Political News - Michigan - onPolitix

Wolf hunt referendum to go on ballot

2013-05-23T00:43:44Z

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — A referendum on wolf hunting will be placed on the November 2014 ballot, but the outcome of the vote could be meaningless.

The Board of State Canvassers on Wednesday certified the signatures collected by Keep Michigan Wolves Protected to place the referendum on the ballot.

The group had gathered more than 250,000 signatures seeking a vote on a measure lawmakers approved in December that designated the wolf as a game species.

But a separate measure signed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder earlier this month lets the Natural Resources Commission decide which types of animals can be hunted. That authority previously rested entirely with the Legislature.

The commission has already approved a limited wolf hunting and trapping season in three areas in the Upper Peninsula in November and December.

Sen.: No Medicaid expansion in budget

2013-05-22T00:50:54Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The leading Republican in the Michigan Senate says lawmakers and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder are nearing agreements on the state budget targets that will likely not include a proposed expansion of government health insurance for low-income adults.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville told reporters on Tuesday that the spending targets for the budget that takes effect Oct. 1 could be finalized soon.

The Monroe Republican says they are rejecting federal dollars for the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Health Care Act "at this time."

Lawmakers in the Republican-led House and Senate passed budgets rejecting Snyder's proposal to expand Medicaid to nearly 400,000 Michiganians.

House Republicans recently introduced a plan that limits able-bodied adults to four years of coverage, which is now being considered in committee.

Tougher sentences under elder abuse law

2013-05-21T19:28:02Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Judges in Michigan can impose tougher sentences on criminals who embezzle money from senior citizens and the mentally ill under a new state law.

Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed the Vulnerable Adult Embezzlement Statute which allows consecutive sentences for multiple offense convictions.

The measure brings the statute up to date with the state's general embezzlement statutes.

Snyder also has signed a bill that leaves revocation of fines for driving without properly securing a child in a safety seat to a judge's discretion.

Another bill signed into law by Snyder bans drivers from using hand-held cellphones while operating commercial vehicles or school buses. The same law allows a former horse-drawn carriage that has been modified and fitted with an electric motor to operate as a taxi.

Mich. Dems lay out auto insurance bills

2013-05-21T02:45:02Z

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit's Democratic state House Caucus is laying out an effort to change Michigan's auto insurance policies.

The package of legislation was revealed during a news conference Monday in Detroit. Republicans control the state Legislature.

Under the proposal, insurance companies couldn't use credit history, education or occupation in determining a person's premium. It would also mandate that insurance companies justify any rate increases and ensure that 80 percent of the premiums collected be spent on clients.

Democrats say the measure will save residents money and fight insurance industry fraud.

The legislation is an effort to counter Republican-backed legislation that would end Michigan's unlimited lifetime benefits for catastrophically injured car-crash victims and drop car insurance rates by at least $125 less a year. That measure awaits consideration in the full House.

State: $483 million more than expected

2013-05-15T17:45:56Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers have hundreds of millions of dollars more than expected when working to finalize Michigan's next budget.

The Snyder administration and economists on Wednesday agreed the state will take in $483 million more in tax revenue than forecast four months ago.

The consensus revenue estimate is good news as legislators try to meet a June 1 goal of finalizing a spending plan for the next fiscal year.

Sticking points remain over Medicaid expansion and road funding. Snyder says some of the extra money should go to road maintenance if his proposed gasoline tax and license plate fee increases remain stalled in the Republican-led Legislature.

Democrats say more should be spent on education and tax increases on individuals should be repealed.

==Political Reporter Rick Albin went to Lansing Wednesday to ask what lawmakers think the money should be use for. Watch the videos above to hear what they have to say.==

No hearing yet for breast density bill

2013-05-14T23:04:24Z

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — One West Michigan woman has taken her quest to make sure women are aware of their breast's density to the state capitol.

Target 8 first reported Teresa Hendricks-Pitsch's story in April 2012. A bill about breast density that would make it mandatory for radiologists to tell women if they have dense breast tissue was introduced last year by then-state Rep. Roy Schmidt. That bill ended up not going anywhere.

But now there's a new bill in the health committee. This one is sponsored by the legislator who took Schmidt's seat, Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids).

Hendricks-Pitsch has met with six law makers on the health committee thus far.

Hendricks-Pitsch is a breast cancer survivor. She told Target 8 she had dense breast tissue that obscured cancer until it got to an advanced stage. She underwent chemotherapy and surgery and eventually went into remission.

She said that she believes if she had known her breast tissue was dense, she would have gotten different types of tests.

The current bill was introduced in February and has sat in the House Health Committee since then. It needs to have a hearing and be voted out of the committee in order to go to the floor of the House and have a chance of becoming law.

Hendricks-Pitsch decided to head to Lansing to sit down with individual lawmakers to try to move the process along.

"The reason we're here today is because the bill has been introduced but it has not been put on an agenda," Hendricks-Pitschs aid as she walked from office to office. "I came to Lansing because also I felt like the bill was just lingering, and it wasn't taking any positive steps. So I wanted to see what could be done to really get it moving and on the agenda so we could get a hearing and actually move forward."

