LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — First the State House failed to act on recreational Marijuana by Tuesday’s deadline. There have been a flurry of votes on Budget Bills.
Then Lawmakers started passing bills that will appease the Republican base, including elimination of the Prevailing Wage, in this election year, with summer break set to begin next week.
Auto Insurance Reform, or at least a downsized version of it, has cleared the Michigan Senate.
The bills would allow seniors who are 65+ to opt for reduced coverage and back out of the catastrophic claims program, because Medicare picks up their expenses after the cap is reached.
It sets up a team to investigate fraud and would cap benefits for those who have never paid in. Portage State Senator Margaret O’Brien says they hope its something they can get through the House.
She says she has voted for no-fault reform in every one of her terms in office and it’s never gotten all the way through.
What it doesn’t do is to attempt to limit expenses for medical care, which has been the reason attempts at no-fault reform have failed in the past.
It now goes to the State House for their consideration.
Legislation that will require able-bodied Medicaid recipients work or lose coverage, has been approved in Lansing, but not before opponents got a chance to take their swings.
Starting in 2020, after most current lawmakers have term limited out, participants in the Governor’s Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion program will have to find and keep jobs that employ them at least 80 hours a month.
There are exclusions for the disabled, the elderly and women with a lot of children, but its still expected to applicy to 540,000 recipients.
Kalamazoo Democrat Jon Hoadley says people who work these low wage jobs in food service often get their hours cut. If it forces off health insurance, it’s just wrong.
State Senator Margaret O’Brien was one of only two Republican Senators to vote no. She says it will cost more to administer than it will save, and she is afraid some people may slip through the cracks and lose their healthcare.
The measure now goes to Governor Snyder who is expected to sign it.
The Michigan Court of Appeals has cleared the way for the anti-gerrymandering petition drive to be approved by the State Board of Canvassers and appear on the November Ballot.
The Judges rejected the argument of an opposition group backed by the State Chamber of Commerce that the ballot initiative would change too many parts of the State Constitution and also rejected the groups other arguments.
Katie Fahey with Voters Not Politicians is now calling on the Board of Canvassers to immediately certify their petitions and approve them for the ballot, where polls suggest it has a lot of support. The opposition group may appeal to the Supreme Court.
