Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last Friday vetoed Senate Bill 557, which would have eliminated cost-sharing requirements for some municipalities related to state highway and interstate projects within their boundaries.
"The bill seeks to mitigate a provision that can, on occasion, create road funding challenges for some communities," said Snyder. "However, eliminating local government cost sharing altogether is a piecemeal approach to what needs to be a much broader discussion."
Snyder noted in his veto letter that signing SB 557 would have forced the Michigan Department of Transportation to reallocate funding from rural areas to urban areas, leaving rural communities with fewer "Main Street" projects. Instead of addressing road funding inequities in a fragmented fashion, the governor asks the Legislature to partner with the administration on wholesale revisions to Public Act 51, the state's main transportation funding act, before the end of this year.
Snyder also signed 12 bills last Friday:
HBs 5641 and 5642, sponsored by state Reps. Tom Barrett and Vanessa Guerra, respectively, allow victims of domestic violence to transfer their existing wireless phone number if they are leaving an account held by their abuser. Snyder outlined the need for these types of protections for victims of domestic violence in his May 2015 Special Message to the Legislature on Criminal Justice. The measures are now PAs 269 and 270.
SBs 504 and 505, sponsored by state Sen. Dave Robertson, make several updates to the Horse Racing Law, including creating a minimum live racing requirement for tracks to have simulcast wagering, increasing criminal penalties, and imposing a civil fine for any person other than a licensed track operator who accepts horse racing bets. The bills also create a Horse Racing Advisory Commission within the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The measures are now PAs 271 and 272.
HB 4440, sponsored by state Rep. Edward Canfield, shifts $25.8 million from the Transportation Economic Development Fund to be used by the Michigan Department of Transportation to match available federal aid highway funds, among other road projects. It is now PA 273.
HB 4933, sponsored by state Rep. Tom Barrett, ensures the Patient's Right to Independent Review Act conforms to federal requirements and makes nonprofit dental care corporations subject to it, while allowing Michigan to maintain control over its external appeals process. It is now PA 274.
HB 4934, sponsored by state Rep. Robert Kosowski, updates current insurance law to conform to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners model law, maintaining consistency with other states. It is now PA 275.
HB 4935, sponsored by state Rep. Tom Leonard, streamlines the regulatory treatment of health maintenance organizations and health insurers, and updates the insurance code to comply with new federal laws and eliminate redundancies. It is now PA 276.
HBs 5457 and 5458, sponsored by state Reps. Jon Bumstead and Earl Poleski, exclude amounts paid to the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility attributable to the Michigan Assigned Claims Facility from the calculation of credits claimed under the Michigan Business Tax and Corporate Income Tax. The measures are now PA 277 and 278.
HB 5562, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Poleski, requires the Department of Health and Human Services to continue paying any administrative rate increase for providers of foster care services until Sept. 30, 2017. It is now PA 279.
HB 5706, sponsored by state Rep. Larry Inman, redirects $9.4 million in drivers' license fee revenue from the Transportation Economic Development Fund to the state General Fund. It is now PA 280.
For additional information on this and other legislation, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.
Published: Tue, Jul 05, 2016
