The Legislature is on a summer campaign break with no sessions scheduled before the Aug. 7 primary election, except for one tentatively planned for July 25. Rather than votes this report contains some interesting or noteworthy recent bill introductions.

Senate Bill 937: Authorize “extreme risk” firearm seizures from individual
Introduced by Sen. David Knezek (D), to authorize courts to order firearms to be seized from an individual based on a “reasonable cause to believe” that the person poses “a significant risk of personal injury to himself or herself or others.” Family members, roommates or people in a close relationship with the target could petition a court to issue an order to seize the individual’s firearms, and the court could issue this order without any notice to the target. The bill prescribes standards and procedures for this, and an appeals process. The court order would be in effect for up to one year and could be renewed. House Bill 4706, introduced in the House by Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D), would enact similar provisions. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 944: Revise road tax revenue distribution formula
Introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda (D), to revise the formula adopted in 1951 to allocate state road tax revenues between the state, county and local road agencies. The bill would change the formula from one based on the miles of roads in a jurisdiction to miles of lanes, which would have the effect of transferring more money to more densely populated jurisdictions that have more multi-lane roads. The formula has not been substantially changed since 1951 because there has never been a consensus on how to reallocate this money. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 967: Require police agencies have specific form for reporting police sexual abuse
Introduced by Sen. Ian Conyers (D), to require a state board to create a standard form for reporting sexual misconduct by employees of a law enforcement agency, and require the form be distributed to all police agencies. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 971: Make drivers slow and move over when passing any stationary vehicle
Introduced by Sen. Morris Hood, III (D) , to revise a law that requires drivers to move over or slow down when passing a police car or other emergency vehicles on the side of the road, by expanding the requirement to include passing any stationary vehicle, not just emergency or service vehicles. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5734: Mandate “sexual assault and dating violence” lessons in sex ed classes
Introduced by Rep. Tom Cochran (D), to require public school districts that offer sex education classes to include lessons on “sexual assault and dating violence,” and lessons on “affirmative consent.” Also, to require specified state officials and political appointees to develop a model curriculum for this. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5804: Authorize unlimited tax credits for contributions for Department of Treasury spending programs
Introduced by Rep. Martin Howrylak (R), to authorize income tax credits of any amount for contributions made by a taxpayer to a separate state account the bill would create called the “Advancing Michigan Future Fund,” which could be spent on whatever public purposes that Department of Treasury officials may select. Tax credits that exceed a person’s tax liability for a year could be “carried forward” and used to offset future tax liabilities for up to five years. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5857: Mandate painkillers come in lockable containers
Introduced by Rep. Joseph Bellino, Jr. (R), to mandate that pharmacists dispense schedule 2 controlled substances (including pain killers) only in lockable vials that require patients to enter a password before they can get their drugs. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5870: Let communities opt-out of regional transit authority (and tax)
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Yaroch (R), to allow local communities and counties to withdraw from the Detroit area regional transportation authority created by a 2012 law, and presumably from the extra property and vehicle taxes this authority is authorized to impose. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5871: Repeal local plastic bag ban preemption law
Introduced by Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D), to repeal a 2016 law that preempts local governments from imposing regulations, restrictions or taxes on plastic grocery bags or other "auxiliary containers." Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

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 www.MichiganVotes.org.

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