Update From State Sen. Steve Bieda

I am pleased to send you the latest edition of my e-Newsletter. This e-Newsletter is a money-saving way for me to communicate with you and keep you informed about legislative activities. Below you will find information on upcoming events, legislation that has recently been passed by the Senate, as well as other news and updates.

Please feel free to distribute this information to others and contact my office with ideas about what we can do to better serve you. Communication with you is extremely important to me as I consider issues before the Michigan Senate.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the Michigan Senate. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Fireworks:

Last legislative session, a bill became law that changed the way fireworks are regulated in our state. The idea of the law was to give the people of Michigan a greater selection of legal fireworks and have their regulation overseen by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). As an unintended consequence, however, local units of government were not able to regulate the use of fireworks. Many citizens, unfortunately, were not considerate of their neighbors while enjoying their fireworks.

To fix this, House Bill 4743 was introduced to allow local governments more power to develop ordinances dealing with fireworks. I supported this legislation and it is now Public Act 65 of 2013. Senator Morris Hood attempted to amend House Bill 4743 by allowing local units of government the right to regulate fireworks year round with no restrictions as they wish. While I supported this stronger amendment, it did not pass. Although the bill does not go as far as I would like, the new Public Act is a significant improvement; it allows local governments to decide how to control fireworks except on the day before, day of, and day after a federal holiday. These holidays are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Inauguration Day every four years. On these days, the local government could regulate their use under the following conditions:

• For a local unit with a population of 50,000 or more, or a local unit in a county with a population of 750,000 or more: between midnight and 8 a.m., or between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

The bill also provides that an ordinance could impose only a maximum civil fine of $500 for each violation and simplifies the inspection procedure and collection of licensing fees. Although the 2011 law provided for some enthusiastic patriotism in the small hours of the morning, this new bill should allow better, common-sense control of fireworks use for our municipalities.

Parents of Fallen Soldier Offer Free Retreat for Recent Veterans:

In honor of their son, Sergeant Trevor A. Blumberg, who lost his life in the line of duty ten years ago, Janet and Terry Blumberg have developed Blum’s Landing, a unique experience they offer to recent veterans.

Blum’s Landing is a bed and breakfast retreat located at 7460 Ocqueoc Lake Road, Millersburg, MI 49759 (north of Rogers City, Michigan), that is free to any men or women who have served in the military since September 11, 2001 and suffered physical or mental wounds. Blum’s Landing is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization, and the sole purpose is to say thank you to veterans for their services.

Blum’s Landing is a 12 acre parcel on Orchard Lake, close to several other lakes and rivers and only a mile from Lake Huron. The surrounding area offers a wide variety of inexpensive relaxation and peaceful activities for military personnel and their families. Blum’s Landing guests have access to fishing, canoeing, kayaking, biking, and boating on Orchard Lake. Other activities available include golfing, charter fishing, biking, hiking, swimming, elk herd tours, snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and more.

Blum’s Landing offers servicemen and women a free stay up to one week for them and a guest/immediate family (up to 8) and free breakfast every day.� For more information on Blum’s Landing, you can call Terry Blumberg at 734-812-1500 or visit their website atwww.blumslanding.org.

Medicaid Expansion:

As passed by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, House Bill 4714 would expand Medicaid for state residents who are under 133% of the federal poverty level, offering health care coverage for more residents while securing federal funding to help pay for it. In total, 320,000 Michiganders would be covered in the first year of the expansion, and an estimated 470,000 would have been covered by 2021. Michigan’s uninsured population will drop by about 46% under its enactment. In Macomb County, more than 38,000 people would qualify under expanded coverage.

The House of Representatives but aside politics and forged a bipartisan compromise on Medicaid expansion. The legislation has the support of Governor Snyder, who has been very critical of Senate Republicans for not taking action. Additionally, this bill has the support of healthcare professionals, small business owners and most importantly, the people of Michigan. Failure to act has many negative implications. Inaction means that Michigan will lose out on $2 billion more in federal Medicaid funding and we will continue to spend more than $200 million annually on health care costs for those that we failed to cover.

My Senate Democratic Colleagues and I were prepared to vote for this expansion. With our 12 votes, only 8 Republican votes were needed for passage. However the Republican leadership set an arbitrary requirement of having 13 Republican votes. Because of this, a small number of Senators prevented passage before leaving for a two month recess. The next scheduled session day for the Senate is July 3rd, though Republicans have indicated they do not plan on attending or casting votes that day. My Senate Democratic colleagues and I will be in attendance and ready to vote at session on July 3rd, and hope enough of my Republican colleagues are courageous enough to show up and vote with us to pass Medicaid expansion.

Sincerely,

Senator Steve Bieda
Senate District 9