michigan house of representative

Welfare drug testing bill moves forward in state House

Jake Neher — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:50:23 +0000

Lawmakers in Lansing have moved forward a bill to start drug testing welfare recipients. A state House panel today sent the legislation to the full chamber.

Under the bill, the state would have to have reasonable suspicion before requiring a test. Cash assistance benefits could be terminated for people who test positive.

Republican Representative Jeff Farrington introduced the legislation. He says the government should not pay for people’s drug habits.

Rep. Theresa Abed voices concerns of her constituents

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:09:41 +0000

The Michigan House of Representatives welcomed 28 new members after the recent November elections, 19 of which are Democrats. Representative Theresa Abed of Michigan's 71st District, which includes Grand Ledge, is one such Democratic Representative.

Based on her lengthy experience working in Michigan schools, Rep. Abed says that her jump into the political arena was a direct result of her concerns regarding how current legislation is impacting people in her community.

"My whole life I've been an advocate...I've worked in our schools for almost 30 years, and I've always been someone who's involved in the community...Through this process, I've seen that more and more of what's impacting people right now is the legislation that's being enacted," she told Michigan Radio's Jenn White.

Michigan House Republicans release their 2013-2014 plan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:44:48 +0000

Earlier today, Michigan House Republicans announced their plan for the 2013-2014 legislative session.

They call their plan, "Brighter Days Ahead: 2013-14 House Republican Action Plan for Hard-Working Michigan Taxpayers.

Speaker of the House John Bolger (R-Marshall) said this in their press release this morning:

"We are once again presenting the people we serve with a detailed, common-sense approach to resolving challenges that Michigan's hard-working men and women are facing,"

House Republicans say they plan on tackling the following issues:

Gov. Snyder signed 19 bills today

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:19:56 +0000

Gov. Snyder signed several bills into law today that he says will strengthen communities and protect taxpayers.

Stateside: Should term limits be overturned?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:34:05 +0000

In a recent Detroit Free Press article, Paul Egan analyzed the effect term limits have on lawmakers’ decisions.

According to Egan, lawmakers often focus more on their next career move than the pressing decisions of the moment.

Term limits were created 20 years ago in Michigan, and now they are under scrutiny.

Stateside’s Cyndy Canty spoke with Paul Egan and Jack Lessenberry about the state’s need to overturn the term limits.

Michigan State Rep. Bob Genetski found guilty on drunken driving charge

Mark Brush — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:40:02 +0000

A jury has found Rep. Bob Genetski (R-Saugatuck) guilty for driving drunk earlier this year in East Lansing.

Genetski's defense was that blood alcohol tests were conducted improperly. The jury sided with the prosecution.

More on today's verdict from the Holland Sentinel:

Rep. Bob Genetski's face betrayed no emotion as the jury foreman said "guilty," the one-word verdict in his drunken driving trial.
Genetski was whisked away immediately to fulfill requirements of probation until his sentence is handed down by East Lansing District Judge David Jordon. The judge ordered Genetski to set up a substance abuse screening schedule.
The lawmaker will not be talking to the media, according to his attorney, Mike Nichols.

Genetski is campaigning for a third term in Michigan's House of Representatives.

The Sentinel reports Genetski faces "having up to 6 points added to his driving record;" a $1,000 annual driver responsibility fee for two years; and being ordered to community service.

Fight over vote counting in the House reaches Michigan Court of Appeals

Rick Pluta — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:39:34 +0000

The fight over how the Republican majority in the Michigan House of Representatives counts votes has gone to the state Court of Appeals.

Democrats sued Republicans to require recorded votes on a procedural motion that determines when a new law will go into effect.

The motion to make a law effective immediately requires a two-thirds super-majority that Republicans don’t have in the House.

Commentary: Simple and Wrong

Jack Lessenberry — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:51:33 +0000

Every so often, I run into someone with a simple solution that they believe would fix all our problems. Sometimes it is a flat tax. Sometimes it is single-payer health insurance.

But whenever someone stops me at the grocery store to explain their simple plan for saving mankind, or at least Michigan, all I can think about is H.L. Mencken’s famous maxim that, “for every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong.”

Former Mich. lawmaker Van Regenmorter dies at 73

The Associated Press — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:48:41 +0000

Former West Michigan lawmaker William Van Regenmorter, whose noteworthy accomplishments included his authorship of the Crime Victim's Rights Act of 1985, has died. He was 73.

Family friend Joseph Crawford says Van Regenmorter, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2003, died Monday at his home in Ottawa County's Georgetown Township.

The Republican served in the House from 1983-90 before being elected to the Senate, where he served from 1991-2002. He became a representative again from 2003-06.

Van Regenmorter served as chairman of the House and Senate judiciary committees for more than 16 years. Under the Crime Victim's Rights Act, victims are required to be notified and consulted during the various steps of the legal process, such as before a prosecutor offers a plea bargain to a defendant.

More cyber schools for Michigan?

Jennifer White and Mercedes Mejia — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:33:56 +0000

The State House recently passed legislation that would allow an increase in the number of Michigan cyber schools.

Cyber schools provide instruction via the internet. There are two currently operating in Michigan.

Michigan Radio's Jennifer White spoke with Republican State Representative Dale Zorn. He voted in favor of the legislation after promising to vote against it.

Public employee health benefits bills heading to conference

Laura Weber — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:12:28 +0000

A joint legislative panel is set to negotiate how much some public employees should be required to pay into their health insurance benefits.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville says the payment structure for health benefits for public employees should have been overhauled several years ago.

But he says lawmakers should still work with public employee unions to find the savings.

“We want to try and be as flexible as we can and allow as much local input as we can, but the time to act is way past right now, this should have been dealt with 10 years ago or more.”

Ray Holman is with UAW Local 6,000. Holman represents state employees who won’t be affected by the proposed changes to public employee benefits.

He says that public employees have already made many concessions over the past few years.

“That’s been done at the bargaining table, and that’s been a proven place to find those savings.”

But, Holman says, if collective bargaining is compromised in the measure before the House and Senate conference committee, all public employees will be on alert and at risk of paying more for their health benefits.

Former State Representative Kate Ebli dies

Mark Brush — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:58:08 +0000

Former State Representative Kate Ebli died yesterday after a recurrence with breast cancer.

The Democrat served 56th District of Michigan (Monroe County) for two terms. She lost her bid for a third term in the November elections to Republican Dale Zorn.

The Monroe Democratic Party released a statement:

"We are extremely saddened with the news that State Representative Kate Ebli has lost her courageously fought battle with cancer. It is a sad day for Kate's family and also for everyone that knew her."