Post by Logan on Mar 13, 2016 0:03:40 GMT -6
LANSING — Most weeks that the Legislature is in session, they're dealing with issues and introducing bills that have sometimes serious consequences on the people they represent.
Other times, not so much.
In the first category: Bills were introduced this week that would have serious implications for public sector employees and poor people. One bill would only allow base salaries to be used to calculate pension benefits for public sector employees. That means that overtime, bonuses and accumulated sick and vacation time could not be used in those calculations, which could lead to significant reductions in retirement benefits for employees who get a high amount of overtime, like police and firefighters.
Another bill would require that photos be included on Bridge cards issued to low-income Michiganders who use the cash assistance cards for things like rent, groceries and utility bills. Under the proposed legislation, the bridge card recipients also could only use the assistance at state-approved grocery stores.
On the less serious side, legislators proposed: naming the black swallowtail as the state butterfly, making the phrase "Great Lakes State" the official state moniker that has to be used in tourism promotions and license plates, allowing selfies with ballots to be taken at polling places, and allowing the Secretary of State to only issue 10 fund-raising license plates at a time.
Read more: www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/12/good-bad-silly-michigan-legislature/81642344/
Other times, not so much.
In the first category: Bills were introduced this week that would have serious implications for public sector employees and poor people. One bill would only allow base salaries to be used to calculate pension benefits for public sector employees. That means that overtime, bonuses and accumulated sick and vacation time could not be used in those calculations, which could lead to significant reductions in retirement benefits for employees who get a high amount of overtime, like police and firefighters.
Another bill would require that photos be included on Bridge cards issued to low-income Michiganders who use the cash assistance cards for things like rent, groceries and utility bills. Under the proposed legislation, the bridge card recipients also could only use the assistance at state-approved grocery stores.
On the less serious side, legislators proposed: naming the black swallowtail as the state butterfly, making the phrase "Great Lakes State" the official state moniker that has to be used in tourism promotions and license plates, allowing selfies with ballots to be taken at polling places, and allowing the Secretary of State to only issue 10 fund-raising license plates at a time.
Read more: www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/12/good-bad-silly-michigan-legislature/81642344/