Beth LeBlanc The Detroit News Published 12:18 p.m. UTC Jun 7, 2018 Lansing — A controversial Medicaid work requirement bill is on the cusp of going to the governor's desk after the Michigan House approved it Wednesday in a 62-47 vote. The Senate legislation was scaled back in a House committee so it only would apply to "able-bodied" Medicaid recipients in the state’s expanded Healthy Michigan program. As of Monday, 662,913 residents were enrolled in the program, of which about 540,000 able-bodied adults could be subject to the work rules. House members voted on the bill Wednesday afternoon amid shouts and yells after Republicans abruptly ended the floor debate, preventing additional Democrats from speaking on the bill. The bill is a "common sense" reform asking able-bodied recipients to work "half as much" as the people paying for the program, House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, said in a statement. “Welfare benefits … [Read more...] about Michigan House approves Medicaid work requirement
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House approves bill rolling back banking rules
Congress has moved to dismantle some key rules for banks that were installed to prevent a replay of the 2008 financial crisis. The House voted 258-159 to approve legislation rolling back the landmark Dodd-Frank law, sending the bill to President Donald Trump. He is poised to sign it into law to deliver on a campaign pledge of gutting Dodd-Frank. The Republican-led bill, which already cleared the Senate in March, garnered votes from some House Democrats. The legislation increases fivefold, to $250 billion in assets, the threshold at which banks are deemed so big and plugged into the financial grid that if one were to fail it would cause major havoc. Those banks currently are subject to stricter capital and planning requirements. … [Read more...] about House approves bill rolling back banking rules
U.S. House Approves Medical Exams for Balloon Pilots Following Fatal Texas Accident
Sponsored content from Thomas J. Henry Law Published 5:29 pm, Wednesday, May 9, 2018 Photo: Gettyimages Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 Photo: Gettyimages U.S. House Approves Medical Exams for Balloon Pilots Following Fatal Texas Accident 1 / 1 Back to Gallery The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a new measure requiring medical checks for commercial hot air balloon pilots. The bill was spurred by a 2016 hot air balloon crash in Texas that killed 16 people. Details of the Hot Air Balloon Requirements According to the Insurance Journal, the vote was cast on Friday and will put I place a provision that requires all commercial hot air balloon pilots receive medical checks similar to those required for helicopter and airline pilots. Following the 2016 crash, the National Transportation Safety Board … [Read more...] about U.S. House Approves Medical Exams for Balloon Pilots Following Fatal Texas Accident
With little fanfare, Oklahoma House approves two long-suffering criminal justice bills
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two key pieces of criminal justice reform legislation passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives Tuesday with little discussion or debate.The relative ease with which House Bill 2281 and HB 2286, both by Rep. Terry O’Donnell, R-Catoosa, were adopted came after more than a year of working and reworking to satisfy — or at least mollify — the competing interests of reformers, district attorneys and law enforcement officials.HB 2281 creates tiered punishments for non-violent property crimes such as theft and embezzlement with the intent of reducing jail time for crimes of relatively minor scope.“Many women in our prison system have been convicted of low-level, non-violent crimes like larceny, forgery and writing bad checks,” O’Donnell said in a news release. “In fact, convictions for those crimes are where we are seeing some of the greatest growth in our corrections system. This is a prime example of an area where we can … [Read more...] about With little fanfare, Oklahoma House approves two long-suffering criminal justice bills
Tennessee House approves $37.5 billion state budget
This story was updated April 17, 2018, at 11:02 p.m. with more information. NASHVILLE — The Tennessee House on Tuesday approved the state's $37.5 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2018-2019. The vote was 87-5. Senators are expected to take up the budget today as lawmakers work to complete their annual session next week. But this year's debate on the appropriations bill turned ugly as majority Republican members stripped a $250,000 grant to Memphis intended to help the city begin planning its bicentennial celebration. Democrats charged the amendment by Republican Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, was in retaliation for Memphis city officials spiriting away a statute of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from a park. The city transferred two parks, one with the Forrest statue and the other of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, to a private nonprofit group, thus doing an end run around the state's Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, which sought to prevent removal of … [Read more...] about Tennessee House approves $37.5 billion state budget