New identity theft package rolled out
A bipartisan House package on identity theft was introduced amid much fanfare. The 12-bill package was announced at a news conference and is scheduled for testimony in the House Judiciary and the Banking and Financial Operations committees next week.
The bills appear to focus on harsher penalties for identity thieves, as well as prevention and recovery for victims. The package also creates an identity theft commission.
Of special note to retailers is the fact the package establishes a two-year timeline for information retention and requires companies to notify consumers if their personal information is sold or bought.
MRA will be reviewing the bills and seeking member input to gauge the impact on retailers. The text of the bills is available online by visiting www.michiganlegislature.org and searching on the bills numbers: HB 6096-6107. An official summary should be available online in a few days as well. In addition, the House Judiciary Committee’s site provides links to 10 of the 12 bills.
Water packages stream from respective chambers
The separate packages of bills regulating water withdrawals and ratifying the Great Lakes Compact passed from both the House and Senate and would make Michigan the fifth of eight Great Lake states to approve it.
After working for months to hammer out differences between the remainder of the packages related to water withdrawals and the need for permits, Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) and Rep. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) were able to reach consensus on most items, but remain at odds on several important pieces. In the end, they decided to pass their own packages and let the issues be resolved in conference committee.
The major points still in contention include how much water a user can use before needing to obtain a permit from the state, and what factor to use in determining when a withdrawal impacts a cold-water stream.
Business groups generally favor the Senate-passed version, as it grandfathers in many existing users, allows for seasonally adjusted averages and uses a more realistic fish mortality rate in determining an adverse impact to a trout stream.
Smaller state deficit for FY '09
In preparation for the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, the House Fiscal Agency predicted a $434 million deficit for Fiscal Year 2009. The last estimating conference was in January. The news is bittersweet, as the deficit is much lower than last year, but still higher than some expected.
Not surprisingly, the state’s 2nd Quarter revenue from business taxes is up 35.3 percent during the February-April period compared to last year.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
SB 1313, sponsored by Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), to create commercial real estate broker’s lien.
HB 6115, sponsored by Rep. Terry Brown (D-Pigeon), to restrict use of phosphorus fertilizer.
HB 6116, sponsored by Rep. Mary Valentine (D-Muskegon), to regulate display for sale of certain phosphorus fertilizer.
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