Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.
New PPOs For Seniors And Disabled Passes Senate
Beginning at 60 years old, senior Michiganders can petition for restraining orders against relatives and caretakers who they fear are abusive or exploitative, under legislation the Senate approved.
The Senate passed SB 922 by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Eastpointe), creating a system for elderly Michiganders and vulnerable adults to seek a new type of personal protection order. Under the legislation, a vulnerable adult includes someone 18 or older who’s unable to live on their own because of a physical or developmental disability or a mental illness.
Courts can issue one of these PPOs if there’s reasonable cause to believe the person to be restrained may refuse to leave the premises of the petitioner’s home.
The restraining orders could also be issued if there’s concern that the person could assault or wound the petitioner, remove a pet from the petitioner’s possession, withhold their access to medication and phone calls or could financially exploit them.
If the person resides with the petitioner, and there’s a belief they might use “a pattern of derogatory” names or sexual comments to emotionally distress them, the court could additionally issue one of these PPOs.
“I think the most important thing is that it enables vulnerable adults . . . and gives them a pathway that they previously didn’t have to seek protection on their own when they believe that they need it,” Klinefelt said. “There are a lot of examples, from direct relatives to individuals who befriend somebody and target them.”
Klinefelt said there are obviously several scenarios of individuals entering a home, supposedly as caregivers, with the intention of taking advantage of someone.
When asked if she’s personally seen someone in her district or family in a shady situation where one of these PPOs could be useful, Klinefelt said “I have. I’m not gonna give any specifics, but I have seen it around my family, and I’m not going to go into any more detail than that.”
Sens. Jon Bumstead (R-North Muskegon), John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs), Mark Huizenga (R-Walker), Roger Victory (R-Hudsonville) and Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills) were the five Republicans to join Democrats in supporting SB 922.
According to studies relayed by the National Center on Elder Abuse, which is affiliated with the federal Administration for Community Living, nearly 24 additional cases of elder abuse remain undetected for every incident reported to authorities.
During a recent Senate session, Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) offered an unsuccessful amendment to limit the bill’s enhanced protections to vulnerable and disabled adults, removing the 60-year-old age standard.
Additionally, her rejected proposal would have removed the bill’s references to firearms. Based on a circuit court’s determination, the PPO could restrain someone from possessing or purchasing a firearm. The PPO could be issued based on the court’s concern about that person having a gun, as well.
“Absolutely, vulnerable individuals need heightened protections. I agree with that. But this is way too expansive,” Theis said.
She said as someone who’s looking to turn 60 in the not too distant future, and seeing that a significant number of senators have already reached the 60-year-old milestone, “by virtue of having made it to 60 should not offer (you) enhanced protections.”
“The government has no additional responsibility to babysit you because you hit the age of 60. It does have a responsibility to take care of folks who are vulnerable,” Theis said, arguing that the idea behind SB 922 is a good one with need of significant adjustment.
Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) found it troublesome that someone could be restrained due to concern of “using a pattern of derogatory or inappropriate names.”
“Is that like the wrong pronoun? I certainly think that could be. Using profanity, ridicule, harassment, cursing . . . it just seems like it’s very open-ended in terms of what can happen to you,” Runestad said, suggesting that if the bill had been modified further, it could have gotten unanimous support in the Senate.
Related bills were unanimously approved, consisting of:
– SB 923 , expanding the definition of a “racketeering” violation to cover someone using or attempting to use a vulnerable adult’s money or property through fraud, deceit, coercion or misrepresentation.
– SB 924 , specifying that someone can still be prosecuted after the death of a vulnerable adult they fraudulently took – or tried to take – money or property from while the victim was alive.
– SB 925 , establishing a “vulnerable adult multidisciplinary team” dedicated to educating the public and working to protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation, abuse or neglect.
The legislation was commended by Attorney General Dana Nessel, who described all bills as the “long-awaited reforms recommended by our Elder Abuse Task Force,” which was launched in Michigan during 2019.
81 Percent Of Voters Believe Abortion Rights Protected In MI Constitution
An 81 percent majority of Michigan voters said they believe a woman’s reproductive rights are protected by the Michigan Constitution after the passage of Proposal 3 in 2022, according to an Oct. 7-10 Marketing Resource Group (MRG) survey of 605 Michigan voters.
Meanwhile, 11 percent of voters don’t believe a woman’s right to choose is protected and 8.3 percent don’t know or refused to answer. Breaking the numbers down by political spectrum, 91 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of independents believe women’s right to an abortion is protected.
