state, including preemption on local government regulations or bans. The bill would require permits, specified insurance, background checks, vehicle inspections, prescribed customer disclosures and more. The Senate has not voted on this bill, and bills introduced there would be more restrictive and potentially let local governments impose their own regulations and restrictions.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4470, Increase food business license fees: Passed 79 to 30 in the House on May 21, 2015
To increase various state license fees imposed on food establishments including grocery stores, warehouses, processors, etc. This is projected to extract some $2.5 million annually from food-related businesses.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4470, Increase food business license fees: Passed 21 to 17 in the Senate on June 3, 2015
The Senate vote on the bill described above.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4193, Allow electronic proof of insurance: Passed 108 to 2 in the House on March 26, 2015
To revise the state’s no-fault insurance law to allow proof of insurance documents motorists are required to have when driving to be an electronic communication from the insurance company visible on a mobile device. If asked a driver could be required to forward the information to a designated site.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4193, Allow electronic proof of insurance: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on September 30, 2015
The Senate vote on the bill described above.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4138, Authorize "presumptive parole" after serving minimum time: Passed 67 to 39 in the House on October 1, 2015
To require that parole be granted to prisoners who have served their minimum time if the person has a “high probability” under a "validated risk assessment instrument" of not being a risk to public safety, and also meets other criteria specified in the bill and current law, subject to a number of restrictions and exceptions.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Bill 4713, Require “culpable mental state” for criminal conviction: Passed 106 to 0 in the House on October 1, 2015
To establish that (with some significant exceptions) if a law does not indicate whether a “culpable mental state” (“mens rea”) is required to establish guilt, the presumption will be that this is required, meaning that prosecutors must show that the defendant violated the law “purposely, knowingly or recklessly.” This would not be the case if a law explicitly imposes a “strict liability” standard. Under current law, many complex “administrative” offenses authorize criminal penalties for actions that a regular person would not know are illegal.
Who Voted “Yes” and Who Voted “No”
House Resolution 141, Expel Reps. Gamrat and Courser: Passed 91 to 11 in the House on September 11, 2015
To expel freshmen Representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat from the House for using government personnel and resources to cover up an extramarital affair, and for other irregularities in the operation of their offices. Courser resigned moments before the vote, so the final version only expels Gamrat.
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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