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House Bill 4467, Allow more dangerous prisoners at Baldwin private prison: Passed 23 to 14 in the Senate

To allow more dangerous adult prisoners to be held at a privately owned and managed prison whose previous contract with the state to house juvenile prisoners was terminated by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2005. Since then the prison has contracted with other states to house their prisoners, although it is closed now.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4364, Increase plumbers license fees: Passed 23 to 15 in the Senate

To extend for another four years “temporary” increases in plumbers' license fees. This and many other fee increases were proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder as part of his annual budget recommendation, and this week the Senate passed a number of them with similar vote tallies.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4041, Ban welfare for persistent truancy: Passed 26 to 12 in the Senate

To withhold welfare benefits from a household with children who are persistently truant from school. A truant teenager age 16 and above could be removed from the household by child welfare officials.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

Senate Bill 186, Authorize professional sports teams specialty plates: Passed 35 to 1 in the Senate

To authorize a specialty license plate for professional sports teams, including the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Tigers and the Michigan International Speedway. Proceeds from the sale of the plates would go to charitable organizations created by these entities.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4182, Ban local government council “phone-in” voting: Passed 91 to 19 in the House

To establish that if a member of an elected public body is allowed to cast a vote on a decision by the body without being physically present, it is a violation of the state Open Meetings Act.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

House Bill 4542, Create tax advantaged saving plan for disabled individuals

To authorize a new type of tax advantaged education savings plan called an “ABLE account," which mirrors a recently enacted federal law, and can be used to pay for a disabled individual’s living expenses in addition to education expenses. Other bills passed this week would exempt account balances and distributions from counting toward income or asset caps in various social welfare programs, and make contributions to a beneficiary's account deductible for state income tax purposes. Another bill would increase the maximum balance allowed in these and other "529” college savings plans to $500,000.

Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

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 https://www.michiganvotes.org.

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