The poll question was followed up by one on which issue voters would like to see their candidate talk about while on the campaign trail. A 27.9 percent plurality said “the economy/jobs,” followed by 18.3 percent who said “immigration/border security”. Number 3 on the list was “high gas prices/inflation/higher prices.”
Abortion was fourth at 9.8 percent. Roads were at 2.5 percent. Taxes were at 1.7 percent. Education was at 6.6 percent and health care at 6 percent. Energy and the Environment is at 3 percent.
U.S. Senate Candidates Argue Economy, Drug Affordability Against One Another
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers worked hard to associate U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly)‘s voting record with the Biden-Harris administration, while Slotkin hammered Rogers for his record on drug prices in the second and final U.S. Senate debate tonight.
Compared to the previous debate, the two candidates appeared more hurried in their answers, which led to Slotkin speaking rapidly and Rogers bumping up against his time limits several times.
Rogers used the night’s first question on the economy to connect Slotkin with the high inflation rates of COVID. He went back to the well on that perceived connection again and again during the hour-long debate on WXYZ-7 in Detroit.
“We know that the trillions and trillions of dollars of spending by the Biden-Harris administration, 100 percent supported by my opponent, has driven up grocery prices, gas prices, energy prices, your housing prices, have all gone up,” Rogers said.
The theme of increased prices continued across questions of student loan forgiveness, climate change, prescription drug affordability and Social Security’s stability.
“If you are worried about your grocery prices, if you are worried about your job being here from heavy EV mandates my opponent supported, if you are worried about what the next generation of jobs and housing costs are for your family. Then I ask for your vote,” Rogers said in his closing statement.
Then, on healthcare and prescription drug affordability, Slotkin started out with her anecdote of her mother suffering through ovarian cancer without health insurance before passing away in 2011.
“The same week we’re finding out about her diagnosis is the same week in the same month that we’re filling out the paperwork for her to declare bankruptcy,” she said.
When describing legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, she equated the concept to warehouse stores like Costco where buying in bulk lowers the per unit price. Then, she drove the point home that Rogers hadn’t supported this legislation in the past.
“The idea that someone who voted against Medicare negotiating somehow, somehow, now is the champion of it – I got a bridge I want to sell you, if you think this guy’s going to protect you,” Slotkin said.
A point of agreement was reached when candidates were asked their stance on student loan forgiveness. This was another moment in which Rogers brought up the economy, stating that increasing prices need to be addressed so that borrowers can afford their loan payments.
The two agreed that how loans are forgiven is important. Rogers said he doesn’t support the American taxpayer funding the forgiveness without the borrower giving back in some form of service. He suggested military service or becoming a school counselor to work off the debt.
Slotkin stated that she supports a 2.5 percent cap on student loan interest rates and agreed that a program should exist in Michigan that would allow a borrower to serve in an understaffed or essential service for reduced or free tuition, as long as they sign a commitment to stay in Michigan and work in that career field.
Slotkin corrected the moderator when it was suggested that Slotkin is for student loan forgiveness.
Perhaps illuminating once again how much money is going into this race, X posts from each candidate were uploaded to the site around the exact issue the candidates were discussing at that moment for almost every question. That type of social media skill isn’t cheap, folks.
Grant ‘Serious About Cracking Down’ On Underage Vaping
High school bathrooms would smell less suspiciously fruity and minty under legislation Rep. Kristian C. Grant (D-Grand Rapids) hopes will prevent nicotine or tobacco products from getting in the hands of underage youth by creating stiffer penalties for selling to minors.
HB 6002 would create the Nicotine and Tobacco Regulation Fund, increase penalties for retailers who sell vapes or other nicotine and tobacco products to minors, and require the retailers to obtain a license to sell the products.
Repeat offenders would lose the license and face heightened penalties as they perpetrate the crime. The fund would be where Licensure fees would go, which would help pay for enforcement.
“The research about the impact on cognitive function and increases in anxiety and depression in minors from consuming nicotine and tobacco products, including flavored vaping, is downright frightening,” Grant said in a statement.
The bill is part of a five-bill package designed to curb underage nicotine use. Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) has HB 6022, which allows counties and cities to enact tougher restrictions on tobacco sales within their own community. The last two bills – Rep. Stephanie Young (D-Detroit)‘s HB 6004 and HB 6005 – repeal penalties that punish kids for tobacco purchases, use and possession.
