Michigan Legislative Roll Call: Senate votes to repeal COVID business liability waiver

House Bill 6108, Raise age to buy tobacco: Passed 29 to 9 in the Senate To raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy tobacco in Michigan. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 6109, Raise age to enter “cigar bar”: Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate To raise the minimum age to enter a “cigar bar” or "tobacco specialty products" store from 18 to 21. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 5244, Repeal COVID epidemic workplace illness law: Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate To repeal a 2020 law that authorized employee lawsuits against an employer who takes an “adverse employment action” or “retaliates” against an employee who is absent from work during the declared coronavirus epidemic emergency; and that prohibited employees who tested positive for COVID and had symptoms from reporting for work. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 6128, Repeal COVID epidemic business liability waiver: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate To repeal a 2020 COVID epidemic amendment to the state's occupational health and safety law that gave businesses liability exemptions for exposure of an individual to COVID-19 on the premises, unless this was caused by a reckless disregard of a substantial and unnecessary risk that an individual would be exposed, and as long as it can establish that operations were in substantial compliance with the law. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 Senate Bill 888, Create government cryptocurrency commission: Passed 28 to 10 in the Senate To create a new state government “blockchain and cryptocurrency commission” comprised of specified officials and political appointees including industry representatives, for the purpose of "fostering an expansion of the industry in this state." The commission would also be tasked with examining “the feasibility, validity, risks, and admissibility, including privacy risks and benefits of using blockchain technology in state and local government and Michigan-based businesses;” and identifying “best practices for enabling blockchain technology and cryptocurrency transactions." Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 Senate Bill 563, Require public beach safety website warnings: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate To require municipalities with a public beach to post on a website specified information on beach safety and anti-drowning techniques, and require state natural resource regulators to create and promulgate the safety tips. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 5487, Mandate certain merchant disclosures on eBay type sites: Passed 89 to 15 in the House To prescribe detailed disclosures that “high-volume third-party sellers” (more than 200 'consumer product' sales in a year) would have to make to an online marketplace (like eBay), including the seller's full name, location and contact information, whether the seller makes, imports or resells consumer products, and more. The site would then have to post a phone number on the seller's offerings for reporting "suspicious marketplace activity." The bill is supported by a broad coalition of large retail chains with outlets in this state. Y Jason Wentworth (R) Clare, Rep. Dist. 97 Y Scott VanSingel (R) Grant, Rep. Dist. 100 N Michele Hoitenga (R) Manton, Rep. Dist. 102 Senate Bill 1058, Authorize government granting approval to sell certain products: Passed 100 to 4 in the House To give state agriculture department regulators the authority to issue “certificates of free sale” if requested by a plant grower or nursery. This would verify their products are “legally sold or distributed in this state and on the open market with the approval of the department.” The bill does not mandate producers get the certificate or ban sales by ones who have not. Y Jason Wentworth (R) Clare, Rep. Dist. 97 Y Scott VanSingel (R) Grant, Rep. Dist. 100 Y Michele Hoitenga (R) Manton, Rep. Dist. 102 House Resolution 290, Urge President Joe Biden to enforce border and immigration laws: Passed 65 to 39 in the House To resolve that the Michigan House urges President Joe Biden "to reject radical open border policies and to enforce our nation's immigration laws." Y Jason Wentworth (R) Clare, Rep. Dist. 97 Y Scott VanSingel (R) Grant, Rep. Dist. 100 Y Michele Hoitenga (R) Manton, Rep. Dist. 102 SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, nonpartisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Permission to reprint this legislative summary in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that www.MichiganVotes.org is properly cited. Y = Yes, N = No, X = Not Voting

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