tOfficial 102th Michigan Legislation Session - Watching the Demcratic Party Govern

AvgMSUJoe wrote:Yeah, saw that... what are they saving for next month?

AvgMSUJoe wrote:That must be when they require public school counselors to prescribe gender reassignment drugs.

LANSING — Gay and transgender Michiganders are poised to win permanent protections against discrimination under legislation headed to the desk of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for a promised signature.

The Democratic-led House on Wednesday gave final approval to long-discussed legislation to expand the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The bill codifies a series of recent court orders and interpretive statements that have already extended similar rights to Michigan’s LGBTQ community

DWags wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote:

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/historic-day-lbgtq-rights-anti-discrimination-bill-goes-whitmer

I just don’t get why we just don’t pass a common sense law that says, “Don’t be a dick to anyone, regardless of color appearance hair tattoo piercing musical taste culinary taste religious preferences or beer they like”

Call it the “you know what being a dick is” law.

BIRMINGHAM — Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban is coming off the books.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed legislation repealing the ban, which made it a felony to perform abortions except in cases of life-threatening pregnancies.

She also signed bills removing abortion sentencing guidelines from the state criminal code and repealing a law making it a misdemeanor to sell or distribute information about “recipes or prescriptions” for contraception and abortion.

EAST LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday signed into law gun safe storage and universal background check legislation, calling the measures a “common sense” approach to deter firearm violence.

The second-term Democrat signed the bills inside Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University, two months to the day after a gunman terrorized the campus, killing three students and injuring five others before killing himself several miles away.

LANSING — Undocumented immigrants could obtain a Michigan driver license or state identification card under Democratic legislation that sponsors hope to make law this year.

Supporters say that giving more immigrants legal permission to drive to work, medical appointments or other functions without the threat of arrest or deportation is a matter of “human dignity” that would benefit the economy, including farmers who rely on seasonal labor.

Among Democrats’ next targets: Banning the sale of large-capacity magazines, keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, and allowing gun manufacturers to be held liable for the deadly toll of gun violence.

Maybe you’ve been tipsy on a train, or opted for a topless tan. Maybe you’ve taken the Lord’s name in vain, or disturbed someone “in the quiet and peaceable pursuit of his lawful occupation.”

Even Michigan’s most stand-up citizens have probably run afoul of an archaic state law at one point or another, technically committing misdemeanors under outdated criminal codes gathering dust in state archives alongside more obvious crimes like murder, assault and theft.

Most of the weirdest bans still on Michigan’s books, like train drunkenness, seducing an unmarried woman or unhitching horses without authority can be traced back to a 1931 law that outlined the state’s penal code, spelling out a host of criminal acts and the prescribed penalties for them.

Democrats leading the Michigan House pushed through this week an $80.1 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget, topping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $79 billion proposal put forward in February.

The House plan includes a $21.5 billion School Aid budget, which Democrats called “the largest investment in education in Michigan’s history,” as well as significant investments in workforce recruitment and retention, infrastructure, and public safety. In addition, $400 million would go toward local road repairs throughout the state.

The Democratic-led Michigan Senate on Thursday passed its version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget.

The $79.6 billion Senate plan came in just under the $80.1 billion budget passed by the Democratic-led House Thursday, but above Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $79 billion proposal put forward in February.

“As we have for the last five months, we are rising to the challenges facing our state and meeting this moment,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), who was the lead on the Senate’s budget. “With this budget, we are using our state’s solid revenues to build a budget for the people, rejecting the status quo in favor of equity and innovation.”

Among those innovations is $160 million to provide free breakfast and lunch for Michigan public school students, and $250 million for a student loan repayment program for teachers. Both of those were included in the Senate’s State School Aid funding appropriation.

If passed, two bills in the Michigan Senate could allow employees around the state up to 15 weeks of paid leave from work to deal with family and medical issues.

Senate bills 332 and 333, introduced by Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), would provide a state-level replacement for the federal Family Medical Leave Act. Signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, the act requires employers with at least 50 workers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed more bills establishing gun safety reforms during a news conference in Royal Oak.

“No Michigander should fear going to school, work, the grocery store, or their own home because of gun violence,” said Whitmer. “Extreme risk protection orders have been proven to reduce suicides, save lives, and keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and violent criminals.”

Runestad, the Oakland County Republican, last month proposed new legislation that would require lawmakers to publicly "sponsor" earmarks with a written statement describing the name of a project, location and intended recipient.

They’d also have to disclose any personal interest in the project and explain “why the legislatively directed spending item is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds.”

Majority Democrats have not taken up the legislation and instead referred it to a committee where bills are rarely acted upon.

Floyd Robertson wrote: Michigan Democrats push $800M in pet projects to help unions, their districts

I may not agree with Republicans on very much these days, but here's one:

Runestad, the Oakland County Republican, last month proposed new legislation that would require lawmakers to publicly "sponsor" earmarks with a written statement describing the name of a project, location and intended recipient.

They’d also have to disclose any personal interest in the project and explain “why the legislatively directed spending item is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds.”

Majority Democrats have not taken up the legislation and instead referred it to a committee where bills are rarely acted upon.

Trapper Gus wrote:

Floyd Robertson wrote: Michigan Democrats push $800M in pet projects to help unions, their districts

I may not agree with Republicans on very much these days, but here's one:

I don't have issues with earmarks, they are the oil that gets bills passed.

Much of the time they do something worthwhile.

Floyd Robertson wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote:

I don't have issues with earmarks, they are the oil that gets bills passed.

Much of the time they do something worthwhile.

I'm not saying I do either, but sponsors shouldn't anonymous.

