LANSING, MI (WHTC) – State lawmakers are home in their districts for the weekend, but plenty of work is in their collective in-boxes when they reconvene next Tuesday.
MIRS News cites “a variety of Republican and non-Republican” sources in reporting that there are as many as 22 no votes in the state House to a two-bill no-fault vehicle insurance reform package that had cleared the Senate last week. The measure was sent to the floor for probable debate next week by the House Insurance Committee after a hearing that spanned parts of three days. Democrats are against the legislation that would amend the unlimited catastrophic coverage, among other things.
Meanwhile, the state Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing next Tuesday on a proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act that supporters say would “codify” federal law, but opponents claim could open the door for further discrimination against homosexuals. The hearing is on the same day the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, and the committee has been asked by Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof of West Olive not to vote on the RFRA next week.
Finally, a package of bills requiring schools in Michigan to submit budgetary assumptions by July 7th to the state Center for Education Performance and Information has cleared the House. Supporters say that this would establish a system for flagging and dealing with districts that may be headed towards financial rough waters. However, an amendment was attached that would exempt districts that are well-off financially from this requirement, which would include about two-thirds of districts statewide.
