House Bill 4249, Revise multiline phone service 9-1-1 mandate: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate
To repeal the authority of the Michigan Public Service Commission to impose rules on businesses and organizations with multiline telephone systems, and instead spell out the relevant rules in state statute (law). The bill was introduced in response to rules that have been promulgated under a 2016 law that critics say far exceed the scope envisioned by its authors.
House Bill 4367, Let public agencies stock opioid overdose drugs: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate
To permit state and local government agencies to purchase and stock opioid antagonist drugs for treating overdoses, and allow an employee with specified training to administer them to an individual experiencing an overdose. Agencies and staff would be exempt from criminal and civil liability for good faith administration of an opioid antagonist that was not gross negligence.
Senate Bill 47, Give tax breaks for household “alternative energy” installations: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate
To exclude from property tax assessments the value of solar panels, wind turbines and other “alternative energy systems” that are installed, replaced or repaired in a residence, and which produce less than 150 kilowatts of electricity for a household whose use does not exceed this level. Senate Bill 48 extends the same tax break to commercial entities, capped at systems valued at $80,000 or less.
Senate Bill 129, Let Mackinac Island ban using drones to scare horses: Passed 95 to 12 in the House
To amend a 2016 law that preempted local governments from banning (but not regulating) drones. The bill would let Mackinac Island prohibit knowingly using a drone to interfere with the safe use of a horse by a commercial service. Drones over the island could still be used by newsgatherers, insurers, utilities and law enforcement agencies.
House Bill 4246, House version, 2020 road and transportation budget: Passed 57 to 52 in the House
The House version of the fiscal year 2019-2020 Department of Transportation budget. This would appropriate $5.40 billion in gross spending, of which $1.34 billion is federal money. with the rest is from state taxes and fees. The budget does not "recognize" any revenue from a $2.5 billion, 45 cents per gallon gas tax increase proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, but does include a $542 million "fund shift" from a Republican proposal to no longer charge sales tax on fuel, replacing that levy with an equivalent increase in motor fuel taxes. Note: Most sales tax revenue goes to schools; the proposal assumes these school dollars will be replaced by extending sales tax to out-of-state catalog and internet sales after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a ban on this last year.
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