May 13, 2011
Weekly local legislator roll call report for Romeo Area Tea Party
Y = Yes, N = No, X = Not Voting
House Bill 4361, Gov. Snyder’s business and personal income tax overhaul, passed 19 to 19 in the Senate (Lt. Gov. Calley broke tie)
To replace the Michigan Business Tax with a 6 percent corporate income tax; eliminate several corporate tax breaks and subsidies; repeal a gradual cut in the personal income rate from 4.25 percent to 3.95 percent; scale-back the current income tax exemption for pension income; reduce the Earned Income Tax credit for low income workers by 70 percent; eliminate or reduce other income tax deductions and credits including the homestead property tax credit, personal exemption and dependent child credit; and make many other tax code revisions. The Senate version preserves some corporate tax breaks and subsidies.
| 10 | Sen. Tory Rocca 517-373-7315 | R – Sterling Heights | N | |
| 11 | Sen. Jack Brandenburg 517-373-7670 | R – Harrison | N | |
| 12 | Sen. Jim Marleau 517-373-2417 | R – Lake Orion | Y |
House Bill 4325, Advance school and other budgets, passed 23 to 14 in the Senate
To advance budgets to conference committee. Both the House and Senate voted this week on budgets already passed by the other body, essentially replacing all of each other’s appropriations with $100 “placeholders” as a means to advance the process into House-Senate conference committees to negotiate compromise spending plans. The measures passed on mostly party-line votes, with some Senate Republicans joining Democrats in voting “no,” generally as a statement against the cuts already approved by both bodies. This roll call vote is from the K-12, university and community colleges budget, which has generated the most controversy.
| 10 | Sen. Tory Rocca 517-373-7315 | R – Sterling Heights | N | |
| 11 | Sen. Jack Brandenburg 517-373-7670 | R – Harrison | Y | |
| 12 | Sen. Jim Marleau 517-373-2417 | R – Lake Orion | Y |
Senate Bill 333, Require pseudoephed purchase “instant background check,” passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
To require retailers selling pseudoephedrine cold medications to perform an “instant background check” on each customer using the “National Precursor Log Exchange” (Nplex) administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), to confirm if the buyer is exceeding daily purchase limits. pseudoephed can me used to make methamphetamine.
| 10 | Sen. Tory Rocca 517-373-7315 | R – Sterling Heights | Y | |
| 11 | Sen. Jack Brandenburg 517-373-7670 | R – Harrison | Y | |
| 12 | Sen. Jim Marleau 517-373-2417 | R – Lake Orion | Y |
Senate Bill 28, Allow state tax payment with credit card, passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
To allow state income and business taxes to be paid by credit card. Under current law, these must be paid by bank draft, check, cashier’s check, certified check, money order, cash, or electronic funds transfer.
| 10 | Sen. Tory Rocca 517-373-7315 | R – Sterling Heights | Y | |
| 11 | Sen. Jack Brandenburg 517-373-7670 | R – Harrison | Y | |
| 12 | Sen. Jim Marleau 517-373-2417 | R – Lake Orion | Y |
House Bill 4409, Close welfare time limit loopholes, passed 72 to 39 in the House
To eliminate some of the loopholes from a supposed 48 month lifetime cap on the length of time a person can collect cash welfare benefits. Among other things, the bill would increase sanctions for violating certain work or study requirements, no longer define 19 year old high school students as welfare-eligible “children,” require that legal resident status be checked using the federal “e-verify” system, and more. According to the House Fiscal Agency, this and House Bill 4410 would save the state $60 million annually.
| 30 | Rep. Jeff Farrington 517-373-7768 | R – Utica | Y | |
| 32 | Rep. Andrea LaFontaine 517-373-8931 | R – Richmond | Y | |
| 33 | Rep. Ken Goike 517-373-0820 | R – Ray Township | Y | |
| 36 | Rep. Pete Lund 517-373-0843 | R – Shelby Twp. | Y | |
| 45 | Rep. Tom McMillin 517-373-1773 | R – Rochester Hills | Y | |
| 46 | Rep. Bradford Jacobsen 517-373-1798 | R – Oxford | Y |
House Bill 4361, Concur with Senate version of Gov. Snyder’s tax overhaul, passed 57 to 51 in the House
To concur with the Senate version of Gov. Snyder’s tax system overhaul. The Senate voted to preserve some corporate tax breaks and subsidies, to and cut the Earned Income Tax Credit for low income workers by 70 percent rather than eliminate it.
| 30 | Rep. Jeff Farrington 517-373-7768 | R – Utica | Y | |
| 32 | Rep. Andrea LaFontaine 517-373-8931 | R – Richmond | N | |
| 33 | Rep. Ken Goike 517-373-0820 | R – Ray Township | N | |
| 36 | Rep. Pete Lund 517-373-0843 | R – Shelby Twp. | N | |
| 45 | Rep. Tom McMillin 517-373-1773 | R – Rochester Hills | Y | |
| 46 | Rep. Bradford Jacobsen 517-373-1798 | R – Oxford | Y |
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 http://www.MichiganVotes.org.