From an emphasis on reproductive rights, maternal care and mental health to millions of dollars aimed at tackling racial disparities, funding public health and increasing wages for health care workers, the $82 billion budget passed by lawmakers last month is slated to reshape Michigan’s health landscape and significantly increase access to care for residents across the state, legislators and advocates say.

“This budget is more inclusive; we’re trying to uplift those who need it most while still giving supports for the middle class,” said state Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), chair of the House Health Policy Committee and a practicing physical therapist.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign budget legislation soon.

Floyd Robertson wrote:

I'm not saying I do either, but sponsors shouldn't anonymous.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $24.3 billion school budget Thursday that funds public K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.

The budget received some bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

Since taking control of the legislature, Michigan Democrats have amended the state’s third-grade reading law and proposed expanding teacher unions’ bargaining rights on which classes teachers teach and how they are evaluated.

Whitmer is creating a new state education department and leaders are waiting to see if a new state scholarship program proposed under Republican leadership last year will boost college enrollment in fall 2023.

The new education budget also increases the amount of money schools will receive for students who receive special education services, are English language learners or are economically disadvantaged.

“In terms of this budget, it is in many ways transformative,” said Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, which represents 123 Southeast Michigan school districts.

Climate advocates report that Michigan is leading the country in a clean energy jobs boom, creating more than 15,800 jobs in the past year.

According to a report from Climate Power, a communications firm focused on building support for climate action, Michigan has the greatest number of clean energy projects in the country, securing more than $21 billion in investments.

The report, updated on Tuesday, highlighted the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on clean energy projects across the nation, with 176,606 new jobs across 44 states created between Aug. 16, 2022, when the law was signed, and July 20, 2023.

Buoyed by billions in federal funding and a record surplus, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Michigan’s (Bipartisan) budget Monday that Democrats, controlling state government for the first time in 40 years, contend better reflects “the people’s interests, the people’s values.”

The bills signed Monday provides $57.4 billion to fund state government for the next fiscal year beginning in October. Combined with a $24.3 billion education budget Whitmer signed in Traverse City two weeks ago, the nearly $82 billion in spending is the most in the state’s history.

A record surplus that stretched toward $10 billion gave Democrats the freedom to lay out their agenda, even as fiscally conservative Republicans in the legislature raised questions about the sustainability of their aims.

This budget will largely spend down the pandemic-era fiscal cushion Democrats inherited. State Budget Director Chris Harkins said State Fiscal Recovery Funds, the major bucket of federal dollars, will be exhausted by the budget – that money had to be spent by the end of the year. State accounts are estimated to have roughly $620 million left over.

sεяεηιτλ wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote:

https://www.mlive.com/politics/2023/07/whitmer-signs-574-billion-state-budget-enacting-a-democratic-trifecta-agenda.html

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/whitmer-signs-82b-michigan-budget-good-stuff-or-wasteful-spending-spree

https://michiganadvance.com/2023/07/31/whitmer-signs-bipartisan-57-4b-state-general-government-budget-in-wyandotte/

It is important to highlight the spending of Federal dollars which if not spent will be returned to the Federal government at the end of the year.  That is much of the $10 Billion surplus.

Why is that important? Do we sometimes not spend a great deal of the "free money from the feds"? If we don't, that's asinine.

Environmental groups have cheered the budget for inclusions like $125 million for purchasing electric school buses, $212 million to provide rebates for energy efficiency upgrades to homes, and $20 million to improve air quality and clean up contamination in environmental justice communities that have been disproportionately burdened with pollution.

“The budget passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor [Monday] is an investment in our future — a future that cleans up our air and water, reduces environmental impacts in our overburdened communities, accelerates our clean mobility transition and reduces energy costs for Michiganders by improving weatherization and efficiency,” Carlee Knott, energy and climate policy coordinator with the Michigan Environmental Council, said in a statement released after the budget signing.

The budget includes more than $1.05 billion in total funding for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), more than $572.2 million for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and over $168.6 million in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with other departments also receiving funding to support environmental efforts.

Energy industry representatives and environmental advocates gathered with lawmakers on Thursday in Detroit to discuss a newly released report outlining the benefits of clean energy policies in Michigan and pushing for swift action to leverage federal dollars to support the state’s growing clean energy industry.

...

“First, it’s going to slash energy costs for Michigan families by at least $145 a year. And that will happen by the end of this decade. Second, it’s going to more than double investment in Michigan if we add state policy on top of federal policy” Bourgoin said.

“It’s also going to avoid 1,000 premature deaths in our state by 2050 by avoiding pollution. And lastly, it’s going to continue increasing our job growth in the state. By 2050 we’ll see an additional 160,000 jobs if we pass these policies,” Bourgoin said.

...

According to Thursday’s report, Michigan would be able to secure an additional $5 billion in federal investments by 2032 if its proposed climate and energy policies become state law.

State Democratic leaders hope to muzzle the battles at local township boards that have often throttled Michigan’s green energy efforts by moving control of the siting of energy projects to the state’s Public Service Commission.

House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck, told Bridge Michigan Monday he plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to move control of utility-scale wind and solar projects to the PSC.

Currently, projects must be approved by individual township boards. Since the expansive projects often involve multiple townships, renewable energy companies must wrestle for approval from multiple boards, all of which can make decisions based on different standards and, as Bridge Michigan has reported, have at times faced enormous pressure from unhappy residents.

Aiyash said the move would standardize and speed up decisions on projects that the state hopes will help the state reach a goal of a carbon-free electricity standard by 2035.

The administration of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been involved in discussions of the proposed legislation, Aiyash said. It is expected Whitmer will push for the measure in a speech Wednesday outlining her green energy plan. And a background memo sent to journalists about the speech links to a Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council report that promotes the streamlining of the  energy project approval process.