Detroit Auto Insurance Bill Passes Committee

On Wednesday, the Senate Insurance Committee passed legislation allowing the city of Detroit to contract with insurers in order to provide cheaper automobile insurance to the citizens of the city. The bill would put a limit of $250,000 on medical benefits for critical care.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who made this policy a large part of his campaign, stated that the current estimated number of Detroiters driving without auto insurance is currently nearly 60 percent and could see a 10 percent increase of insured drivers under the proposed legislation. Mr. Duggan stated that auto insurance rates could decrease by $1,000 under Senate Bill 288.

The bill was reported with bipartisan support, passing 5 votes to 3, with Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) joining four of his Republican colleagues in support. Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) was the lone Republican who voted against the bill, joining the two remaining Democrats. An amendment offered by Senator Johnson lowered the percentage of drivers in a municipality driving without insurance needed to qualify from 50 percent down to 35 percent, opening up the program to multiple new municipalities. Senator Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) offered an amendment to include his home town, which was easily adopted, requiring those who sign up for the lower-cost policy to sign a waiver of understanding regarding their policies lack of standard no-fault insurance benefits.

Those who oppose the bill, such as ABATE of Michigan, argue that the $250,000 limit on medical expenses is too low as many severe accidents rack up bills well over this limit, putting the burden on the victims medical insurance. Mr. Johnson rebutted this argument saying that last year in Detroit only eight accidents incurred costs of over $250,000.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, June 5, 2015 10:54 AM
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Presumptive Parole Bill Faces Opposition

The House Criminal Justice Committee discussed a bill Tuesday, which would release prisoners who are presumed not to be a menace to society after they have served their minimum sentence requirements. House Bill 4138 has received pushback from a variety of groups including the Michigan Association of Counties, the Michigan Sheriff’s Association, several county prosecutors, and Attorney General Bill Schuette.

The opponents of the bill focused on public safety and the financial burden of implementing a new program such as this one. One solution to the issue of public safety offered by D.J. Hilson, the Muskegon County Prosecutor, was to build a list of certain crimes that would not be allowed into the program, such as sexual assault and violent crimes. In a statement issued shortly after the meeting, Attorney General Bill Schuette stated that nearly 70% of violent offenders are released at their minimum release date by the parole board. He continued voicing his opposition, as forcing the release of those not granted parole at their first date would put their victims and Michigan citizens in danger.

Currently the bill is worded in a manner that would only grant presumptive parole to those offenders who were transferred into state custody on or after the effective date of the legislation. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Kurt Heise (R-Plymouth), stated that the bill could save nearly $82 million dollars through decreasing the number of beds needed in the corrections system and closing at least two facilities over time.

Representative Heise garnered general support from the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending. The group however opposed the H-2 substitute adopted by the House Criminal Justice Committee and offered various ideas on how to improve the bill, including adding a list of exempted crimes to presumptive parole.

posted by PAA Online , 10:53 AM
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Constitutional Amendment on Electronic Data Considered by House Leadership

The House Criminal Justice Committee reported House Joint Resolution N, a resolution that would add electronic data and communications to the Michigan Constitution’s ban against unreasonable government search and seizure. After a unanimous vote in committee, enactment of the resolution requires a two-thirds passage in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as passage by the Michigan public in November of 2016.

Spokesperson for House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant), Gideon D’Assandro, said that the rarity and importance of considering constitutional amendments means that more consideration must be given before a vote of the full House. According to the spokesperson for the House Democrats, Rosie Jones, it is still too soon for a caucus opinion on the resolution, as it must be carefully considered.

The Resolution is still in the early stages of the process, but has already received vocal support and opposition from outside groups. Amy Dehner, the legislative liaison for the Michigan State Police, stated that the resolution is unnecessary as her understanding of the language in Article 1 already covers electronic data and communications. She said that the reason for the Department’s opposition is the broad language included in the resolution, which could lead to confusion in the application of the amendment. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is among those supportive of the measure, while the Attorney General’s office is still in the process of reviewing the proposal.

posted by PAA Online , 10:53 AM
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Future Plans for Treasury Point of Discussion between Khouri and Senate Panel

Nick Khouri, the recently appointed Treasurer, went before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday for his first advice and consent hearing. Mr. Khouri detailed his goals for the Department of Treasury stating that returning refunds in a more timely fashion, increasing employee engagement, guiding taxpayers through the return process, and improving the return process. He also laid out his vision of the state’s tax system for the next five years.