Target 8 was told repeatedly to speak with Health Committee Chair Gail Haines about the progress of the bill. She did not return a phone call for comment, walked away from our investigators in the capitol and then ran away from our investigators down a hallway -- yelling behind her that our crew should not follow her -- instead of answering any questions about it.

A patient's breast density, either described as fatty, scattered fibroglandular tissue, heterogeneously dense or extremely dense, is available now, but patients have to ask for it in many places.

The new bill would require patients be notified after a mammogram if they have extremely dense -- or what's called heterogeneously dense breasts. Those are breasts where more than half of the tissue is dense. Those two groups, a local expert told Target 8, make up about 45% to 50% of women.

Dense tissue shows up as white on mammograms, as do tumors, so dense tissue can hide small cancers.

Hendricks-Pitsch hopes the bill will encourage women to get more or different testing.

"I think that if you have to go through a temporary anxiety and learn it's a false positive that's the least of your problems," said Hendricks-Pitsch. "People don't die from a false positive but they can die from a false negative."

Dr Thomas Getz, a radiologist and the medical director of Spectrum's Betty Ford Breast Care Services, said density is just one factor women should consider when they decide how to best handle their health.

"I think it's important for women to be informed, but it's also a decision that women need to make about what their insurance company will cover, what their other risk factors are and that's why it's important to talk to my doctor to make an informed decision," Getz said.

He pointed out that basing decisions only on density could create either a false sense of security or panic, depending on the results. He stressed density should be considered alongside factors like age and family history.

"The other controversial thing is what screening is best for women with dense breasts. So MRI is very good for women with dense breasts, but it's also very expensive, and a lot of insurance companies won't cover it as a supplemental screening test unless there are other risk factors," Getz said. "Whole breast ultrasound can find additional breast cancers too, but it can also find a lot of other things that can end up getting biopsied. So we end up doing a lot of unnecessary biopsies when we screen with whole breast ultrasound."

He also said that usually only about 10% of masses found through an ultrasound and biopsied are cancerous:

"You end up doing ten biopsies for every cancer you find, so that's why we don't recommend whole breast ultrasound is that it causes a lot of unnecessary biopsies."

Getz did bring up a newer type of technology Spectrum offers called, breast tomosynthesis. It's described as a "three-dimensional (3D) screening tool that captures clearer images than conventional mammography." Getz said it's more accurate, but it's also newer technology and some insurance companies don't cover it without other health factors.

Online:

Breast care imaging at Spectrum Health

House Bill 4260 (pdf)

More information on dense breasts from the American College of Radiology

Gov. signs bills for vets licenses, IDs

2013-05-14T22:53:19Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation to allow Michigan veterans to get a special designation on their driver's license or state ID card.

The Republican signed the bill during a ceremony in his office Tuesday in the Capitol. The Senate Fiscal Agency estimates it will cost nearly $700,000 over a number of years.

Snyder says the laws will allow people to easily prove that they're veterans to get discounts and other benefits. He says Michigan is the 28th state to pass such laws. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson says it will take about a year to put a computer system in place to create the designations.

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Online:

House Bill 4037

Senate Bill 219

Mich. may get $382M more than expected

2013-05-14T18:59:19Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan could get $382 million more in revenue than projected four months ago.

That's according to a report Tuesday from the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency. It's good news for lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder, though it's not as rosy a surplus as one estimated a day earlier.

The Senate Fiscal Agency projects Michigan will get $542 million more than estimated in January.

Snyder and lawmakers could use the extra money to boost spending, lower taxes or save more.

The Snyder administration and budget experts are meeting Wednesday to agree on revenue figures. Legislators aim to pass the next budget by June, though sticking points remain over Medicaid expansion and road funding.

The windfall is attributed to people selling stocks because of worries about potential tax changes before the "fiscal cliff."

Mich. may get $542M more than expected

2013-05-14T00:50:19Z

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan could take in $542 million more in revenue than projected 4 months ago.

That's according to a report Monday from the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency. It's good news for lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder as they work to finalize a state budget for the fiscal year starting in October.

Senate experts say Michigan could have a $739 million surplus in the current budget year. The extra money could be used to boost spending, lower taxes or be socked away in savings.

The Snyder administration and economists are meeting Wednesday to agree on budget figures. The House Fiscal Agency and state treasurer also will put out revenue projections for the meeting.

Legislators aim to pass the next budget by June, though sticking points remain over Medicaid expansion and road funding.

Gov OKs bill that could allow wolf hunt

2013-05-09T00:59:37Z

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a bill that could lead to the first wolf hunting season in Michigan since the predator was placed on the endangered species list in 1974.

The new law empowers the state Natural Resources Commission to decide which types of animals can be hunted. Previously, only the Legislature had that authority.

The commission could decide during a meeting Thursday whether to schedule a hunt for this fall, as recommended by the Department of Natural Resources. DNR biologists recommend letting hunters kill up to 43 wolves in three areas of the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan would become the sixth state to authorize hunting wolves since federal protections were removed over the past two years in the western Great Lakes and the Northern Rockies, where the animals are thriving.