Governor
Rick Snyder signed several bills this week, including the Detroit Public School
(DPS) reform, which has the district splitting into two with the old district handling
the debt.
The
DPS package has $617 million for the district with $467 allocated toward debt
retirement. The current district will remain in place until the debt is
cleared. All of the bills in the package (HB
5383, HB
5384, HB
5387, SB
711, SB
820, and SB
822) have immediate effect save for HB 5387, which takes effect September
19. A private ceremony was held during the signing with key sponsors and
backers attending.
Other
bills signed by Governor Snyder include SB
251, which gives judges further opportunities to sentence juvenile
offenders to rehabilitation instead of traditional jailing. The Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development will now oversee vending machines under SB
774. Additional legislation signed includes SB
632 regarding probate courts, SB
672 regarding parental waivers, SB
957 dealing with quality assurance assessments, and finally HB
5521 and SB
482 regarding foster care reform.