“Michigan has been far behind in efforts to protect our youth from the dangers of tobacco for far too long and these bills will help reverse that trend,” said Dr. Brittany Tayler, internist and pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center, assistant professor at the Pediatric Public Health Initiative at Michigan State University and co-chair of Keep MI Kids Tobacco Free Alliance. “These tobacco prevention policies prioritize the health of our youth, and we look forward to working with the Legislature to make these policies law.”
Polling conducted earlier this year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids showed that Michigan voters strongly support (67%) comprehensive bills to reduce tobacco use among kids. By a 2-to-1 margin (65% to 29%), Michigan voters believe protecting another generation of children from addiction to flavored tobacco is more important than protecting adults’ rights to purchase flavored tobacco. Full poll details are available here.
The bills were referred to the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee. Nearly identical Senate bills – SB 647 , SB 648 , SB 649 , HB 650, HB 651, HB 652 and HB 653 are in the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee.
Dyslexia Bills, School Safety/Mental Health Grants Signed Into Law
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills this month that seek to improve children’s literacy rates through dyslexia screening and support while setting aside $125 million for public school safety/mental health grants.
Whitmer signed the bills into law at the International Magnet School in Lansing after lawmakers made both the dyslexia bills and the education supplemental their top priorities in their brief session this month.
“After decades of disinvestment in public education, we know that there are a lot of kids who didn’t get the support that they needed,” Whitmer said. “We have reversed that trend.”
She said that in addition to increasing dyslexia screening, the bill package increases resources for professional development for educators to create learning plans for those students through SB 567 and SB 568 .
Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) and Rep. John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) all spoke in support of the legislation before Whitmer signed the bills into law.
Caroline Kaganov, a parent of a Michigan student with dyslexia, also introduced Whitmer. She said when her child was first diagnosed with dyslexia, she said she had no idea how difficult it would be to get him the right intervention to ensure his success.
“I worried about all the kids falling through the cracks,” Kaganov said. “I worried about the kids whose moms couldn’t afford outside intervention. I worried about kids who pretend they know how to read, even though they were feeling less than their classmates. I worried about the kids who were acting out in class, because being the bad kid is easier than being the kid who can’t read.”
The bills require all K-3 students to be screened for characteristics of dyslexia three times a year. Students 4-12 would also be screened for the learning disability if they have difficulty learning to decode. Teacher preparation programs would be required to instruct prospective teachers on proper instruction methods for students struggling to read under the bills. They also require literacy coaches and educators to receive “science of reading” instruction.
They have been universally embraced by state Superintendent Mike Rice and education reform groups such as Teach Plus Michigan, but have not been received enthusiastically by school administrators due to their prescriptive nature.
“Jon, one of my third grade students, is unable to read simple, two-three letter words,” wrote Alyssa Henneman, Teach Plus Michigan Policy Fellow and K-3 special education teacher at Centreville Elementary School, in an op-ed. “When he sees the word ‘bat,’ he sounds out ‘/b/ /a/ /t/’ and says ‘dig.’ Jon’s experience is not unique here in Michigan. By instituting screeners and requiring teachers to have training in interventions for dyslexia, students like Jon will receive the support they deserve.”
HB 5503 provides $125 million for campus safety that can be used to best fit the school district’s needs, said Whitmer. Examples she gave of potential uses for the money included hiring campus resource officers and upgrading alarm systems.
She said the legislation also provides resources specifically for mental health, such as funds to hire more counselors, social workers and nurses and give staff more tools and training.
“I’m proud that more and more people are openly and honestly talking about it, but we must match this increased awareness with more action,” she said.
Republicans have taken shots at the bill because it’s less than half of the $302 million the Legislature was able to award in the prior budget for these grants when more federal COVID money was available.
“This isn’t a win for Michigan families — it’s an attempt at damage control,” said Rep. Jaime Greene (R-Richmond). “Lansing Democrats caused this crisis when they slashed funding that schools relied on to protect our students and support their mental health. Now, they’re throwing a partial fix at the problem and hoping everyone will forget the mistake they made.”
Home Healthcare Unionization Bills, Breastfeeding, Gas Safety Standards, Other Bills Signed
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed 17 bills, including two that would allow home healthcare to unionize, a bill to protect public breastfeeding, and a bill that sets natural gas safety violations.
SB 790 and SB 791 , sponsored by Sens. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) and Sylvia Sanatana (D-Detroit), would reverse a Snyder-era policy passed by Republicans that prevented the Service Employees Internation Union (SEIU) Healthcare Michigan from collecting union dues for home healthcare workers who assist Medicaid clients.
