STATE OF MICHIGAN
Journal of the Senate
102nd Legislature
REGULAR SESSION OF 2023
Senate Chamber, Lansing, Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
10:00 a.m.
The Senate was called to order by the President, Lieutenant Governor Garlin D. Gilchrist II.
The roll was called by the Secretary of the Senate, who announced that a quorum was present.
Albert—present Hauck—present Moss—present
Anthony—present Hertel—present Nesbitt—present
Bayer—present Hoitenga—present Outman—present
Bellino—present Huizenga—present Polehanki—present
Brinks—present Irwin—present Runestad—present
Bumstead—present Johnson—present Santana—present
Camilleri—present Klinefelt—present Shink—present
Cavanagh—present Lauwers—present Singh—present
Chang—present Lindsey—present Theis—present
Cherry—present McBroom—present Victory—present
Daley—present McCann—present Webber—present
Damoose—present McDonald Rivet—present Wojno—present
Geiss—present McMorrow—present
Senator Ed McBroom of the 38th District offered the following invocation:
Dear Father, we come to You this morning and ask that You would hear the prayers we offer up to You. In the midst of whatever sins and distractions plague us and keep us from having close fellowship and a close walk with You, that You would hear us, that we would humble ourselves before You, and recognize that You have given us a solemn task—a task to minister to Your people, to be agents of good, to be agents who administer justice to them, who reward what is right and punish what is evil. Father, we pray that You would help us to know the difference.
Father, we live in a time when we’ve forgotten You, when we ascribe to ourselves great rewards of peace and prosperity and blessings due to our own cleverness, due to our own works, when we know that we truly aren’t deserving of the goodness we have, and that You are the giver of all good things. Help us to be humbled by how gracious You are to us despite all our many failings.
Father, we pray for Your mercy on this state and on this nation. We pray for Your grace, that it would flow like rivers on Your people, that our people would see prosperity and that they would see the next generation rise up, be prosperous, be bountiful, and enjoy the fruits of their labor because they submit to You and humble themselves before You and acknowledge Your headship.
We pray now for the deliberations of today, that You would give us wisdom, that You give us discernment, and that You would give us grace with one another. I pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, led the members of the Senate in recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motions and Communications
Senator Singh moved that Senators Geiss and Santana be temporarily excused from today’s session.
The motion prevailed.
The following communication was received:
Office of Senator Joseph N. Bellino Jr.
May 9, 2023
I write to respectfully request that my name be removed as co-sponsor of Senate Bill 289.
Should you have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Joseph N. Bellino Jr.
State Senator – District 16
The communication was referred to the Secretary for record.
Senator Santana entered the Senate Chamber.
House Bill No. 4250
House Bill No. 4251
House Bill No. 4252
The motion prevailed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor.
By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded to the order of
Introduction and Referral of Bills
A bill to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled “The insurance code of 1956,” (MCL 500.100 to 500.8302) by adding chapter 30B.
The
bill was read a first and second time by title and referred to the Committee on
Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection.
By unanimous consent the Senate returned to the order of
Messages from the Governor
The following messages from the Governor were received:
Time: 11:30 a.m.
To the President of the Senate:
Sir—I have this day approved and signed
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 63 (Public Act No. 26), being
An act to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled “An act to provide a system of public instruction and elementary and secondary schools; to revise, consolidate, and clarify the laws relating to elementary and secondary education; to provide for the organization, regulation, and maintenance of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to prescribe rights, powers, duties, and privileges of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to provide for the regulation of school teachers and certain other school employees; to provide for school elections and to prescribe powers and duties with respect thereto; to provide for the levy and collection of taxes; to provide for the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds and other evidences of indebtedness; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; to make appropriations for certain purposes; to provide for and prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to provide for licensure of boarding schools; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” by amending section 1212 (MCL 380.1212), as amended by 2016 PA 319.
(Filed with the Secretary of State on May 8, 2023, at 1:20 p.m.)
Time: 11:32 a.m.
To the President of the Senate:
Sir—I have this day approved and signed
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 97 (Public Act No. 27), being
An act to amend 1937 PA 94, entitled “An act to provide for the levy, assessment, and collection of a specific excise tax on the storage, use, or consumption in this state of tangible personal property and certain services; to appropriate the proceeds of that tax; to prescribe penalties; and to make appropriations,” by amending section 4o (MCL 205.94o), as amended by 2015 PA 204.
(Filed with the Secretary of State on May 8, 2023, at 1:22 p.m.)
Time: 11:34 a.m.
To the President of the Senate:
Sir—I have this day approved and signed
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 101 (Public Act No. 28), being
An act to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled “An act to revise, consolidate, and classify the laws relating to the insurance and surety business; to regulate the incorporation or formation of domestic insurance and surety companies and associations and the admission of foreign and alien companies and associations; to provide their rights, powers, and immunities and to prescribe the conditions on which companies and associations organized, existing, or authorized under this act may exercise their powers; to provide the rights, powers, and immunities and to prescribe the conditions on which other persons, firms, corporations, associations, risk retention groups, and purchasing groups engaged in an insurance or surety business may exercise their powers; to provide for the imposition of a privilege fee on domestic insurance companies and associations and the state accident fund; to provide for the imposition of a tax on the business of foreign and alien companies and associations; to provide for the imposition of a tax on risk retention groups and purchasing groups; to provide for the imposition of a tax on the business of surplus line agents; to provide for the imposition of regulatory fees on certain insurers; to provide for assessment fees on certain health maintenance organizations; to modify tort liability arising out of certain accidents; to provide for limited actions with respect to that modified tort liability and to prescribe certain procedures for maintaining those actions; to require security for losses arising out of certain accidents; to provide for the continued availability and affordability of automobile insurance and homeowners insurance in this state and to facilitate the purchase of that insurance by all residents of this state at fair and reasonable rates; to provide for certain reporting with respect to insurance and with respect to certain claims against uninsured or self-insured persons; to prescribe duties for certain state departments and officers with respect to that reporting; to provide for certain assessments; to establish and continue certain state insurance funds; to modify and clarify the status, rights, powers, duties, and operations of the nonprofit malpractice insurance fund; to provide for the departmental supervision and regulation of the insurance and surety business within this state; to provide for regulation over worker’s compensation self-insurers; to provide for the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of unsound or insolvent insurers; to provide for the protection of policyholders, claimants, and creditors of unsound or insolvent insurers; to provide for associations of insurers to protect policyholders and claimants in the event of insurer insolvencies; to prescribe educational requirements for insurance agents and solicitors; to provide for the regulation of multiple employer welfare arrangements; to create an automobile theft prevention authority to reduce the number of automobile thefts in this state; to prescribe the powers and duties of the automobile theft prevention authority; to provide certain powers and duties upon certain officials, departments, and authorities of this state; to provide for an appropriation; to repeal acts and parts of acts; and to provide penalties for the violation of this act,” by amending sections 5228, 5230, and 5245 (MCL 500.5228, 500.5230, and 500.5245), as amended by 2020 PA 266.
(Filed with the Secretary of State on May 8, 2023, at 1:24 p.m.)
Time: 11:36 a.m.
To the President of the Senate:
Sir—I have this day approved and signed
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 160 (Public Act No. 29), being
An act to amend 1979 PA 72, entitled “An act to require the governor to report certain tax information with the annual budget message to the legislature,” by amending section 6 (MCL 21.276), as amended by 1983 PA 7.
(Filed with the Secretary of State on May 8, 2023, at 1:26 p.m.)
Respectfully,
Gretchen Whitmer
Governor
By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded to the order of
General Orders
The motion prevailed, and the President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, designated Senator Webber as Chairperson.
After some time spent therein, the Committee arose; and the President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, having resumed the Chair, the Committee reported back to the Senate, favorably and without amendment, the following bills:
House Bill No. 4250, entitled
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan vehicle code,” by amending section 602b (MCL 257.602b), as amended by 2016 PA 332.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan vehicle code,” by amending sections 319b, 320a, and 320d (MCL 257.319b, 257.320a, and 257.320d), section 319b as amended by 2015 PA 11, section 320a as amended by 2018 PA 349, and section 320d as amended by 2012 PA 498.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan vehicle code,” by amending sections 602c, 732, and 907 (MCL 257.602c, 257.732, and 257.907), section 602c as added by 2012 PA 592, section 732 as amended by 2017 PA 160, and section 907 as amended by 2020 PA 382.
The bills were placed on the order of Third Reading of Bills.
Senate Bill No. 187, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of agriculture and rural development for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-2).
Senate Bill No. 188, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of natural resources for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-1).
Senate Bill No. 191, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of corrections for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-3).
Senate Bill No. 192, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the judiciary for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-1).
Senate Bill No. 195, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of licensing and regulatory affairs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-1).
Senate Bill No. 196, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of insurance and financial services for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
Substitute (S-1).
During the Committee of the Whole, Senator Geiss entered the Senate Chamber.
By unanimous consent the Senate returned to the order of
Motions and Communications
Senate Bill No. 187
Senate Bill No. 188
Senate Bill No. 191
Senate Bill No. 192
Senate Bill No. 195
Senate Bill No. 196
The motion
prevailed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor.
Recess
Senator Singh moved that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair.
The motion prevailed, the time being 10:19 a.m.
The Senate was called to order by the President pro tempore, Senator Moss.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 187, entitled
A bill to make, supplement, and adjust appropriations for the department of agriculture and rural development for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 2, line 21, by striking out all of lines 21 through 22.
