The
2013 legislative session is now competed. With over 277 public acts signed into
law, 2013 will be remembered as yet another year of significant changes in
Michigan law. Below is a review of some of the significant bills signed into
law this year.
Balanced
Budget:
The State’s budget was balanced and presented months ahead of
the constitutional deadline for the third year in a row.
Medicaid
Expansion: One of the most
significant and impactful new laws enacted in 2013 is Public Act (PA) 107 of 2013,
the expansion and reform of Michigan’s Medicaid program. Once Governor Snyder
decided to support the expansion of Medicaid to those with incomes up to 133
percent of the federal poverty level, the pressure then turned to the House and
Senate for their approval of the program.
Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Michigan: Governor Snyder surprised the Legislature
in late December 2012 when he vetoed legislation that would have moved Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Michigan into the Insurance Code and treated it like other
insurers because of unrelated language limiting insurance coverage for
abortions. Supporters of the legislation overhauling the Blues' structure moved
quickly in 2013.
In
March, Governor Snyder signed PA 4 of 2013 and PA 5 of 2013, setting up
the Blues' conversion into a nonprofit mutual insurer and the Blues' agreement
to put $1.56 billion during the next 18 years into health care efforts overseen
by an independent board.
Sales tax on the
Difference: Auto, RV, and boat
dealers won a major battle they have been fighting for many years: removing the
value of a trade-in when determining the sales tax a buyer paid when purchasing
a new motor vehicle or boat. That changed with PA 159 of 2013 and PA 160 of 2013 once
legislators agreed to extend the period of the phase out to placate Governor
Snyder's concerns about the budget ramifications.
Automated
Vehicles:
Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed
legislation allowing the testing of automated motor vehicles on Michigan
roadways. The governor called for the measure in his 2013 state of the state
address.
Senate Bill 169, sponsored
by State Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake Township), allows automakers and up
fitters to test automated motor vehicles, but requires a human to be in the
driver’s seat to monitor performance and intervene if necessary. A companion
measure, SB 663, also sponsored by
Senator Kowall, protects original manufacturers from civil liability for
damages caused by modified autonomous vehicles, unless the defect from which
the damages resulted was present in the vehicle when it was manufactured. The
bills are now Public Acts 231 and 251 of 2013.
Court of Claims: Legislative
Republicans took just 20 days to introduce and then have Governor Rick Snyder
sign fundamental changes in how lawsuits against the state are handled in PA 164 of 2013.
Since
1978, the Court of Claims had been housed in the Ingham County Circuit Court,
handling all litigation against the state involving more than $1,000. The
Ingham Circuit Court also handled non-monetary litigation against the state
while other cases against state government took place in circuits across the
state.
Beginning
November 12, 2013, four judges from the Court of Appeals, selected by the
Supreme Court, will function as the Court of Claims and handle any litigation
against the state. The Supreme Court took some of the partisan fervor out of
the change when they appointed two judges with Democratic backgrounds and two
with Republican backgrounds to the new Court of Claims.
Indigent Defense: A multi-year effort
to improve how Michigan provides criminal defense attorneys to those too poor
to afford one culminated in overwhelming bipartisan support for PA 93 and PA 94 of 2013.
The
laws set up a commission to recommend minimum standards on indigent defense,
subject to approval by the Supreme Court, which have oversight of local
indigent defense systems to ensure compliance. The laws also require the
commission to ensure indigent defense counsels have an appropriate workload, in
part through the power to set caseload controls and mandate that the state pick
up all costs that exceed the counties' current share. Governor Snyder has
estimated that cost will be in the millions. The issue brought together
conservatives and liberals and even saw a representative of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Michigan share the stage with Governor Snyder at the signing
ceremony.
Abortion
Insurance: Once it became clear
that anti-abortion activists and Governor Snyder would not find a suitable
compromise on legislation barring insurers from including abortion coverage in
traditional medical coverage and instead requiring the purchase of an optional
rider, Right to Life began collecting signatures to put the proposal before the
Legislature as a voter-initiated act. Under the Constitution, the Governor does
not ability to veto a voter-initiated act.
Insurers are revealing little at this point
about how they will handle the new law when it takes effect March 14th
of 2014, Meanwhile, activists who support the legal right to an abortion are
considering a petition drive to suspend the law and put it up for referendum on
the 2014 ballot. They will need to gather more than 161,000 signatures before
March 14th.
EpiPens: Legislation mandating
the state's public schools possess at least two epinephrine injection devices,
known as EpiPens, to aid children who suffer sudden, severe allergic reactions,
became a major headline issue during the year. House Bills 4352 and 4353, sponsored by
Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto), are now Public Acts 186 and 187 of 2013 and go into
effect March 14, 2014. The measures also requires several reports on the use of
EpiPens at schools that will help provide an overall picture statewide of how
serious a problem allergic reactions are in schools at a time when most schools
no longer have a registered nurse on staff.
Wolf Hunting: In what may be a never-ending voter referendum battle, Michigan did begin
its first wolf hunting season this November. The battle began when animal rights
activists mobilized to put a law passed in 2012 designating wolves as a game
species for hunting on the 2014 ballot. Supporters of hunting wolves
counterattacked with legislation enabling the Natural Resources Commission to
determine which species can be hunted. The NRC quickly moved to designate
wolves as a game species, rendering the referendum moot.
Wolf
supporters are gathering signatures to put the new law, PA 21, also on the ballot
for referendum. Just in case the second law also gets suspended and put up for
referendum, hunting activists are gathering signatures for a voter-initiated
act that again lets the NRC designate game species. The act contains an
appropriation to immunize it from referendum.
School Dissolution: With two school
districts, Buena Vista and Inkster, close to financial collapse, the
Legislature and Governor Snyder dissolved both districts with PA 96 of 2013. Both
districts were dissolved and the remaining students were sent to neighboring
districts.