“In their latest self-dealing move, Democrats are giving union bosses the green light to cut the paychecks of the hard-working Michiganders caring for their loved ones’ essential daily needs,” Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) said.
Cavitt said that the policy was already tried under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm before being shot down in 2012 when the SEIU tried to pass it in a ballot initiative.
Both Hertel and Santana praised the signing of the bills and said they would let home healthcare workers get better wages.
“From automotive factories to the food service industry, we’ve seen that workers can negotiate for better wages and working conditions when they’re united together as one. Individual home care workers deserve nothing less than the ability to collectively bargain just as workers in all other sectors have,” Hertel said.
Opponents note that home healthcare wages are set by the Legislature. If lawmakers wanted to raise the wages, they could do it without having to negotiate with a union.
SB 351 , sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), would expand the Breastfeeding Anti-Discrimination Act to include pumping breast milk in a public setting. The testimony for the bill included a mother breastfeeding while testifying for the bill before committee.
“The freedom to express breast milk is critical to maintaining a healthy supply for babies,” Irwin said.
SB 366 , sponsored by Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo), would put the Michigan Public Service Commission in line with federal regulators and allow them to maintain their oversight power for pipelines in the state.
The new law would move the maximum violations of gas safety standards from $10,000 for a single infraction and $500,000 for a series of infractions to $200,000 for a violation and $2.5 million for a series of violations.
“I want to thank the MPSC for bringing it to our attention,” McCann said.
SB 701 , sponsored by Sen. Sam SINGH (D-East Lansing), would remove the definition of a critical access hospital and change the definition of a rural hospital. A rural hospital would now include counties with 195,000 people or fewer.
The change would remove the restrictions on what funding the hospitals could get and add Livingston, Muskegon, and Saginaw counties to the rural hospital funding pool.
“It is critical that we ensure our rural hospitals have the funding and resources they need to provide quality care to the communities that rely on them,” Singh said.
SB 817 , sponsored by Sen. John CHERRY (D-Flint), would allow the Michigan Resources Trust Fund to spend $27 million of revenue from oil and gas leases on state land to cover 53 projects in fiscal year 2024.
The projects include buying 18 pieces of land and 35 development projects.
“Through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, we’re not only preserving the beauty and health of our state but also enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities for all Michiganders,” Cherry said.
SB 150 , sponsored by Sen. Stephanie CHANG (D-Detroit), would let the Michigan Tax Tribunal small claims division conduct their hearings virtually (See “Senate Approves Telephone, Video Hearings For Tax Tribunal Small Claims,” 5/26/23).
Along with thanking Whitmer, Chang thanked Judge Steve Bieda, a former state Senator, for bringing up the idea.
SB 926 , SB 931 , SB 933 , and SB 934 , all sponsored by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), would increase the annual deposits to the compulsive gaming prevention fund from gaming revenue from $2 million to $6 million. The bill package was opposed by Republicans.
SB 744 , sponsored by Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), changes the language of when a teacher is considered to have completed their probationary period. They would need three effective year-end performance reviews or four full school years to be done with the probation period.
SB 716 , sponsored by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Eastpointe), would let historic vehicles be able to get personalized license plates, thus honoring the heritage of the Motor City.
“By allowing individuals to personalize their historic vehicle plates, folks across our state can celebrate this legacy in a meaningful and personal way, paying tribute to the innovation and craftsmanship that made Michigan the heart of the automotive industry,” Klinefelt said.
$1M For Reporting Unsafe Gun Storage Headed To OK2SAY School Safety Tip Line
A new $1 million funding pot for students to anonymously report “improperly stored” guns is supposed to go to Michigan’s current OK2SAY program, which is a statewide tip line for school safety, says Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), chair of the House School Aid Appropriations subcommittee.
“The vision of it is to help support additional resources for OK2SAY, which is the existing tip line that’s well established in the state. We have seen, fortunately or unfortunately . . . depending on how you look at it, an uptick in the use of OK2SAY,” said Weiss to MIRS today.
On Sept. 25, Weiss’s HB 5503 , a School Aid Fund spending bill, passed in the House 98-11 and 23-15 in the Senate.
The bill contained two pieces, $125 million for one-time mental health and school safety grants and $1 million for school districts and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to collaborate on a tip line and learning materials around improper firearm storage.
Due to the Republican argument that the legislation was a “half measure” for Democrats to try to make up for shortfalls in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 school aid budget, the bill failed to receive the 26-senator vote to receive immediate effect.
