State Government News Roundup (March 31)
Lansing news this week includes adoption rights for LGBTQ parents, new laws taking effect on the minimum wage, sick leave, and cyber-bullying, more budget for safe drinking water, efforts to stop reallocation of the school aid fund, moves to subject state officials to the Freedom of Information Act and required financial disclosures, and impairment standards for blood alcohol and blood THC (cannabis) levels. You’ll find nine stories at the link, and more in our State Environment News Roundup.
State-funded adoption agencies in Michigan barred from refusing LGBTQ parents
Faith-based adoption agencies in Michigan that benefit from taxpayer funding will no longer be allowed to legally turn away same-sex couples or LGBTQ individuals based on religious objection, under the terms of a settlement in a lawsuit alleging the practice constituted discrimination. Attorney General Dana Nessel reached the settlement with the ACLU on Friday, recognizing that a 2015 law that permitted state-contracted child welfare agencies to refuse to provide foster care or adoption services that conflicted with their religious beliefs violates federal anti-discrimination laws. "Discrimination in the provision of foster care case management and adoption services is illegal, no matter the rationale," Nessel said in a statement.
- National Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/22/706049119/state-funded-adoption-agencies-in-michigan-barred-from-refusing-lgbtq-parents
Michigan minimum wage, sick leave laws start under legal cloud
Michigan’s minimum wage will rose to $9.45 per hour on March 29, the same day new state requirements for employers to offer paid sick leave also take effect. Yet as the new, if scaled back, laws that raise the minimum wage and require paid sick time take effect this week, it’s still unclear if they’re constitutional. Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Supreme Court are mulling whether to weigh in with opinions addressing two unresolved questions — whether the laws themselves are legal, and whether the Legislature can, under the state constitution, adopt citizen-initiated legislation and later change it during the same legislative term, as the Republican-majority Legislature did with both laws last year.
Whitmer budget would direct $180M more toward drinking water
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing a $180 million plan to boost the quality of tap water across Michigan, from replacing lead pipes and school drinking fountains to combating chemicals that are contaminating public supplies and private wells. The spending is included in a supplemental request for the current budget. The Democrat unveiled it this month in conjunction with the release of a $60 billion 2019-20 budget proposal .
Whitmer plan to stop raids on school aid fund faces headwinds
Michigan has been steering money in the School Aid Fund K-12 schools into higher education for almost a decade – and Governor Gretchen Whitmer says it’s time to stop. But she's facing some pushback from Republican lawmakers. Whitmer and Democrats in the Legislature call the practice a shell game that needs to stop. “People are tired of accounting gimmicks,” said state Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo). “And in this case there is nothing illegal about what’s occurring, but it’s not … the intent of the money.” A report from the Michigan League for Public Policy released in August of 2018 found that more than $4 billion of School Aid Fund money has gone to universities and community colleges since 2010.
- Michigan Public Radio: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/whitmer-plan-stop-raids-school-aid-fund-faces-headwinds
Michigan House votes to make governor, legislature subject to FOIA — but with exemptions
Even though the House of Representatives unanimously approved a package of bills Tuesday that will partially expose the governor’s office and the Legislature to the Freedom of Information Act, the legislation is unlikely to get the same enthusiasm in the state Senate. “We’re not going to do nothing. We’re going to do something,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake. “But it won’t be exactly like what the House is sending over.” Michigan is one of only two states in the nation — Louisiana is the other one — that currently exempt the Legislature, the governor and lieutenant governor’s office from having to disclose records and communications under the Freedom of Information Act. That lack of transparency has led to the state getting a failing grade of F from the Washington D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity.
- Detroit Free Press: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/19/michigan-foia-bills-exemptions/3213646002/
Benson discloses finances, urges lawmakers to require it
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson voluntarily disclosed her personal finances Thursday while calling on state lawmakers to make such reporting mandatory. The Democrat posted a financial disclosure form on her department’s website. It is modeled after the statement used by Congress and lists her income, assets and other information. Michigan is one of just two states where legislators pass and reject laws without the public knowing about their personal finances. Other state elected officials do not have to file disclosures either, though governors typically voluntarily release portions of their tax returns while gubernatorial candidates in the last election voluntarily issued versions of financial disclosure statements.
Commission recommends against setting a blood level limit for pot
Michigan should not establish a legal limit for the amount of THC that drivers are allowed to have in their blood, according to a recent report from the Impaired Driving Safety Commission. THC is the chemical in marijuana that can make people feel high and otherwise affect behavior and mood. The commission was established by Public Act 350 of 2016 for the purpose of researching and recommending a scientifically supported threshold of THC bodily content to provide evidence for per se impaired driving. But the commission found that current science shows a poor correlation between blood levels for THC and whether a driver is impaired, and it recommended "against the establishment of a threshold of Delta 9-THC bodily content for determining driving impairment."
- Michigan Public Radio: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/commission-recommends-against-setting-blood-level-limit-pot
Michigan could lower drunk driving level to 0.05 under proposed bill
Michigan would be one of two states in the country with a drunk driving threshold of less than .08 blood alcohol concentration under legislation introduced in the state House Thursday. House Bills 4420 and 4421, introduced by state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, would lower Michigan’s blood alcohol concentration threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 to 0.05. While many other countries have acceptable blood alcohol levels of .05 or lower for drinking and driving, Utah is currently the only U.S. state with a 0.05 limit. Another bill in Hammoud’s package would require first-time convicted drunk drivers to use an ignition interlock device on their vehicle, which requires drivers to take a breathalyzer test before the car can start.
New law targeting cyberbullying takes effect in Michigan
Hefty fines and jail time are the consequences for people convicted of cyberbullying in Michigan. A new law aimed at preventing online harassment took effect March 27, 2019. Anything from spreading rumors or posting embarrassing pictures on social media will not be tolerated statewide. The new law makes it illegal to cyberbully another person on public media forums. The law defines public media forums as “the internet or any other medium intended to be used to convey information” to other people. Cyberbullying involves posting statements intended to make someone fear their safety and express the bully’s intent to commit violence against a person. It is also against the law to post a threat about someone and show a pattern of harassing or intimidating behavior.
