Senate Bill 941, Spend $100 million on job training and preparation programs: Passed 30 to 2 in the Senate

To spend $100 million on government job and career training programs, scholarships, program grants and more, which would be labeled a “Marshall plan for talent.” Senate Bill 942 would authorize paying for this with money borrowed against revenues from a 1998 state tobacco lawsuit settlement.

House Bill 4106, Give high school graduation credits for internship or work: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate

To require school districts to give 9th through 12th grade students credit toward state graduation requirements for spending at least four hours per week getting work experience or in an internship. The credit would equal that granted for taking one traditional course. Students would be excused from one class period of instructional time for each day they work or intern. This would not apply to students who are struggling in school as defined in the bill, and would be subject to various specified conditions.

House Bill 5687, Require resident alien’s drivers license to expire with visa: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate

To require that a drivers license issued to a resident alien must have an expiration no later than the date on which the individual’s presence in the in the U.S. becomes unlawful.

House Bill 5606, Revise wine tasting restrictions: Passed 107 to 0 in the House

To amend the state's very detailed and prescriptive liquor control code to permit wineries that conduct tastings and sales at their production facility to also sell customers other nonalcoholic beverages, and require them to provide water.

House Bill 5810, Revise involuntary mental health treatment process: Passed 104 to 3 in the House

To revise a 2005 law that authorizes courts to order involuntary assisted outpatient mental health treatment for an individual with a serious mental illness in response to a petition (usually from family members) showing the individual represents a risk themselves or others. The bill would streamline petition approval requirements, place a 10 day deadline on court action, require a psychiatrist to supervise an assisted outpatient plan ordered by the court, and more.

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.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Mackinac Center policy staff.