2. Amend page 3, line 12, after “$” by inserting “7,991,800”.
3. Amend page 3, line 12, after “$” by striking out “10,071,800”.
4. Amend page 6, line 4, by striking out all of line 4.
5. Amend page 6, line 18, after “$” by inserting “9,021,800”.
6. Amend page 6, line 18, after “$” by striking out “11,021,800”.
7. Amend page 9, line 1, by striking out all of line 1.
8. Amend page 9, line 9, by striking out all of line 9.
9. Amend page 9, line 15, after “$” by inserting “10,500,300”.
10. Amend page 9, line 15, after “$” by striking out “25,500,300”.
11. Amend page 20, line 1, by striking out all of section 303.
12. Amend page 25, line 11, by striking out all of section 611.
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator McBroom offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 9, line 6, after “management” by inserting “5,000,000”.
2. Amend page 9, line 6, after “management” by striking “100”.
3. Amend page 9, line 15, after “$” by inserting “10,500,300”.
4. Amend page 9, line 15, after “$” by striking out “30,500,200”.
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 157 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 26, following line 22, by inserting:
“(7) On or before November 30, 2024, the department shall report to the fiscal agencies and relevant committees and subcommittees of the Senate and House of Representatives on the activities of the program. The report shall include, but not be limited to, funds provided to partners, project goals and intended outcomes from partners and the department, and information on grants provided including amounts, grantee locations, and intended outcomes.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 16, following line 18, by inserting:
“Sec. 218. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this article, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house, intertransfer funds within this article for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 158 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 159 Yeas—21
Anthony Cherry Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Geiss McCann Santana
Brinks Hertel McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Irwin McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Johnson Moss Wojno
Chang
Nays—17
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Lauwers Outman Webber
Damoose
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Protest
Senator Bumstead, under his constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill No. 187 and moved that the statement he made during the discussion of the bill be printed as his reasons for voting “no.”
The motion prevailed.
Senator Bumstead’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, I feel strongly that our
budgets should be fiscally sound and responsible to ensure the people of
Michigan can count on the state for services they need. Budgets should not be
used as tools to grow government at unsustainable rates. It’s concerning to see
such an excessive amount of new government growth provided in this budget.
While our rural agricultural communities benefit greatly from our services and
expertise of MDARD, I’m sure that more bureaucrats in Lansing is not what they
need as they continue to climb out of an economic slump that followed COVID-19.
This departmental budget is one of many that seeks to fund unsustainable
expenditures and it chips away and creates burdensome regulations for farmers
who put food on our tables. For this reason alone, with concerns raised by the
previously voted-down amendments, I recommend a “no” vote.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Bumstead’s first statement is as follows:
Mr. President, as we decide to use our historic surplus, the people want to make wise investments, not create new programs and increase the size of state government. This amendment would cut funding and employee increases for new soil health and emerging contaminants program. Let’s focus on supporting our farmers and not on creating new mandates. I ask for a “yes” on my amendment.
Senator McBroom’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, my amendment is to take out the $100 placeholder regarding the bovine TB issue in northern Michigan and put in real money. The bovine tuberculosis issue in this state has persisted for 30 years now due to, in a large part, ineptitude and lack of diligence from the Department of Agriculture which continues to always play it safe by playing small ball games with the TB issue to simply protect everybody else in this state, while offering up as sacrificial lambs the farmers who are stuck in the TB area and the farmers in the Upper Peninsula—who, by the way, have never had an incident of TB on the peninsula but yet, because our marketplace is in Wisconsin, we can’t get anybody to pay significant attention to the needs we have. We keep throwing pennies at this problem for 30 years—pennies. When will we take it seriously and do something about the bovine TB issue once and for all, rescue these farmers from a problem they did not create but the state created by allowing bovine TB to become endemic in the deer herd? We are the only state in the country that continues to struggle with this issue. Other states get TB, they get rid of TB. Minnesota had it; they got rid of it, because they took it seriously, they put real money toward it, and they cared about their farmers and citizens. Our state, on the other hand, did middle-of-the-night raids on its farmers and can’t make up its mind. Says, Oh, by March 15, we’ll have new rules. You know when the new rules come out? March 30. I had to ship cows from downstate Michigan to the U.P. one time and the state veterinarian told me I didn’t need any papers to cross the bridge—which I knew was wrong, and yet he said that was correct. I left the cows behind. On Monday, guess who calls me? The state veterinarian, Oh, I heard you hauled cows across the bridge without a permit. No, I didn’t, even though you told me I could do it. This state needs to take this issue seriously and a $100 placeholder—it’s time we put real money on this and make a real decision that we’re done pussyfooting around with this and we’re going to take serious action and get rid of TB and get our farmers back on track and not just the farmers in most of the state but farmers in all of the state. I encourage members to vote “yes.”
Senator Bumstead’s second statement is as follows:
Mr. President, my amendment is protecting legislative oversight. A previous amendment would have cut funding for the new soil health program, but it wasn’t adopted. If we are going to fund this new program, we need to make sure it is an effective use of our tax dollars. This amendment would add vital reporting requirements to the program. I urge members to support accountability by voting “yes” on this amendment.
Senator Nesbitt’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, per the Michigan Constitution, the legislative power of the state is vested in the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate. This includes the appropriation of tax dollars. While the State Administrative Board created in 1921 does have general supervisory control over certain administrative activities, it was never intended as the authority to transfer millions or sometimes even billions of dollars within a department rendering the legislative appropriations process meaningless. Unfortunately though, Mr. President, this administration has frequently ignored legislative authority and precedent. That includes the use of the State Administrative Board. Therefore, I am sorry to say that this language affirming the legislative appropriations authority is necessary. I wish it wasn’t the case. Therefore, Mr. President, to preserve the voice of the people and the separation of powers I urge a “yes” vote from all members.
Senator Anthony’s statement is as follows:
I think it is interesting to have so many Republican amendments at this juncture. I think our subcommittee chairs have done a wonderful job partnering on every facet of this budget and yet we are just now seeing these types of amendments come before us. I am excited that this is only a portion of the process and in the proper time and place I look forward to working with our colleagues to workshop many of these items. Until then, I urge a “no” vote so we can actually get down to the business of the people.
The President, Lieutenant Governor
Gilchrist, resumed the Chair.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 188, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of natural resources for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 13, following line 26, by inserting:
“State Parks Endowment Fund 430,013,000”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
2. Amend page 27, following line 12, by inserting
“Sec. 1205. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for Michigan state parks endowment fund, the department must deposit not less than $430,013,000.00 in the Michigan state parks endowment fund created under section 35a, of article IX of the state constitution of 1963. This deposit must be credited toward the nonspendable corpus balance of the fund.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 160 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 7, line 18, by striking out all of line 18.
2. Amend page 13, line 21, by striking out all of line 21, and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a
majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 161 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 24, following line 10, by inserting:
“STATE PARK DIVISION
Sec. 601. The department shall report to the appropriate legislative committees and the fiscal agencies on infrastructure improvements at state parks. The report shall include information on projects completed in the previous calendar year including location, project type, cost, and date of completion and information on projects in process including location, project type, projected cost, and estimated date of completion.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 162 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 23, following line 3, by inserting:
“Sec. 241. If the department responds to a significant incident to protect life or property, within 12 hours after the department response to a significant incident at a site in this state, the department shall notify the senate and house members whose district includes the site in writing.”.
2. Amend page 25, following line 26, by inserting:
“LAW ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 901. The appropriation in part 1 for snowmobile law enforcement grants shall be used by the department to provide grants to county law enforcement agencies to enforce part 821 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.82101 to 324.82161, including rules promulgated under that part and ordinances enacted pursuant to that part. The department shall consider the number of enforcement hours and the number of miles of snowmobile trails in each county in allocating these grants. Any funds not distributed to counties revert back to the snowmobile registration fee subaccount created under section 82111 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.82111. Counties shall provide semiannual reports to the department on the use of grant money received under this section.
Sec. 902. The department shall provide a report on the marine safety grant program to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on natural resources and the senate and house fiscal agencies by December 1. The report must include the following information for the preceding year:
(a) The total amount of revenue received for watercraft registrations.
(b) The amount deposited into the marine safety fund.
(c) The expenditures made from the marine safety fund, including the amounts expended for department administration, other state agencies, the law enforcement division, and grants to counties.
(d) The distribution methodology used by the department to distribute the marine safety grants.
(e) A list of the grants and the amounts awarded by county.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 163 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 4, line 7, after “control--FTEs” by striking out “21.0” and inserting “13.0”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 13, line 25, after “Lodge” by striking out “100” and inserting “130,000” and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 27, line 8, after “improvements,” by striking out the balance of the line through “endowment,” on line 9.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 164 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 4, line 15, after “outreach—FTEs” by striking out “88.8” and inserting “81.8”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority
of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator McBroom offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 23, following line 21, by inserting:
“Sec. 253. Funds appropriated for the department shall not be used to support ongoing litigation regarding invasive species that is connected with lawsuits regarding invasive species that have been settlement in the last six years.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 165 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Singh moved that the Senate recess until 12:40 p.m.
The motion prevailed, the time being 12:00 noon.
Recess
Senator Singh moved that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair.
The motion prevailed, the time being 12:41 p.m.
The
Senate was called to order by the President pro tempore, Senator Moss.
Senator McBroom offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 25, following line 26, by inserting:
“Sec. 804. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for forest resources division. Funding for forest roads shall be allocated by forest management unit based on miles of forest road that are maintained by the department.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator McBroom offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 24, following line 10, by inserting:
“Sec. 304. The department shall prohibit any additional lands from being enrolled in the carbon sequestration program if the timber harvest schedule or management plan for lands enrolled in the program is altered to lengthen the intervals between scheduled harvests.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 166 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Bumstead offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 19, following line 29, by inserting:
“Sec. 218. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this act, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house, intertransfer funds within this act for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 167 Yeas—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Nays—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Protests
Senators Bumstead and Theis, under their constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill No. 188.
Senator Bumstead moved that the statement he made during the discussion of the bill be printed as his reasons for voting “no.”
