LANSING, MI (WHTC) – State lawmakers in Lansing are apparently showing no signs of taking a summer break right now.
The state House Elections Committee will hear testimony on Wednesday on a no-reason absentee bill sponsored by suburban Grand Rapids lawmaker Lisa Posthumus Lyons. Backed by fellow Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, the legislation would lift the requirement of declaring a reason why a voter will need an absentee ballot. Currently, the only excuses allowed are being older than 60, having physical or employment obligations, being incarcerated, or having religious commitments.
Meanwhile, the state House Health Policy Committee is considering a three-bill package from the Senate that allows for-profit nursing homes in Michigan to hire their own doctors. Currently, such facilities could only contract out for those services, but supporters of the legislation say that easing that restriction would improve relationships between providers and residents, while opponents claim that business decisions could spill over into medical decisions. A decision to vote on the package is pending.
Finally, the state House Criminal Justice Committee took testimony on a proposed Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act that would provide monetary assistance to those wrongfully convicted. State Senator Steve Bieda, a suburban Detroit Democrat who has sponsored five such measures without success during his time in Lansing, says that the act would cost up to two million dollars in its first year and up to million annually after that, but that it would still be cheaper than litigation payouts.
