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News From the Capitol, Nov 15, 2024
November 15, 2024 by MASB Government Relations
  • House Education Considers Changes to MMC
  • Legislature Continues Hearings on Youth Tobacco and Vaping Bills
  • Senate Committee Approves Additional Reasons for Closed Sessions
  • Senate Education Hears Package of Bills on Education Management Organizations 
  • House Committee Approves Work Permits
  • MASB Legislative Priority Survey Coming Soon
  • Registration is Now Open for Views From the Capitol – Lame Duck Edition

 

House Education Considers Changes to MMC

On Tuesday, the House Education Committee began hearings on House Bill 5735 which would remove the course labels from the Michigan Merit Curriculum. It does not change the number of credits a student needs in any core subject but does remove the specific courses currently outlined in the law.

The sponsor, Rep. Carol Glanville (D-Walker), testified that the bill would benefit students by creating more flexibility. In response to questions about whether students would still learn the basics, she said this doesn’t remove knowledge requirements but just course names so people can start thinking in different ways on how to fulfill the credits in the best way for individual students. 

The Michigan Department of Education also testified in support of the bills. Further hearings are expected.

Legislature Continues Hearings on Youth Tobacco and Vaping Bills

On Tuesday, the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee heard testimony on House Bills 6002-6003,  HBs 6004-HB 6005 and HB 6022. This set of bills, similar to the Senate package, establishes a license requirement for nicotine and tobacco retailers. The license institutes fines and penalties for any tobacco or nicotine retailers who sell to minors. 

A retailer who violates the license requirements will be fined $500 for the first violation and up to $2,000 for three subsequent violations and would be ineligible to be granted a license for the five years immediately following the violation.

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs continued testimony on its package, SB 651 - 652 and SB 653 - 654. Changes were made to address the issue of small retailers who would have an additional fiscal burden with a three-year license fee. Small locally owned stores may not be able to afford the licensing fee for a three-year period but could handle a yearly fee. The committee attempted to vote the bills out but due to missing members, they were not reported. 

MASB strongly supports these bills and believes they are an important step to curbing youth tobacco and vape use. Further hearings are expected in both chambers.

We encourage you to pass a resolution in support of the Protect Mi Kids legislation and share it with your Senators and Representatives. Your voice is important to help keep momentum on this issue within the Legislature. 

Senate Committee Approves Additional Reasons for Closed Sessions

On Wednesday, the Senate Local Government Committee approved Senate Bill 1023 which would amend the reasons a public body can go into closed session. It would add to the specific reasons for closed session to include the discussion of potential litigation, demands made of the body, or consulting with an attorney about an opinion.

MASB supports the bill as it would have more productive conversations about current or potential judicial matters involving the body. Any decision-making would still happen in a public meeting. 

The bill is now before the full Senate for its consideration.

Senate Education Hears Package of Bills on Education Management Organizations 

On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee approved a package of bills, Senate Bills 943-944 and 946-947, aimed at creating more transparency for Education Management Organizations that run charter schools. The first two would require EMOs to provide each of its charter school’s board of directors with a financial statement that includes a description of all fringe benefits for each employee. It would also require an EMO to post the same information as traditional public schools regarding financial statements on the charter school’s website. 

The second two would set rules around leasing property for a charter school and require authorizers to attend the public board meetings of each school they authorize and provide specific reports to the boards twice a year.

The testimony during the committee was extensive. Those in favor of the changes include the Michigan Department of Education, Detroit Public School Community District and Michigan League for Public Policy. Opposition was voiced by the Mackinac Center, Michigan Association of Public School Academies and Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers. 

MASB supports the package to increase transparency in how public tax dollars are being spent in Michigan’s charter schools. The bills are now before the full Senate for consideration. 

House Committee Approves Work Permits

House Bill 5594 and Senate Bill 964 address the youth work permitting process. Currently, work permits are issued by the student's school district, usually the high school office. These bills would move the process to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and create an online application process. It also establishes a registry of businesses that employ minors. Currently, students and parents must contact their district to apply for a work permit. This can be challenging during the summer as administrative and staff availability is limited. Students would apply for a work permit online through LEO. 

Schools will still have the authority to revoke work permits due to absences or failing grades. Additionally, the bills would change language to meet the federal definitions of work hours for 14- and 15-year-olds instead of basing it on the number of hours a student is in school. 

The bills are now before the full House for consideration.

MASB Legislative Priority Survey Coming Soon

Your Government Relations team traveled the state over the last two months, holding legislative priority-setting meetings in all of MASB’s regions. We are now compiling all the ideas we collected into a survey, which will come out next week. Watch your email for the link. 

We encourage all our members to take a moment to fill out the survey and identify the issues that MASB should make its legislative priorities for the coming session. The highest vote-getters from the survey will go to the Government Relations Committee in December for consideration and to narrow down. After approval from the Committee, the Board of Directors will review and approve at the January meeting.

Please take a moment to participate in this process, the more voices, the stronger our agenda. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Registration is Now Open for Views From the Capitol – Lame Duck Edition

Register is now open for the upcoming Views From the Capitol – Lame Duck Edition. It will be held at noon on November 18, 2024. Grab a sandwich and join your MASB Government Relations Team as we discuss what we are watching for in lame duck, what rumors are still swirling, and take your questions.

Register Today!

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