The motion prevailed.
Senator Bumstead’s statement, in which Senator Theis concurred, is as follows:
Mr. President, it is important that the people in Michigan can count on the Legislature to ensure their tax dollars are spent responsibly. It is also important that these funds are spent with proper transparency and accountability. It’s concerning to see such high numbers of new government bureaucrats—118 more, to be exact—provided for in this budget. At a time when economists are predicting a recession, it is important that we measure any growth in government to prevent an unstable hemorrhaging of our state’s surplus.
Additionally, our precious natural resources are vital to the quality of life of residents across this great state. It is important that we invest in the right efforts to protect those resources, while providing for their enjoyment for generations to come. Because of these concerns and others raised by the amendments that have been put forth today, I cannot support this budget at this time. I recommend a “no” vote.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Bumstead’s first statement is as follows:
Michigan
state parks are a treasure that holds a special place in the hearts of all
Michiganders, and providing resources to improve access and continue growing
our state parks helps pass down the love of the outdoors to the next generation.
Mr. President, Michigan’s unique natural resources provide an immeasurable
boost to our local economics across the state and give residents a chance to
experience the outdoors and pass down that tradition. I ask for a “yes” vote on
this amendment that will ensure the state park endowment fund is fully funded
in perpetuity, and for your support on this critical investment in the future
of our state.
Senator McBroom’s first statement is as follows:
I rise to speak in support on this amendment. Senator Bumstead and I worked hard on this issue together in the past, and continue to believe that this is the right thing to do as this is a way for us to invest our dollars in a way that gives us a perpetual, continual return. This isn’t just some flash in the pan, but instead this is a way to make sure that the surplus we’ve received is always providing a benefit to our citizens going forward. It takes pressure off the budget in the future; it returns a true result, as our parks are in desperate need of work for their maintenance and upkeep, some of which have not really been updated since the ’60s. We have a huge amount of people who are using our state parks right now. This is a great way to make sure that we invest our money in a way that returns value to us again and again every year. I encourage a “yes” vote.
Senator Bumstead’s second statement is as follows:
Mr. President, completing a budget with this many moving pieces is difficult. There are so many priorities, but unfortunately the available money never matches up to the potential priorities. Our state budget has bloated compared to previous years, and our historic surplus is being dwindled down with excessive state spending. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has an express mission; the Michigan Conservation Corps program—I believe—goes beyond that mission. While this cause is certainly a noble one, I do not believe it’s something we can continue to afford at this time. There are other organizations that accomplish similar goals, and at a time with high inflation and tight family budgets, I believe there are many responsible uses of taxpayer dollars. I ask for your support on this amendment.
Senator Bumstead’s third statement is as follows:
Our natural resources, featured at our state parks, are among Michigan’s greatest treasures. I am proud to have repeatedly gone on record supporting greater investments in our state parks and I think every Michigander deserves to see how well they are being taken care of. This amendment will simply require the department to report to the Legislature on the progress of state park improvements, whether completed or ongoing. I ask for your support on this amendment.
Senator Bumstead’s fourth statement is as follows:
Michigan law enforcement officers do a tremendous job keeping our communities safe and responding to dangers while others run to safety. Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment to help the men and women in law enforcement across the state perform their duties to the highest standards. Michigan has unique natural resources that draw in visitors from far and wide, both in-state and out-of-state. From the inland lakes to rivers and the Great Lakes to the backwoods ORVs and snowmobile trails, Michigan has something to offer everyone. These difficult terrains and increased tourism provide unique challenges for local enforcement agencies. My amendment will restore much-needed funding to ensure law enforcement agencies have the equipment and other necessary sources they need to educate the public and improve public safety in rescue response efforts. We all appreciate the jobs our law enforcement officers do, but actions speak louder than words. Let’s show our support today and help provide more resources for local agencies to help keep their communities safe. I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Bumstead’s fifth statement is as follows:
Mr. President, this amendment would redirect funding from a special project that establishes an endowment fund for a program that doesn’t even have any established details yet. Instead, we should be addressing the needs of the entire state park crumbling infrastructure. My amendment will keep this funding in the conversation to assist in continuing that mission and I ask for your support.
Senator McBroom’s second statement is as follows:
Some of you who have been around for a while will remember that in 2010 then-Governor Granholm and the Department of Natural Resources determined—despite the work the Legislature had already done to quell the problem with some wild pigs in this state—decided to take away the power of the Invasive Species Act, which granted authority to the commission to declare invasive species and instead give it to the director, who promptly determined that feral pigs were an invasive species, disregarding the actual science of what it means for something to be feral and how something being feral has nothing to do with its speciation. Feral is simply a condition of where it is. To be feral is to have been a domestic animal that has now escaped and is running at large. So somehow or other, pigs that are running at large are a whole new species according to the department’s directive at that time.
The Legislature wrestled with the issue—as only wrestling with pigs can be—and in the end was unsuccessful in righting this terrible wrong and foolish policy, and instead we had to rely on the courts. So game ranches around this state went to court, and they prevailed. They prevailed against the Department of Natural Resources, which had to put out ridiculous rulings on the phenotypes where they would say that they could determine what was a invasive species versus what wasn’t an invasive species because they could have light-tipped hair, but they might not; and they might have pointed ears, but they might not; their ears might be floppy, or they might not be; they could have stiff tails, but they might not.
That was literal; that was the list. There were 10 points from the DNR that said they will have dark-striped hair, but they might not. This was literally the list that the DNR had proposed using to determine which pigs were legal in this state and which pigs weren’t legal in this state. It didn’t even reference whether they were inside a fence or not. They were just going to determine it based on this loose list of characteristics.
Well, the courts struck that down as being arbitrary and capricious. The department persisted anyway in persecuting numerous citizens of this state, even going so far as to demand that they kill and slaughter dozens or hundreds of baby pigs at various places in this state. Finally, after eight years I think it was, the farmers prevailed—and they are truly just farmers, I have been in the barnyards with these pigs despite their scary names of wild boar or Russian boar or anything else. They are just pigs, and I’ve been in the barnyard and I didn’t get attacked by them. They run around and look at people like other livestock do inside a fence.
So the DNR got its butt handed to them. They lost. They’re now in potential litigation for the damages that they’ve caused. We could be voting in a few short years on paying off some of these guys because the department took their property from them in an unjust taking, when all of a sudden—in the last two weeks—the department decided to reengage this whole fight all over again and is now suing several of the game ranches all over again, starting this fight.
My amendment simply says that if there has already been a lawsuit and settlement dealing with an invasive species in the last six years, they can’t do another one. Why should we get put on the hook for their incompetence on this issue yet again? I encourage a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator McBroom’s third statement is as follows:
Mr. President, all across the state but particularly prevalent in the Upper Peninsula, we have vast tracts of state forests and the roads that are in them serve not just as critical roads to removing forest products but to residents and many businesses. The funding for these roads right now is allocated to our counties in a uniform way that allows some with few roads to get a lot more than those with many roads get. My amendment would simply change that so it’s allocated by miles instead of in this uniform, one-size-fits-all approach.
Senator McBroom’s fourth statement is as follows:
Mr. President, as I mentioned in my previous remarks, the state of Michigan has a great deal of state forests. The forest products industry is exceptional in our state and vital to many who are living here. Part of managing our forests successfully requires planning, requires recognition that forests grow like crops and after a certain amount of years, it’s vital to harvest those crops. If we fail to do that, the forests over-mature, can start falling down, we lose the investment we’ve made, we lose the opportunity for the industry that thrives because of this crop to continue to thrive. A regular process for managing is very vital and the state and many other private foresters play a critical role in this. In the last couple of years, the Department of Natural Resources has started selling and benefiting this state by utilizing our forests for carbon sequestration and it has signed over vast acreages to be part of carbon sequestration movements. Now, on the surface, this might seem particularly wise because we have this resource growing because we have this resource growing, it clearly sequesters carbon, there’s a marketplace open, why don’t we take advantage of that? The issue I have is that these contracts we enter into, sometimes with huge multinational corporations are not well-enough developed yet to know for sure that when the forest management plan says it’s time to harvest, that we are going to be able to harvest no matter what these international corporations or national corporations say who might have other purposes at heart than the best-possible management of our resources. Until that’s done, until we have an understanding of how the department is going to take into account these other things that are going to conflict with the past precedent of the department, to set up for managing our forests clearly based on the best management of the natural resource itself and not managing for some other global practice, for some other philosophy, for some other purpose. My amendment says they will not enroll any more land until we can be sure that it’s not going to lengthen the recommended harvest intervals.
I’d like my remarks printed in the Journal, and I’d appreciate a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Cherry’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, I rise to support this budget. It does a few things. First, it invests in our state parks; it invests in connecting our citizens with our parks. It improves our emergency preparedness for natural disasters, and it prioritizes restoring our natural systems and building natural infrastructure. How are we accomplishing this? One, through increasing investments in state parks, including development of new spaces, renovation of old spaces, and maintaining the parks that we have. It expands Michigan’s Civilian Conservation Corps and expands outreach to disadvantaged communities who haven’t had as much access to our parks as others. It increases our investment to fight invasive species which protects our habitats and ecosystems in addition to preventing economic harm. It increases investment in wetlands restoration which improves habitat, protects communities from flooding, and reduces runoff and pollution from going into our Great Lakes. It increases our wildfire response capacity so in the event we have multiple wildfires, we have the capacity to respond to those and prevent damage to our communities and our state forests. And it improves pay for our conservation officers.
Mr. President, this budget makes critical investments for our state, our state parks, our emergency preparedness, and our natural systems. It’s a good budget, and I urge my colleagues to vote “yes.”