Committee Chair Senator Jack Brandenburg (R-Harrison Twp) was prepared with a list of frequent complaints regarding the department, but quickly ended his line of questioning after Mr. Khouri was only able to address the handling of void labels. Khouri failed to discuss improvements to the handling of liens, the labeling of tax returns as void without explanation, the denying of appeals regarding amended returns, and the failure to recognize taxpayer’s right to an attorney. Mr. Khouri stated that he would need time to prepare responses for the committee. Senator Brandenburg was unimpressed with the responses, and issued a deadline of June 10 for detailed answers to be submitted in writing.

Mr. Khouri also fielded questions regarding his position as a lobbyist for DTE Energy and how that would affect his ability to preform his duties as Treasurer. Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) stated that the Senate’s approval of Khouri as Treasurer is still very much up in the air.

posted by PAA Online , 10:52 AM
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House Committee Discussing Education Evaluations

Senate Bill 103, introduced by Senator Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair), was before the House Education Committee Thursday, marking the first time since last term that the House has considered teacher evaluations. According to Senator Pavlov, the bill is a compromise between the House bills from last session and a Senate substitute that never came up for a vote during lame duck.

The bill would require that a school district use the evaluation tool of their choice across the entire district; however, the same tool does not have to be used to evaluate administrators. Noticeably absent from the house bills considered last session are the provisions requiring districts to select a tool from a list of approved venders and the appropriation of $17 million for implementation of the program.

Current state law would require year-end evaluations to be based 50 percent on student growth and assessment in the 2015-16 school year; however, under the proposed legislation year-end evaluations would be based at least 25 percent on student growth and assessment beginning with the 2017-18 year. The bill would then increase the percentage influence of student growth and assessment data to at least 40 percent starting with the 2018-19 school year, leaving the rest of the evaluation to be based on the measured performance of an educator under the adopted evaluation tool.

Senate Bill 103 would change various other methods of evaluations including: reducing the evaluation requirements to twice a year, the pushing back of notifying parents if their student is going to be taught by a teacher who has been deemed ineffective for two consecutive years to the 2018-19 school year, and requiring administrators to be evaluated once a year. The bill received testimony of support from the Association of School Boards, the Calhoun Intermediate School District, and the Michigan Association of Public School Academies. Groups who testified in opposition of the bill were the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals and Education Trust-Midwest.

posted by PAA Online , 10:52 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

House Vote on Roads Plan Possible Next Week

On Wednesday, the House Roads and Economic Development Committee reported House Speaker Kevin Cotter’s $1.05 billion roads plan, which relies heavily on the reorganization of General Fund monies. The committee passage of the plan could lead to a vote as early as next week. Committee Chairman, Representative Jeff Farrington (R-Utica), stated that while he is proud of the House initiated solution he believes at least $500 million in additional revenue is needed for an effective solution.

House Bill Exempts Body Camera Footage from FOIA

The House Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, again discussed House Bill 4234, which would exempt from FOIA audio or video recordings that are connected to an ongoing criminal investigation, are related to a civil action, or that are taken in a private place. The sponsor of the bill, Representative Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), stated that the bill is meant to strike a balance between public oversight and individual privacy. The bill would also require that footage from cameras be kept for at least 45 days or for 3 years if the footage was requested.

Seven Senators Issued Recall Warnings

Two Michigan radio hosts, “Trucker Randy” Bishop and Brian Sommerfield, issued recall warnings to four Republican and three Democrat Senators via email over last weekend. The warnings, given to Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive), Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), Senator Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford), Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), Senator Coleman Young II (D-Detroit), Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park), and Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor), stated that recall petition drives would commence against the recipients of the email if they support a road funding plan that involves additional taxes.

Increasing Tipped Minimum Wage Is the Goal for Young, Faris

In a collaborative effort, Senator Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) and Representative Pam Faris (D-Clio) are searching for an increase in the minimum wage paid to tipped employees. The legislative solution would increase the tipped minimum wage over time, reaching the non-tipped wage by 2018. Estimated numbers show over 150,000 Michiganders are tipped employees. According to the two legislators, many states are considering similar solutions while seven others have completely eliminated tipped minimum wage.

posted by PAA Online , 10:51 AM
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