April 22, 2011
Weekly local legislator roll call report for Romeo Area Tea Party
This report contains no votes because the Legislature held no voting sessions this week, but House and Senate appropriations committees did a great deal of work on the state budget for next year.
Notable Committee Actions
The Senate Appropriations Committee completed its first round of work on the state budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2011. The budget bills it reported to the full Senate would spend $500 million more than Gov. Rick Snyder recommended on public schools, the single largest area of state spending, revising a proposed $300 per student cut to just $170.
The Senate’s extra school spending would be filled mainly by spending less on welfare and prisons. The Senate budget also requires school employees to pay at least 80 percent of the cost of their health insurance fringe benefits, and caps the school district’s share at $13,000. In addition, it would end the practice of giving school districts a full-day’s funding for half-day kindergarten students.
A House appropriations subcommittee approved per-pupil school aid cuts that essentially mirror the $300 per student reduction Gov. Snyder recommended.
On higher education, the Senate budget went along with Gov. Snyder’s proposal to spend 15 percent less than last year on state universities, but stripped-out a provision authorizing deeper cuts if a university raises tuition more than 7.1 percent. Community colleges would get the same amount of money from the state as last year.
Finally, the Senate Appropriations Committee also sliced in half the $50 million amount Gov. Snyder requested for “economic development” tax breaks and subsidies to corporations, and cut the amount he wants to set aside for film subsidies from $25 million to $10 million.
Recently Introduced Bills of Interest
Senate Bill 270 (Authorize school recreation millages)
Introduced by Sen. John Gleason (D) to allow school districts to also be municipal “recreational authorities,” with the power to levy up to one-mill of property tax for swimming pools, recreation centers, public auditoriums, conference centers and parks, with 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 school facilities themselves, but they would have to be open to the public. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4560 (Authorize 5-mill property tax increase for school buses and computers)
Introduced by Rep. Mark Meadows (D) to allow school districts to increase property taxes by up to 5 mills for 10 years to buy or fix school buses, and to buy computers and software, with the money passing through a “sinking fund.” Note: Since new operating expense millages were prohibited by the 1994 Proposal A initiative, and these items may be considered operating expenses, the bill could potentially require a 3/4 majority vote, which is required by the Constitution for revisions of an initiative adopted by popular vote. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4438 (Ban legal concealed pistol carry in libraries)
Introduced by Rep. Joan Bauer (D), to expand the “gun free zone” provision of the concealed pistol permit law to include public libraries. A group of “open carry” enthusiasts recently made news by planning to wear holstered pistols in the downtown Lansing library. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4440 (Repeal FDA approved drug lawsuit ban)
Introduced by Rep. Lisa Brown (D) to allow product liability lawsuits against drug companies for drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food And Drug Administration (FDA). The bill would repeal a tort reform law passed in 1995, under which such lawsuits are prohibited in Michigan courts unless the company intentionally withheld information or misled the FDA about the drug, or used bribery to gain approval. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4447 (Create smoking ban exception)
Introduced by Rep. Tim Melton (D) to revise the law that prohibits a bar or restaurant owner from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment, to instead give the owner the choice to allow smoking in an outdoor patio area. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4453 (Ban government competition with private enterprises)
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R), to prohibit government agencies from competing against private enterprises, or subsidizing nonprofits that do so. Activities normally provided by government would be exempted, including “essential services” and “necessary services,” both defined in the bill. “Vital services,” including food stores, drugstores, child care, and telecommunications services could only be provided if there were no private sector alternatives. A private enterprise could sue to obtain an injunction forcing the government competitor to stop. Such measures are called a “yellow pages test,” meaning if a service is in the yellow pages, government should not provide it. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 4459 (Grant welfare to government-approved “entrepreneurship class” students)
Introduced by Rep. Jon Switalski (D) to authorize government welfare-type benefits and tuition subsidies for low income students who are taking government-approved college courses in “entrepreneurship.” 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 http://www.MichiganVotes.org.