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 191, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of corrections for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator McBroom offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 46, following line 5, by inserting:
“Sec. 715. Pursuant to part F in policy directive 04.01.110, the 72 hour advance notice required by the department for any prison visit or tour shall not apply to a currently elected and serving member of the Michigan legislature. Legislators must inform the warden of the intended visit and must be allowed entrance to the correctional facility without the required 72 hour notice.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 168 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator McBroom offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 21, line 3, after “315.” by inserting “(1)”.
2. Amend page 21, following line 9, by inserting:
“(2) Additionally, the department shall submit a monthly report indicating each incident in which an employee was required to work mandatory overtime within the 32-hour period following the beginning of the last overtime shift of more than four hours the employee worked (two hours for employees assigned to 12-hour shifts).
(3) Unless an emergency has been declared by the director, each violation of the 32-hour mandatory overtime rule as set forth by the department shall result in the reduction in the director’s salary by $50 per violation.
(4) Funds appropriated in part 1 for employee travel to conferences and award-granting events must be reported by March 1 to report recipients as listed in section 205. Additionally, funds appropriated in part 1 for employee travel to conferences and award-granting events cannot be used if violations of the 32-hour mandatory overtime rule as described in subsection 2 exceed 1% of total shifts worked.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 169 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Outman offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 4, line 21, after “positions” by striking out “669.0” and inserting “677.0”.
2. Amend page 4, following line 21, by inserting:
“Body-worn cameras—FTEs 8.0 $ 3,767,600”
3. Amend page 4, line 22, after “43.0” by striking out “$”.
4. Amend page 5, line 3, after “$” by striking out “124,724,800” and inserting “128,492,400”.
5. Amend page 5, following line 5, by inserting:
“Coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund 3,767,600”
6. Amend page 8, following line 15, by inserting:
“Body-worn cameras $ 3,300,000”
7. Amend page 8, line 16, after “Life” by striking out “$”.
8. Amend page 8, line 21, after “$” by striking out “4,000,000” and inserting “7,300,000”.
9. Amend page 8, following line 22, by inserting:
“Federal revenues:
Coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund 3,300,000”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present not voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 170 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Bellino offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 23, line 12, after “$” by striking out “65.00” and inserting “75.00”.
2. Amend page 23, line 14, after “$” by striking out “55.00” and inserting “65.00”.
3. Amend page 23, line 16, after “$” by striking out “40.00” and inserting “50.00”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 171 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Outman offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 2, line 22, after “7.0” by striking out “2,732,000” and inserting “3,732,000”.
2. Amend page 3, line 3, after “$” by striking out “119,306,700” and inserting “120,306,700”.
3. Amend page 3, line 11, after “$” by striking out “101,990,000” and inserting “102,990,000”.
4. Amend page 3, line 20, by striking out all of line 20.
5. Amend page 3, line 27, after “$” by striking out “126,349,600” and inserting “124,349,600”.
6. Amend page 4, line 4, after “$” by striking out “124,002,000” and inserting “122,002,000”.
7. Amend page 8, line 20, after “facilities” by striking out “1,500,000” and inserting “2,500,000”.
8. Amend page 8, line 21, after “$” by striking out “4,000,000” and inserting “5,000,000”.
9. Amend page 8, line 23, after “$” by striking out “4,000,000” and inserting “5,000,000”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Outman withdrew the amendments.
Senator Outman offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 43, following line 15, by inserting:
“Sec. 709. If a female prisoner in a facility funded from appropriations in part 1 consents to a visitor being present, the department shall allow that 1 person to be present during the prisoner’s labor and delivery. The person allowed to accompany the prisoner must be an immediate family member, legal guardian, spouse, or domestic partner. The department is authorized to deny access to a visitor if the department has a safety concern with that visitor’s access. The department is authorized to conduct a criminal background check on a visitor.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 172 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Outman offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 12, line 20, after “211.” by striking out “(1)”.
2. Amend page 12, line 21, after “$” by striking out “10,000,000.00” and inserting “2,500,000.00”.
3. Amend page 12, line 26, by striking out the balance of the page through “18.1393.” on line 14 of page 13.
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Outman offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 15, following line 23, by inserting:
“Sec. 219. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this part, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house, inter-transfer funds within this part for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator McBroom offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 10, following line 18, by inserting:
“Sec. 203a. The department must create, by December 15, 2023, a standard set of definitions for violence, riots, protests, abuse, harm, disorderly incidents, and other acts of inmates against officers and staff, along with a system for reporting such and aggregating and presenting the data publicly. The definitions and associated handling of the data must be created through the APA process.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Lindsey offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 39, following line 24, by inserting:
“Sec. 608. The department shall not use any state funds provided in part 1 for any costs associated with gender reassignment treatments, including gender reassignment surgery.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 173 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 174 Yeas—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Nays—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Protests
Senators
Outman, Theis, McBroom, Daley, Bellino and Runestad, under their constitutional
right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate
Bill No. 191.
Senators Outman, McBroom and Runestad moved that the statements they made during the discussion of the bill be printed as their reasons for voting “no.”
The motion prevailed.
Senator Outman’s statement, in which Senator Theis concurred, is as follows:
Mr. President, reducing our spending on corrections should be a sign that there is less need for the department’s services. Unfortunately, many crime statistics in our state are going up even as support for the department is going down. Our focus should be on the most critical functions of the department—safely detaining and rehabilitating offenders. We should be supporting local law enforcement, including jails in all 83 counties. We should invest more in employee wellness and we even agree with the Governor that investment in body cameras would improve safety for officers and inmates alike. Unfortunately, those core priorities are not reflected in this budget bill and I recommend a “no” vote.
Senator McBroom’s statement, in which Senators Daley and Bellino concurred, is as follows:
Right now, the situation at our state prisons, I believe, is absolutely critical. It’s part of why I’ve invested so much of my own personal time and professional time here in the Senate digging into this situation. Over ten years—two different administrations—poor decisions that have been made are leaving our state employees and ultimately our communities in a very bad situation. There’s nothing in this budget to prevent the arbitrary closures of facilities such as my communities have gone through. Closures that weren’t determined by the Legislature through debate and close consideration, but instead were simply a department’s decision. A decision that was then immediately followed up with the destruction and failure to capitalize on recently-created state infrastructure on the facility site. A decision that decreased the overall value for the property for future development or for sale.
Our officers are continually facing violence against them in every facility. The rules that govern how they are handled afterward including when they’re expected back to work or what hours they have—in fact, even having to come back to work immediately after a devastating injury or psychological trauma—aren’t addressed by this budget. The 32-hour rule violation is unaddressed. What do we see in here that’s going to increase safety on the job, particularly as we are necessarily rushing new recruits into the field at a regular basis as retention rates plummet? Where is the important senior population of officers who bring up the new ones, who train them in? They’re leaving, they’re gone, because it’s not a good place to work. And it’s never been a great place to work—it’s a prison—but to make it more dangerous by administrative malfeasance and neglect is absolutely unacceptable. It is untenable, and the Legislature must take aggressive action. We have had the same administration over Corrections now for six years and the problems do not get better. The focus is not there. They admit they have a problem, they admit they’ve got a retention issue, they put up nice billboards, they do online recruitments, they show up at job fairs, and yet the problem persists. If what you’re doing isn’t working, then do something new, or get new leadership.
Meanwhile, we continue to cook the books on recidivism and other stats and misrepresent the truth to the public, go around the country and get pats on the back for doing a great job because our statistics look nice. How many people are we holding in solitary confinement far, far beyond the days they’re supposed to be there? Where are those statistics? How many people, how long will we continue to use our prisons as a state mental health hospital rather than investing in a real hospital for these people and taking them out of the prisons? How long will we utilize our sheriffs and other local jails as the catch-all so we can say our recidivism rates are really great because we don’t count those incidents because, well, they didn’t offend the same way they offended the first time so it’s not really recidivism.
This budget doesn’t address those problems and we are on a crash course to the same devastating outcomes that the Legislature sought so bipartisanly and so directly in the early ’80s to make sure we never had happen again. It’s time to wake up and realize it’s going to take a lot more than just some cleverly named reentry programs, it’s going to take a lot more than just a few more classes. We have a huge problem brewing and we have to take it more seriously and we have to do something more dramatic than just spending more money. We need an overhaul and we need new leadership. That’s why I’ll be voting “no” on today’s budget.
Senator Runestad’s statement is as follows:
I just hopped online to see what issues there may be—this is my “no” vote explanation—with this corrections system we have and I found an article from October 2021 by Paul Egan who says, “The Michigan Department of Corrections wants to make sure its officials are taking some lessons, even at the expense of ones for the many lawsuits filed against the department. Department director Heidi Washington sent out a memorandum recently requiring a post-litigation critique after lawsuits related to civil rights violations, retaliation, use of force, and mishandling of prisoner property, among other types of claims. The Corrections Department was responsible for $125.6 million in judgements and settlements paid between 2010 and 2019 according to data compiled by the Senate Fiscal Agency.” Retaliation. You’re going to find that in the choreographed meeting when you’re not allowed to talk to the prisoners and they bring certain prisoners up to you. You find out there’s retaliation. Civil rights violations, that’s all going to be exposed in the choreographed meeting that you’re going to have. The missing prisoners’ property, that’s all going to come out in the choreographed meeting the Democrats have set up here for us as legislators. Figures in the 2020 fiscal year were not available so we don’t even know at this point in 2020 but those numbers are expected to push the total much higher since the state is required in 2020 to pay $40 million of the $80 million settlement against the sexual abuse lawsuit brought in 2013 by juvenile male prisoners housed with adults.
