Auto insurance coverage reform stalls, lawmakers debate laws to decrease gasoline costs: The week in Michigan politics

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LANSING, MI — Michiganders determined for aid on the gasoline pump should wait at the least one other week to study whether or not the governor and legislative leaders can agree on a proposal geared toward decreasing excessive gasoline costs.

Republicans and a handful of Democrats voted this week to approve a invoice that will briefly droop the state’s 27-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has steered she’ll veto it, citing the reliance of street and bridge tasks on the tax. She additionally introduced Friday she’d help a brief suspension on the state’s 6% gross sales tax on gasoline.

Associated: Gov. Whitmer helps briefly suspending Michigan’s 6% gross sales tax on gasoline

In the meantime, as automotive accident survivors and the businesses that present their care proceed to push for modifications to how a lot well being care suppliers are reimbursed when treating auto-related accidents, Home Speaker Jason Wentworth introduced this week he isn’t focused on passing additional reforms to the state’s auto insurance coverage legal guidelines.

Right here’s what you missed this week in Michigan politics:

Amway joins wave of Michigan firms withdrawing from Russia

Amway

Amway World Headquarters (Lauren Petracca | MLive.com)

Because the conflict in Ukraine intensifies, Amway has joined a rising record of Michigan firms to droop operations in Russia.

“The persevering with conflict, together with the worldwide authorized and operational setting, makes it unattainable to proceed enterprise as we’ve got been in Russia, and so we’re saying the instant suspension of product imports and shall be pausing different operations as properly,” the Ada-based company introduced Monday, March 14.

Public faculty advocates launch effort to cease DeVos-backed faculty scholarship proposal

For MI Kids For Our Schools campaign launch

President of the State Board of Schooling Casandra Ulbrich speaks throughout the digital launch of the For MI Children For Our Faculties poll committee launch.

A brand new poll committee For MI Children For Our Faculties declared throughout its digital launch Wednesday that every one choices are on the desk to cease the Betsy DeVos-backed Let MI Children Study poll initiative that public faculty advocates say would create an unconstitutional voucher system in Michigan.

“I might say all choices are on the desk and I might be stunned if entities resembling ours that thought this was unconstitutional and didn’t problem it primarily based on these constitutional questions,” stated Casandra Ulbrich, the president of the State Board of Schooling.

Advocates preserve pushing for modifications to Michigan’s auto no-fault legislation. It’s not occurring this time period.

Catastrophically injured

Advocates for catastrophically injured automotive crash survivors and their well being care suppliers collect on the Michigan Capitol to help modifications to the state’s auto no-fault insurance coverage legislation signed in 2019. (Samuel Robinson | MLive)

Automotive accident survivors and the businesses that present their care have been clamoring for modifications to how a lot well being care suppliers are reimbursed when treating auto-related accidents since that piece of Michigan’s new no-fault insurance coverage coverage went into impact.

The state’s Home Speaker, a key participant in shepherding the auto insurance coverage overhaul by way of the Legislature in 2019, isn’t .

Final yr, the implementation of a charge schedule minimize reimbursement from insurance coverage firms for well being care providers supplied to auto accident survivors not lined underneath Medicare by 45%. Many care suppliers say the change might put them out of enterprise, and their sufferers say they’re dropping entry to high-quality care.

Rep. Jewell Jones received’t face extra jail, sentenced to two-year probation

Jones hearing

State Rep. Jewell Jones (left) sits subsequent to his lawyer Byron Nolen throughout a Dec. 10 listening to at a Livingston County courtroom.

Rep. Jewell Jones’ authorized saga that lasted for nearly a whole yr is lastly over.

State Rep. Jewell Jones, D-Inkster, was sentenced to 2 years probation and 100 hours of group service Thursday after pleading responsible to drunken driving, weapons and different fees stemming from his April 2021 arrest in Livingston County.

Livingston County Decide Michael Hatty advised Jones he had served sufficient jail time after being held in a Livingston County jail for 2 months fall, the lawmaker’s lawyer, Bryon Nolen, stated Thursday. Jones was sentenced to serve two-years of probation underneath the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act and is required to carry out 100 hours of group service. Jones was sentenced to 61 days in jail, however was credited with 61 days already served.

Some registered voters would wish to substantiate identities underneath Senate-passed payments

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate chamber is pictured following session on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022.

Republican senators handed laws Thursday that will require Michigan voters who haven’t voted since 2000 or are listed with a placeholder start date to ship figuring out data to their native clerks to verify their registration isn’t canceled.

Laws aiming to tighten election safety handed each chambers principally alongside celebration strains, however with help from a handful of Democrats. It didn’t get instant impact upon its passage although, which means the legal guidelines wouldn’t go into impact till at the least subsequent yr even when they had been signed.

Michigan Home Democrats suggest banning weapons at polling locations

Voters will vote on three separate Lorain County levies on the May 3 primary election ballot.

File picture of voters at a polling location.

Legislative Democrats unveiled a slew of recent election coverage proposals Wednesday, together with retaining weapons out of polling locations and banning petition signature gatherers from deliberately mendacity to folks whereas soliciting signatures.

It’s the most recent pitch by lawmakers on both aspect of the aisle to amend Michigan election legislation, a difficulty that’s confirmed particularly divisive within the aftermath of the 2020 election.

The proposed ban on weapons initially stemmed from a directive by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who forward of the 2020 election advised all Michigan clerks the open carry of firearms inside 100 ft of polling locations wouldn’t be allowed. That transfer prompted a flurry of authorized challenges, leading to a Court docket of Appeals choice that blocked the transfer on grounds Benson ought to have gone by way of the state’s rulemaking course of earlier than implementing such a change.

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Movement asks Michigan courtroom to pause collections on pandemic unemployment payments

‘You’ll die’: Ohio girl accused of sending racist dying threats to Michigan Democrats

Decide dismisses declare that Mark Zuckerberg-linked Michigan election donations had been unlawful

Michigan has the Ninth-most residents with Ukrainian ancestry within the U.S.



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