For example, the official School Aid Budget, covering the 2024-25 academic year, did not continue a $328 million appropriation from last year’s budget that went toward mental health and school safety grants, available to both public and private schools.
Instead, the grant program was brought down to $25 million as an ongoing commitment and $1.5 million as a one-time investment. The original mandate that 50 percent of a school district’s grant must go to mental health expenditures, not physical safety spending, was struck out.
As for HB 5503 in particular, the money will not be deployed until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns for the year.
OK2SAY gives students the ability to submit anonymous tips related to school safety through the web, text and phone call.
In 2023, the tip line received 9,686 tips during last year alone, according to OK2SAY’s annual report. When compared to 2022, the number of received tips has increased by 31 percent.
Based on 3,468 outcome reports finished last year, 2,361 tip submissions resulted in parents being notified, 1,286 led to school counseling and 821 resulted in law enforcement becoming involved.
Among all the 2023 tips, 185 were categorized under “guns,” while 1,769 were linked to bullying, 1,286 were under “drugs” and 1,462 involved suicide threats.
“We also know that with this new legislation that we’ve passed around safe storage, we anticipate that there’s going to be continued more use of it,” Weiss said. “If a child, for example, is at a friend’s house, and they notice or the friend showed an improperly stored firearm, was playing with it or something . . . the other student who’s there may want to report that.”
The same $1 million will additionally be used by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to prepare and distribute learning materials related to safe firearm storage and how to make reports.
Following the Democratic-led 2023 firearm reform, a parent or guardian faces a 93-day, $500 misdemeanor if their failure to properly store a gun leads to a minor showing it off recklessly or threateningly in front of others. If the minor discharges the firearm and seriously impairs themselves or someone else, the parent will face a $7,500, 10-year felony.
If the minor kills themselves or another person with that gun, the parent’s penalty becomes a 15-year, $10,000 felony.
“Every tip that’s reported, that is all administered through (the Michigan State Police), and they use their expertise and their discretion to determine what should be investigated further and how that investigation should proceed,” Weiss said.
However, the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO) made a tweet about HB 5503 ‘s language on Sept. 25. When MIRS talked to Steve DULAN, the first vice chair of MCRGO, he explained that people perceive the line-item as “the Snitch on Your Parents Hotline.”
Report Your Parents Hotline
This amendment was inserted into the conference committee report of the Michigan School Aid bill (HB 5503 CR-1) today. The conference committee report is expected to be voted on immediately in the House and Senate with no testimony allowed.
This… pic.twitter.com/qj7rF4nf3z
— Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (@MCRGO_Michigan) September 25, 2024
“It’s a small subset . . . but we also know this is the population that does things like call SWAT raids on kids who beat them on online video games, for example. That happens, and people have died in those situations,” Dulan said. “You’re creating another way to essentially send police to somebody’s house anonymously, and it has no positive benefit that anybody can see in terms of what are the police going to do about it?”
Dulan raised the question of why the state would infuse money into advising students to anonymously report the site of an unstored firearm, as opposed to making schools more comfortable to use learning materials like “Eddie Eagle.”
“Eddie Eagle” is a Pre-K through fourth grade lesson program for gun accident prevention, instructing children that if they see a firearm, they should “Stop! Don’t touch. Run Away. Tell a grown-up.”
“What is this million dollars for? What’s the purpose of it? To us, it’s just anti-gun propaganda. It’s just demonizing gun owners, trying to make gun owners more nervous, trying to sort of create more of a stigma around families that own guns,” Dulan said. “Which, you know, approximately half of all the households in Michigan.”
However, Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah ANTHONY (D-Lansing) sees HB 5503 giving school districts the opportunity to educate families and students about the safe storage laws on their own terms.
“What my goal would be is that the state creates some statewide best practices and materials that can be distributed and customized based on the needs of districts,” Anthony said to MIRS. “Our urban districts and rural districts sometimes approach education and communication tools very, very…differently, and so we like to give our districts the opportunity to do what works for them.”
Anthony confirmed she’s never heard many complaints about OK2SAY, adding that she herself is a gun owner who often carries and “I’m not just like an anti-gun nut.”
She said it is the Legislature’s responsibility to make sure Michiganders understand what the laws actually mean, and to offer education to prevent unintended consequences and ultimate tragedies.
Weiss said a letter to MDE is being prepared to clarify that the $1 million is intended for OK2SAY.