Now, you’re going to find all that out in a choreographed meeting the Democrats have set up here for the public to know what’s going on in our prisons. That settlement alone would cause the Corrections budget payouts above $200 million by 2022. The head of the legal department is chair of the critiques and determine which officials need to attend. The critiques are optional after some lawsuits but not mandatory for the types of claims listed above. Plus, claims related to failure to protect, searches, cruel and unusual punishment, access to courts, deliberate indifference, you’re going to find it all in the choreographed meeting the Democrats have set up. You go in, you call the Corrections Department and they get everything swept up and clean and they bring up the prisoners they want you to talk to—kind of like old Cool Hand Luke type of prison stuff in the past. You continue to see the same mistakes being made over and over again in areas including employee harassment and sexual abuse of prisoners.
Michigan can rest easy and comfortable with the Democrats’ transparency plan that they have designed for our prisoners and our corrections officers in the state of Michigan. I’ll be voting “no” on this budget.
The motion prevailed.
Senator McBroom’s first statement is as follows:
Mr. President, it’s long been the practice of the Legislature to do oversight of our various state departments. In fact, if you look into the history of how that oversight was accomplished, the Legislature in the past often had many, many more committees and subcommittees than it does now. At one time, they had specific subcommittees or committees about each individual state school and state prison, and that committee would go and spend time at that facility, up to a week even at that facility, going over the books, examining the processes and how things were working there.
Over time, that’s changed. The Legislature has changed in many ways. One of the things that’s been held through that time is the ability for legislators to show up at a state facility—a state prison in particular—and visit that facility, see what’s going on there. This is an important thing to do. This is an important opportunity for us, and to have to now go through a process initiated by the current director to notify 72 hours in advance before a legislator visits a facility is not going to give the Legislature a proper ability to oversee what’s happening at these facilities. I have visited numerous prisons and have always been impressed with how clean things were and how orderly it was, but I’ve always also been told, You should have seen how it was yesterday. You should have seen all the work we did to get it before you got here. I’ve had numerous wardens invite me to just drop by anytime, and yet this policy was initiated last year.
My amendment simply rolls back that policy and restores to the Legislature the ability to do drop-in visits, unannounced, at our state prisons. I’ve had several discussions with some of my counterparts who are on the Appropriations Committee on this and while I don’t know that my amendment will be adopted—though I think would be fine if it did—I do appreciate the willingness to discuss this issue and I hope we will be able to reach a compromise position soon if this does not get adopted right now. I’d recommend a “yes” vote though.
Senator Runestad’s statement is as follows:
I
just wanted to chime in with the Senator from the 38th District and here we
have this constant, constant concern among the citizenry here in the state of
Michigan about transparency. The people just can’t seem to ever get relief.
What the Democrats are proposing is that in this most cloistered area of state
government, a prison, where people have virtually no rights, they’re locked
away, and we have an opportunity to go in and see what’s going on, to ask
questions, and I have been through these tours. You set the tour up and
everything is choreographed and everything’s swept clean and everything looks
really, really nice, that’s not the kind of transparency that the people here
in the state of Michigan are looking for. We should be able to go in,
especially to prison, with rapes and all the things that have happened in these
prisons, and that we have to go get some choreographed, planned thing? It’s
like something out of a movie. We ought to be able to go in there and ask
questions and ask these prisoners questions and find out what’s going on
unannounced, just showing up, and this is more of this lack of transparency I
see from the Democrats. Let’s shut it down, let’s make a call, let’s set an
appointment to go make sure everything is all choreographed. This is outrageous
and I hope that the Senator from the 38th District gets support on his
amendment.
Senator McBroom’s second statement is as follows:
Mr. President, right now in our prisons we are in a terrible feedback loop which I think can almost be defined as a death spiral where we have too few employees, we have too many incidents that occur without having enough employees, we get employees who are hurt or injured on the job, then we have fewer employees available. We have ones who don’t want to come back. We’re training new ones to stem the bleeding, but we have people leaving who are getting paid better in other states who find the conditions more attractive in other states. We just keep going around and around and not improving.
One of the consequences of this is the violation of the 32-hour rule. The 32-hour rule is a rule put in place by the contract that the state has signed with the corrections officers to protect them and the inmates because this is a high-stress, dangerous job that requires people to be at the top of their game at every moment to protect themselves, to be able to protect their colleagues, and to be able to protect other inmates. All across this nation in these high-stress jobs, whether it’s trucking or flying an airplane, we’re trying to put hours in there to make sure that people are not working to such an extreme that they endanger themselves or other people. And yet, that’s flagrantly happening right now in the state corrections, repeatedly happening, and these 32-hour rule violations get filed by the union saying, Hey, they’re violating the contract, and yet no consequences are happening.
This is a really serious thing. As my committee investigated this last term, we found out that the department doesn’t even keep track of how many times they violate this. They have no record of it. They don’t bother to understand how bad the problem is through the lens of the violation of the 32-hour rule. My amendment requires the department to start keeping monthly track of the violations of the 32-hour rule unless there’s an emergency that’s declared in a facility. That violation, if it happens a certain number of times, over 1 percent of the operations, is going to therefore impinge on the director’s salary. This director has been there long enough that the problems are clearly laid at her feet. This has been her job to solve for more than six years. Further, my amendment goes on to say that no money can be expended by the department for travel to conferences and things to receive awards and pats on the back and accolades if they’re back at home continually violating the 32-hour rule. I recommend adoption of my amendment.
Senator Outman’s first statement is as follows:
Mr. President, we’ve all come to learn the importance of body cams in public safety. Similar to police body cameras, corrections officer cameras can provide valuable information regarding inmate interactions with officers. This funding would cover the body cameras, storage, and staff time to review the footage, and utilize one-time federal dollars. This program would provide an additional element of safety for both officers and inmates and I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Bellino’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, there aren’t many people in this building who more friends who have spent time in prison than myself. When it comes to corrections, it is important that we continue to do what’s working and to help reduce recidivism and protect our communities. My amendment would increase the residential treatment per diem by a mere 10 bucks per day to keep these vital treatments going and these programs running. Similar one-time increases were included in the ’23 supplemental budget. I urge members to vote “yes” on my amendment and to help fellow prisoners who are struggling with addiction.
Senator Outman’s second statement is as follows:
Mr. President, my amendment would restore labor and delivery boilerplate regarding support for pregnant inmates. This would allow inmates to have a vetted family member there to support them while they’re giving birth in prison. Family support is vital during pregnancy and has been shown to help reduce recidivism rates. I urge members to vote “yes” on this amendment.
Senator Outman’s third statement is as follows:
Mr. President, this amendment would reduce contingency funds to current levels. This is about ensuring that we maintain critical legislative oversight. I urge members to support our oversight capabilities and responsibilities by voting “yes” on this amendment.
Senator McBroom’s third statement is as follows:
Mr. President, while the Senate Committee on Oversight last term met to examine the Department of Corrections, one of the things we discussed at great length was the situation regarding our officers and how they are impacted by violence committed on them by inmates at the facilities. One of the hugely frustrating pieces of information the committee discovered was that the department keeps very poor analysis of these events and the categories they use to describe whether something is super dangerous or not that dangerous, whether the injuries are severe or not so severe, are very fluid and flexible and not at all reliable or consistent. We even had numbers presented to us that were clearly not true, and when it was brought up and the department came in at our next meeting, they had different numbers because they had not kept good track of what was being reported.
My amendment says that by December 15, 2023, the department must create “a standard set of definitions for violence, riots, protests, abuse, harm, disorderly incidents, and other acts of inmates against officers and staff along with a system for reporting such and aggregating and presenting that data publicly,” and that this should go through the Administrative Procedures Act process. Mr. President, it was only a few years ago that an incident at one of the facilities in the Upper Peninsula involved extensive property destruction, involved fires, involved staff having to be called from other facilities, and used force to retake the facility, and yet the department beat around the bush with whether or not it was actually a riot or not, depending on whether it cost too much money or whether some other definition that they created on the spot had been met. We need to know how the department defines things. How do they define a riot? How do they define— Mr. President, we need definitions from this department so that we can hold them accountable, so that we can understand what it means to them whether a situation is a riot or not and so they can’t just change and spin the information to us to meet their own purposes. We need to know whether or not a rape occurred, whether an attempted rape occurred, and not allow the department to just play with words as they are so prone and wont to do in recent days.
This is a simple amendment, doesn’t cost us any money, but simply forces the department to set out what it means so it can’t just be like Jell-O on the wall when we try to understand and hold them accountable for what we’re hearing from our citizens and from the state employees who give so much and risk so much to protect all of us. I recommend a “yes” vote.
Senator Lindsey’s statement is as follows:
There are a couple different ways we can make sure we’re being fiscally responsible as we spend the money that we take from the taxpayers of Michigan. One way is showing restraint in how much money we spend, but of course another way we can be responsible is defining where we’re actually going to spend that money. This amendment aims to put some limitations on how we spend the taxpayer’s money. I’ve offered it because I think it’s important that we put a prohibition on taxpayer funding being used within the Department of Corrections for gender transition procedures. I think most Michiganders agree that having something like an elective procedure done is not something that the taxpayers should be footing the bill for. Our corrections officers should be more focused on safely housing inmates than providing accommodations for elective procedures. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment and ensure that we’re spending taxpayer dollars to the benefit of all Michiganders.
Senator Anthony’s first statement is as follows:
Gender reassignment treatments, as we are crafting a budget that deals with the health and safety of corrections officers, inmates and making sure they can transition into society with housing and other wraparound services, we want to waste time on amendments related to gender reassignment treatments? You know, there is a time and place for politics; I don’t believe our budget process is one of those times, so I urge a “no” vote on this amendment.
Senator Shink’s statement is as follows:
Mr. President, I rise today to speak to Senate Bill No. 191, the Michigan Department of Corrections budget. Just last week, I addressed this body to call on all of my Senate colleagues—Democrat and Republican—to join me in supporting Michigan’s corrections officers that are an important part of my district and many of yours, and that is exactly what I am doing right now. This budget as with all budget bills should be and is about how we can help people.
