News & Events
MNA Legislative Update #5
05.27.2011
2011-2012 Budget Passes the Legislature – Heads to Governor’s Desk for Signing
On Thursday, May 26, the Michigan House and Senate passed the final 2011-2012 budget. The main budget bill, HB 4526, was adopted in the House on a 62-47 vote. Rep. Tom Hooker – R was the only Republican to join all 46 Democrats who voted against it. The education budget bill, HB 4325, was adopted in the House on a 59-50 vote. Republican Representatives Pat Somerville, Holly Hughes, Kurt Heise, and Paul Muxlow joined all 46 Democrats in voting against it. Despite Democratic efforts to slow down the process for the purpose of reconsideration, Republicans insisted on pushing the bills through. When the bills reached the Senate, HB 4325 passed 21-17 and HB 4526 passed 23-15. According to Senator Roger Kahn – R, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, this was the first time in 50 years that the legislature had completed the budget in May. The question is, Senator Kahn, will the suffering of Michigan’s working class be worth it? A 5 percent cut of $1.7 million will be taken by our public health departments and the promising Healthy Michigan initiative has been cut entirely from the final community health budget, just to name a few.
SJR-C, SB 7, and HB 4572
The House Oversight, Reform, and Ethics Committee met twice this week to hear testimony on SJR-C, SB 7, and HB 4572. To refresh your memory, SJR-C would allow the legislature to regulate the health insurance benefits of public employees and officers, SB 7 would mandate that employers and employees embark on an 80/20 split to cover the cost of health insurance benefits, and HB 4572 would put a hard cap on how much an employer can contribute to the cost of an employee’s health insurance benefits. The committee heard a vast array of testimony, both in favor of and against the legislation, but has not yet voted the two bills or the resolution out of committee yet. They are expected to hear more testimony next week.
House Health Policy
Continuing last week’s discussion, the House Health Policy Committee met on Thursday, May 26, to hear more testimony on the issue of childhood obesity, how it is on the rise in Michigan, and what the legislature can do to help decrease the problem moving forward.
Senate Health Policy
The Senate Health Policy Committee met this Tuesday, May 24, to take up SB 390, a bill to modify conditions for the Certificate of Need process in Michigan as it relates to vascular access centers. Essentially the bill states that if a Certificate of Need review standard is in effect on the effective date of SB 390, the standards outlined in the legislation will prevail. The legislation establishes certain standards that are required for the approval and delivery of services for all projects approved and Certificates of Need issued under this legislation that involve the initiation, expansion, replacement, relocation, or acquisition of surgical services provided in a vascular access center.
Staying informed is critical, as well as getting involved at the local level. Get yourself out there, call or write your legislators, let us help you set up in district meetings with them, and take some time to go to their monthly coffee hours. It is imperative that we all get involved and stay involved with this process.