The MDOC budget includes funding to improve the working conditions for corrections officers in Jackson in my district and in facilities around the state to help with retention and attraction and stem the turnover challenges in the industry. But it also creates some new innovative programs and investments to ensure that when incarcerated people are released, they have the tools they need to reduce recidivism, saving money for the state while improving the lives of these individuals and their families. As an attorney myself and chair of the Corrections and Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud to say that we have worked hard to craft budgets that balance the needs of the state’s courts and prisons as well as those of justice-involved individuals and their families as they work toward rehabilitation.
Some
highlights of the MDOC budget include funding for medication-assisted treatment
that would create 78 jobs and treat around 1,600 incarcerated individuals with
substance use disorders, a statewide peer-led mentoring program focused on
reentry and creating economic mobility for formerly incarcerated people, and
community partnership to help provide a human milk delivery program when
mothers and infants are separated. Thanks to the work of the good Senator from
the 1st District and stakeholder groups, female prisoners can already have a
visitor during labor and delivery to support them. MDOC wellness for employees
to be used for post-traumatic stress outreach treating mental health issues,
peer support programs, and providing mental health programming for the MDOC
staff. A pilot program with Eastern Michigan University and Women’s Huron Valley
Correctional Facility to help encourage and support incarcerated women to
pursue bachelor’s degrees and improve their future financial and professional
prospects.
This budget supports corrections officers and programs and facilities around the state, but it also acknowledges the need to be smart on crime and provide the economic, education, and familial supports necessary to improve reentry and reduce recidivism. I encourage my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this budget and more importantly, supporting the people it serves.
Senator Anthony’s second statement is as follows:
You know, I thought it was Tuesday but maybe it’s Flashback Friday because I remember many of those accounts back in 2012, back in 2020, in which many of these egregious acts that were pointed out by my colleague were presented. However, individuals on this side of the aisle were not in charge. It is surprising, or maybe not so surprising, that now in the minority party we want to have conversations about transparency and reforming the system. Again, I am proud of the work that has taken place in these subcommittees, and the fact that these budgets have been crafted with stakeholders in mind—with both the public, in the public square, being able to debate these issues. So again, I encourage more conversation, not just floor speeches, to address these many issues.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 192, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the judiciary for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Outman offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 2, line 23, after “76.0” by striking out “13,229,400” and inserting “14,241,900”, and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 175 Yeas—17
Albert Hauck Lauwers Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga Lindsey Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose
Nays—21
Anthony Cherry McBroom Polehanki
Bayer Geiss McCann Santana
Brinks Hertel McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Irwin McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Klinefelt Moss Wojno
Chang
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Outman offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 11, line 16, by striking out all of lines 16 through 27.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority
of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Outman offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 5, line 17, after “resentencing—FTEs” by striking out “18.0” and inserting “11.0”.
2. Amend page 5, line 17, by striking out “2,529,600” and inserting “1,571,500”.
3. Amend page 7, following line 3, by inserting:
“Montgomery v Louisiana—FTEs 7 958,100”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 176 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Theis offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 6, following line 27, by inserting:
“Expungement costs reimbursements 5,000,000”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
2. Amend page 19, following line 3, by inserting:
“Sec. 403. From the one-time general funds appropriated in part 1 for expungement costs reimbursements, the state court administrative office shall reimburse circuit and district courts statewide for fines and court costs deemed uncollectable on account of conviction expungements.”.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 177 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 178 Yeas—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Nays—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Protests
Senators Outman and Theis, under their constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill No. 192.
Senator
Outman moved that the statement he made during the discussion of the bill be
printed as his reasons for voting “no.”
The motion prevailed.
Senator Outman’s statement, in which Senator Theis concurred, is as follows:
Mr. President, as a fiscal conservative I rarely find fault with cutting state government, but this is not the time to go backwards on support for our courts and the rule of law. Many crime statistics are headed in the wrong direction. Court backlogs are resulting in more and more plea deals. This is the time to arm our judiciary with the tools they need to deliver justice for every Michigander impacted by crime. Unfortunately, this budget falls short of that goal. I ask for a “no” vote.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Outman’s first statement is as follows:
This amendment will simply restore juvenile justice funding to the level proposed in the Governor’s budget recommendation to create a juvenile justice services division within the State Court Administrative Office. This funding implements the recommendation of the bipartisan Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform and would help put young people back on track to being productive members of society. I believe this funding is important as it will be used to help many young people who find themselves in the system and work to make our community safer. I ask for support of my amendment.
Senator Outman’s second statement is as follows:
This amendment would remove the unnecessary millions in contingency funding that was put into this budget by the subcommittee. The people of Michigan deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and setting aside these large sums to be spent with such little regard for oversight is not transparent. Let us fund this department appropriately where necessary and be more responsible and transparent with the tax dollars that we were elected to be good stewards of. I ask for support of my amendment.
Senator Outman’s third statement is as follows:
This amendment would simply move juvenile life resentencing funding back to a previous designation for one-time funding. Because of resentencing of juvenile life offenders is a process that should eventually be finished, setting up this funding as an ongoing expense is misleading and creates a lack of transparency in the budget. Let us fix this here today, I ask for support of my amendment.
Senator Theis’ statement is as follows:
This amendment addresses what I believe to be an unintended consequence of the auto expungement legislation that recently impacted our courts due to a ruling by the State Court Administrative Office last week. Our courts received a lot of what pays for them through fees, but what we’ve done with the expungement is create a scenario where those fines, costs and fees are no longer getting collected. They have been deemed uncollectable. This creates a hole in the financing for our local courts. My amendment would simply dedicate $5 million to reimburse local courts for fines and costs that used to be collectable but can no longer be collected due to the decision by SCAO. I urge a “yes” vote.
Senator Shink’s statement is as follows:
I rise today to call on my colleagues to support the judiciary budget before us, Senate Bill No. 192. This is another budget full of common-sense investments to address the needs of the court system, as well as the individuals involved with it. The judiciary budget responds directly to the needs of the court system itself and the judges, attorneys, clerks, and more who use it to modernize the system and make it more efficient and user friendly. The bill also provides money to follow some of the recommendations of the advocates and stakeholders to better support justice-involved juveniles.
The
proposed judiciary budget also includes a number of significant investments to
support the courts and improve their processes. The budget continues to address
juvenile resentencing needs by providing additional funding and a new youth
defense unit to assist juveniles who are unable to afford an attorney. The
budget builds upon the efforts of the court system to become more efficient and
just in their performance and invest in efforts to bring the case management
system in our courts into the 21st century. Our state and its residents deserve
a court system that is modern, efficient, and fairer for all regardless of
their age, race or income.
This budget gets us closer to realizing that goal. I encourage my colleagues to join me and vote “yes” on this budget.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 195, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of licensing and regulatory affairs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 16, line 23, by striking out all of section 214.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Theis offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 4, line 15, after “positions” by striking out “195.0” and inserting “190.0”.
2. Amend page 4, line 16, after “commission--FTEs” by striking out “195.0” and inserting “190.0”.
3. Amend page 4, line 25, after “positions” by striking out “150.0” and inserting “145.0”.
4. Amend page 4, line 26, after “enforcement--FTEs” by striking out “119.0” and inserting “114.0”.
5. Amend page 7, line 13, after “positions” by striking out “173.0” and inserting “171.0”.
6. Amend page 7, line 14, after “agency--FTEs” by striking out “173.0” and inserting “171.0”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 28, following line 4, by inserting:
“Sec. 513. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the department shall conduct a review of its current licensure processes. By September 30, 2024, the department shall submit a report to the subcommittees that includes the following:
(a) Identification of processes, procedures, applicant requirements, and other factors which may result in unnecessary obstacles to promoting employment in this state.
(b) The results of a comparison between industries and professions which are licensed in this state and those same industries and professions in neighboring states without similar licensing requirements.”
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 179 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Nesbitt offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 30, following line 5, by inserting:
“Sec. 602. From the funds appropriated in part 1, within 15 days before the last day of each fiscal quarter, the cannabis regulatory agency shall post on a publicly accessible website a list of all of the following:
(a) The number of investigative reports that identify suspected illegal or irregular activities of licensees under the agency’s purview.
(b) The number of investigative reports that identify suspected marihuana product without the tracking numbers assigned by the statewide monitoring system affixed, tagged, or labeled as required by the act or the rules.
(c) The number of complaints filed by the public with the agency concerning marihuana product without the tracking numbers assigned by the statewide monitoring system affixed, tagged, or labeled as required by the act or the rules.
(d) The number of complaints filed by the public with the agency concerning unlicensed commercial production or sale of delta-8 THC.
(e) The number and outcome of all agency disciplinary proceedings initiated against any licensee subject to the reports in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d).
(f) The number of reports of any suspected or illegal activities and the category of suspected illegal or irregular activities the agency referred to the department of state police, or other appropriate law enforcement agency, of any suspected or illegal activities contained in the reports in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d).
(g) For any licensee subject to disciplinary proceedings initiated by the agency under the reports in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d), the cannabis regulatory agency shall post the following information on a publicly available website upon the closure of any investigative report:
(i) Name of licensee.
(ii) Description of the allegation.
(iii) Complaint type.
(iv) Process used to resolve the allegation.
(v) Name of the law enforcement agency the allegation was referred to, including the date of the referral.”
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 180 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Nesbitt offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 30, following line 25, by inserting:
“Sec. 604. (1) From the FTEs provided for in part 1 for recreational marihuana regulation, the cannabis regulatory agency must use at least 5.0 FTEs to conduct in-person no-notice inspections of licensed processors, with higher priority given to inspecting those facilities that produce distillate or other concentrates and that produce the most marihuana product. These inspections shall happen quarterly and at times the facility intakes a significant amount of biomass or other raw material.
(2) The cannabis regulatory agency shall post a quarterly report of these inspections on a publicly accessible website that lists all of the following:
(a) The number of inspections and the number of investigative reports that identify suspected illegal or irregular activities of licensees as identified by the inspections.
(b) The number of complaints filed by the public with the cannabis regulatory agency concerning possible illegal or irregular activities by a licensed processor or cultivation facility regarding the production of distillate or concentrates.
(c) The number and outcome of all cannabis regulatory agency disciplinary proceedings initiated against any licensee subject to the reports in subsections (a) and (b), including if the suspected or illegal activities under subsections (a) and (b) have been referred to the department of state police or other appropriate law enforcement agencies or if any product has been recalled.
(d) For any licensee subject to disciplinary proceedings initiated by the cannabis regulatory agency under the reports in subsections (a) and (b), the cannabis regulatory agency shall post all of the following information on a publicly available website upon the closure of any investigative report:
(i) Name of the licensee.
(ii) Description of the allegation.
(iii) Complaint type (CRA inspection or public).
(iv) Process used to resolve the investigation.
(v) Name of the law enforcement agency referred to, including the date of the referral.”
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 181 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 18, following line 4, by inserting:
“Sec. 218. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this article, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each chamber, intertransfer funds within this article for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution.”
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 28, following line 4, by inserting:
“Sec. 514. By September 30, 2024, the department shall post on a publicly available website a report detailing changes made to departmental recommendations and requirements pertaining to licensed nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The report must include, but is not limited to, a detailed overview of any policy changes made since March 2020 that are intended to ensure the safety of residents and staff as well as any policy changes intended to ensure family access to facility residents. The department must notify the subcommittees upon publication of the report.”
The question being on the adoption of the amendment,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 182 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 183 Yeas—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Nays—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Protest
Senator Theis, under her constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill No. 195 and moved that the statement she made during the discussion of the bill be printed as her reasons for voting “no.”
The motion prevailed.
Senator Theis’ statement is as follows:
Mr. President, for the last three years we have
watched as runaway state agencies hammered down on small businesses, workers,
the residents of Michigan, and worse—allowed our seniors to die in nursing
homes. The new budget wastes no time in growing regulatory agencies and adding
more bureaucrats to the state payroll, ballooning the budget. Our friends don’t
seem to be particularly worried about the ramifications because, apparently, we
are going to just deal with these later once we’ve spent every penny we have. I
ask my colleagues for a “no” vote on this budget.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Theis’ first statement is as follows:
Recently, we heard our good chairwoman speaking about the politics of our appropriations bills and how politics should not be involved. My amendment would eliminate the abortion and DEI language included in Senate Bill No. 195. We’re meant to serve all of Michigan. I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Theis’ second statement is as follows:
One thing the small businesses and residents of Michigan are not asking for is for us to increase the size of government. My amendment is simple. It would slow the growth of government by stopping the creation of twelve new and unnecessary government positions. As our nation faces a looming recession, the last thing we need to do is grow government to unsustainable levels. This amendment would simply sustain the number of positions that we currently have, at a level Republicans approved in last year’s budget. I ask for support of my amendment.
Senator Theis’ third statement is as follows:
Mr. President, just last week the Detroit News published an investigation dealing with the devastating aftermath of Governor Whitmer’s decision to ignore the advice of experts and place COVID-positive patients in nursing homes across our state. Reporters uncovered more than 1,200 pages of complaints from residents, their loved ones, and nursing home staff. These accounts are devastating to read. And, to make matters worse, it took LARA three years to share these public documents. Three years.
Mr. President, my amendment does not seek to relitigate the Governor’s decision. It does not seek to litigate whether public documents were withheld until after November of last year for political reasons. What it does is require the department to detail each of the policy changes related to nursing homes it instituted in the wake of COVID-19. I would hope that the state agency charged with licensing nursing homes would have undertaken a complete review and overhaul of its policies and procedures after such a traumatic event. This information should be shared not with just this body, but with the thousands of Michiganders who lost loved ones in nursing homes. They deserve these answers and they better come a lot faster than three years from now. I urge a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Nesbitt’s first statement is as follows:
This amendment would restore the oversight requirements for the Cannabis Regulatory Agency to publish certain quarterly reports. The condition helps to ensure transparency of this still-emerging industry in Michigan. By removing it, we would lose an important accountability measure and, I believe, shirk our duty to ensure this new industry grows in the open light of day and not in secretive darkness. Requiring this transparency is simply the responsible thing to do. I ask that all members support my amendment.
Senator Nesbitt’s second statement is as follows:
Mr. President, as you know, I was subcommittee chair of this budget for the last four years and we had some language in these passed budget bills that I think helped move this industry forward and allow for inspections. This amendment would restore mandates for onsite marihuana processor inspections and update the previous provision to require that some inspections be conducted by third-party entities.
Mr. President, now is not the time to relax accountability standards for this still-emerging industry. This requirement is crucial to ensure processors are operating above board so the consumers can trust these products. We are just 18 months past one of the most massive recalls issued by the Cannabis Regulatory Agency since its inception. An agency that has considerable power on the impacts of the operations of Michigan businesses and the choices available to consumers across our state.
I hope you can join with me in restoring this important consumer protection. I ask for your full support on this amendment.
Senator Theis’ fourth statement is as follow:
My amendment would restore section 218 language for this budget ensuring the power of the purse is retained by the Legislature, where it belongs. The Legislature has been given the constitutional responsibility to control the power of the purse. Why any of us would choose to take away the voice of the people in the budgetary process is beyond me.
The
Ad Board ends up becoming another way the Governor uses her dictatorial
control. This room is full of legislators who have spent their careers working
to be able to have a stronger voice in this process, and here we are handing it
away. Again. I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Cavanagh’s statement is as follows:
I rise in support of this budget. This budget allows for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to maintain their excellent work overseeing the licensed and regulated industries across this state while making crucial investments where the department can make the most impact in everyday lives of Michiganders.
This budget includes increased investment in Michigan Saves, creating easier and more affordable access to energy-efficient upgrades for Michigan homes and businesses; the creation of the Bureau of Community Health Systems that will include oversight and regulations in nursing aide programs, health facility regulation and administration, and foster care and licensing; increased funding for the Child Care Licensing Bureau, to increase supports for safe and qualified child care centers for working parents across Michigan; investments in the Cannabis Regulatory Agency’s Social Equity Program, to encourage and increase participation of Michigan residents who have been disproportionately impacted; as well as funding for the agency for a reference lab.
These new investments will make a positive impact on Michiganders across the state. It’s a great budget and I encourage a “yes” vote.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 196, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of insurance and financial services for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 9, line 6, after “214.” by striking out the balance of the line through “officer.” on line 14 and inserting “By September 30, 2024, the department shall identify three internal departmental policies pertaining to staffing or public relations and publish these policies and related materials on a publicly accessible website. The department shall notify the subcommittees upon publication.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Theis offered the following amendments:
1. Amend page 3, line 14, after “91.0” by striking out “13,329,100” and inserting “13,829,100”.
2. Amend page 15, following line 16, by inserting:
“Sec. 308. From the funds appropriated in part 1 for consumer services and protection, $500,000 shall be used to fund the activities of the fraud investigation unit. These funds are appropriated in addition to the amount of funds expended by the unit in Fiscal Year 2021-22.”
and adjusting the subtotals, totals, and section 201 accordingly.
The question being on the adoption of the amendments,
Senator Lauwers requested the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 184 Yeas—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Nays—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald
Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
Senator Theis offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 10, following line 16, by inserting:
“Sec. 218. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this article, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each chamber, intertransfer funds within this article for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution.”
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting therefor.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No. 185 Yeas—20
Anthony Chang Klinefelt Polehanki
Bayer Cherry McCann Santana
Brinks Geiss McDonald Rivet Shink
Camilleri Hertel McMorrow Singh
Cavanagh Irwin Moss Wojno
Nays—18
Albert Hauck Lindsey Runestad
Bellino Hoitenga McBroom Theis
Bumstead Huizenga Nesbitt Victory
Daley Johnson Outman Webber
Damoose Lauwers
Excused—0
Not Voting—0
In The Chair: Moss
The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Senators Theis and Cavanagh asked and were granted unanimous consent to make statements and moved that the statements be printed in the Journal.
The
motion prevailed.
Senator Theis’ first statement is as follows:
This amendment, as before, would remove all references to the divisive DEI language from the DIFS budget. I reiterate—we didn’t want things to be political, and this is a kill pill intended to be political. My amendment would bring more transparency to the state government. Taxpayers deserve and expect to know what their government is doing with their money, including whether bureaucracies are implementing political and divisive policies that could be used against them. My amendment, therefore, would require all internal department policies to be made public. I ask for a “yes” vote on this amendment.
Senator Theis’ second statement is as follows:
When we approved the landmark auto no-fault reforms a few years ago, one of the primary problems we addressed was fraud. We all know that there is fraud in the industry; we know that there is fraud throughout, and we know that we want it to be corrected. One of the primary jobs of DIFS is to actually investigate that. What my amendment would do is increase the funding to $500,000. I ask for your support.
Senator Theis’ third statement is as follows:
This amendment would, again, seek to restore the section 218 language in the budget, ensuring that we—as a Legislature—control the power of the purse, which is our fundamental responsibility and the primary reason that we are sent here to work. I ask my colleagues that you please look at that and seek instead not to give it away. I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Cavanagh’s statement is as follows:
I rise again in support of this budget. This budget allows for the Department of Insurance and Financial Services to maintain their incredible work overseeing the insurance and financial industries across this state with a few key additions, including crucial investments in critical information and technology services, investments in consumer protection and services, and increased transparency requirements of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association.
These investments are critical for the department and the people of Michigan. It is a great budget and I encourage a “yes” vote from my colleagues.
By unanimous consent the Senate returned to the order of
Messages from the Governor
The following message from the Governor was received and read:
May 9, 2023
I respectfully submit to the Senate the following appointments to office pursuant to Executive Order No. 2017-4:
Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect (“Children’s Trust Fund”)
Ms. Tammy Bernier of 1760 Glencairn Drive, Saginaw, Michigan 48609, county of Saginaw, reappointed to represent the business community, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Mr. Earl Major of 9009 W. Lake Pointe Drive, Laingsburg, Michigan 48848, county of Shiawassee, reappointed to represent the general public, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Ms. Jill Hoffman of 9415 U.S. Highway 41, Skandia, Michigan 49885, county of Marquette, reappointed to represent the legal community, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Ms. Amy T. Loepp of 3787 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301, county of Oakland, reappointed to represent the general public, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Ms. Kelle Jo Ilitch of 2211 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48201, county of Wayne, reappointed to represent parents, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Mr. Steve Bland of 19400 Gloucester Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48203, county of Wayne, succeeding Ms. Amy B. Bigman whose term has expired, appointed to represent the religious community, for a term commencing May 9, 2023 and expiring December 19, 2025.
Respectfully,
Gretchen Whitmer
Governor
The appointments were referred to the
Committee on Government Operations.
By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded to the order of
Statements
The motion prevailed.
Senator Cherry’s statement is as follows:
I just wanted to stand up and thank my colleagues for supporting the budget for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. That budget helps our farmers and Michigan businesses, it increases our ability to provide safe, healthful Michigan-grown food to Michiganders. It’s good for our lands, our soils, and our environment.
A few of the things that this budget does is that it addresses emerging contaminants such as PFAS in food, which is an increasing issue that we’ve seen in Michigan. It doubles support for double-up food bucks, which puts Michigan-grown produce onto the tables of Michigan families. It doubles support for conservation districts, it helps bring down additional farm bill dollars that were made available in the Inflation Reduction Act, which helps not only our farmers, but it helps our environment. This budget invested in small producers, in minority-owned food and agriculture businesses, which had too often been ignored in these budgets, and it also provides a major investment in soil health and regenerative agriculture to help revitalize Michigan soil and farmlands. So I want to thank all of my colleagues who voted for that budget to help farmers to increase the safety of our food and to make sure we’re investing in our soils and our environment.
Senator Runestad’s statement is as follows:
Today I rise disappointed at how this appropriations process has played out so far. At a time when the partisan makeup in both chambers reflects a clear intention from the Michigan citizens for us to work together, the majority has unfortunately decided to take a different path. Recently the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity met to vote on its budget. But the Republicans on that committee were not even given the budget bills, which included $728 million dollars in new pork spending, until minutes before the vote.
Transparency and straightforward budgeting were also missing on the Senate side, where multiple Democratic chairs never provided budget bills before forcing a vote. My colleague, the Senator from the 21st District, pointed out that we were provided our amendments to the budget this morning, a couple of hours before session began, leaving them ample time to caucus on them, which I assume they did. I only wish that courtesy would have been extended to us in the full Senate Appropriations Committee, the committee which the Senator from the 21st District chairs, my colleagues in the Republican caucus were given a grand total of 14 minutes to review the spending amendments before being forced to vote on them.
Lansing Democrats seem to be following the former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pass-the-bill-to-find-out-what’s-in-it playbook now that they’re in control. This secretive, rushed and forced spending process has resulted in the most non-transparent budget process in years. A process that is on pace to take our state from a record $9 billion surplus to a running deficit.
It is abundantly clear that the budget process needs real sunshine, and not just vague promises that it can’t happen without legislation. It obviously cannot. That is why I introduced Senate Bill Nos. 319 and 320, which would require a minimum of 48 hours of public disclosure before any vote on a budget bill. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been clamoring for years for transparency. Well, I’m here to say, now’s the time. You have the power, or is that why it has not happened yet? My friends, it is never too late to do the right thing, it is never too late to take the first steps toward a more open, honest and transparent spending process.
Announcements of Printing and Enrollment
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 18 at 12:05 p.m.
The Secretary announced the enrollment printing and presentation to the Governor on Tuesday, May 9, for her approval the following bills:
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 83 at 10:57 a.m.
Enrolled
Senate Bill No. 147 at 10:59 a.m.
The Secretary announced that the following bills were printed and filed on Thursday, May 4, and are available on the Michigan Legislature website:
House Bill Nos. 4504 4505 4506 4507 4508 4509 4510 4511 4512 4513 4514 4515 4516 4517 4518 4519 4520 4521 4522 4523 4524 4525 4526 4527 4528
The Secretary announced that the following bill was printed and filed on Tuesday, May 9, and is available on the Michigan Legislature website:
Senate Bill No. 329
The Committee on Appropriations reported
Senate Bill No. 190, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of health and human services for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
With the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
The committee further recommends that the bill be given immediate effect.
Sarah Anthony
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators Anthony, McCann, McDonald Rivet, Cherry, Bayer, Santana, Shink, Irwin, Hertel, Camilleri, Klinefelt, McMorrow and Cavanagh
Nays: Senators Bumstead, Albert, Damoose, Huizenga, Outman and Theis
The bill and the substitute recommended by the committee were referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Appropriations reported
Senate Bill No. 194, entitled
A bill to make appropriations for the department of labor and economic opportunity for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024; and to provide for the expenditure of the appropriations.
With the recommendation that the substitute (S-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
The committee further recommends that the bill be given immediate effect.
Sarah Anthony
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators Anthony, McCann, McDonald Rivet, Cherry, Bayer, Santana, Shink, Irwin, Hertel, Camilleri, Klinefelt, McMorrow and Cavanagh
Nays: Senators Bumstead, Albert, Damoose, Huizenga, Outman and Theis
The bill and the substitute recommended by the committee were referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety reported
House Bill No. 4250, entitled
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan vehicle code,” by amending section 602b (MCL 257.602b), as amended by 2016 PA 332.
With the recommendation that the bill pass.
Stephanie Chang
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators Chang, Shink, Wojno, Irwin, Santana and Johnson
Nays: Senator Runestad
The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety reported
House Bill No. 4251, entitled
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan vehicle code,” by amending sections 319b, 320a, and 320d (MCL 257.319b, 257.320a, and 257.320d), section 319b as amended by 2015 PA 11, section 320a as amended by 2018 PA 349, and section 320d as amended by 2012 PA 498.
With the recommendation that the bill pass.
Stephanie Chang
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators Chang, Shink, Wojno, Irwin, Santana and Johnson
Nays: Senator Runestad
The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety reported
House Bill No. 4252, entitled
With the recommendation that the bill pass.
Stephanie Chang
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators Chang, Shink, Wojno, Irwin, Santana and Johnson
Nays: Senator Runestad
The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole.
COMMITTEE ATTENDANCE REPORT
The Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety submitted the following:
Meeting held on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 12:00 noon, Room 1200, Binsfeld Office Building
Present: Senators Chang (C), Shink, Wojno, Irwin, Santana, Runestad and Johnson
The Committee on Economic and Community Development reported
Senate Bill No. 164, entitled
A bill to amend 1961 PA 120, entitled “An act to authorize the development or redevelopment of principal shopping districts and business improvement districts; to permit the creation of certain boards; to provide for the operation of principal shopping districts and business improvement districts; to provide for the creation, operation, and dissolution of business improvement zones; and to authorize the collection of revenue and the bonding of certain local governmental units for the development or redevelopment projects,” by amending sections 10, 10b, 10c, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h, 10j, 10k, and 10l (MCL 125.990, 125.990b, 125.990c, 125.990e, 125.990f, 125.990g, 125.990h, 125.990j, 125.990k, and 125.990l), as amended by 2020 PA 91.
With the recommendation that the bill pass.
Mallory McMorrow
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators McMorrow, Cavanagh, Polehanki, Cherry, McDonald Rivet, Moss, Geiss, Victory and Webber
Nays: Senator Lindsey
The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee on Economic and Community Development reported
Senate Bill No. 289, entitled
A bill to amend 1996 PA 381, entitled “Brownfield redevelopment financing act,” by amending sections 2, 8a, 11, 13, 13b, 13c, 14a, 15, and 16 (MCL 125.2652, 125.2658a, 125.2661, 125.2663, 125.2663b, 125.2663c, 125.2664a, 125.2665, and 125.2666), section 2 as amended by 2022 PA 178, sections 8a and 11 as amended by 2017 PA 46, sections 13, 13b, 15, and 16 as amended by 2020 PA 259, and sections 13c and 14a as amended by 2021 PA 138.
With the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
The committee further recommends that the bill be given immediate effect.
Mallory McMorrow
Chairperson
To Report Out:
Yeas: Senators McMorrow, Cavanagh, Polehanki, Cherry, McDonald Rivet, Moss, Geiss, Victory and Webber
Nays: None
The bill and the substitute recommended by the committee were referred to the Committee of the Whole.
COMMITTEE ATTENDANCE REPORT
The Committee on Economic and Community Development submitted the following:
Meeting held on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 12:00 noon, Room 1100, Binsfeld Office Building
Present: Senators McMorrow (C), Cavanagh, Polehanki, Cherry, McDonald Rivet, Moss, Geiss, Victory, Lindsey and Webber
Appropriations –
Subcommittee –
Capital Outlay, Joint – Wednesday, May 10, 4:00 p.m., Room 352, 3rd Floor, House Appropriations Room, Capitol Building (517) 373-2768
Senator Singh moved that the Senate adjourn.
The motion prevailed, the time being 2:32 p.m.
The President pro tempore, Senator Moss, declared the Senate adjourned until Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.
DANIEL OBERLIN
Secretary of the Senate