SENATE BILL 136
Give government subsidies to
"artificial intelligence" businesses
Introduced by state Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell
The bill would authorize $18 million worth of government "21st Century Jobs Fund" subsidies for "creative artificial intelligence excellence sectors," defined as private businesses or other entities engaged in developing "advanced artificial neural network technology that is capable of autonomously generating new and potentially valuable concepts or strategies."
SENATE BILL 46
Authorize state money for school solar
and wind systems
Introduced by state Sen. Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck
The bill would authorize state grants and interest-free loans to school districts to install solar and wind energy systems.
HOUSE BILL 4058
Require state to pay off Detroit
schools deficit
Introduced by state Rep. LaMar Lemmons Jr., D-Detroit
The bill would require the state to assume the deficit incurred by the Detroit School District during the period prior to 2006 when it was under the control of a state-imposed reform school board. In 2004 the district had a $122 million deficit.
HOUSE BILL 4110
Establish official state "Scottish
Tartan"
Introduced by state Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland
The bill would establish that henceforth and forever more (or at least until a future legislature and governor see fit to declare otherwise), the official Scottish tartan of the great state of Michigan shall be the one described by the Scottish hand weavers and textile designers "thread count" denoted by the phrase "BG18* W2 BG8 W2 T8 DG2 T4 DG24 DR4 DG4*," where the symbol "*" denotes 1/2 the total threads at the turning points.
SENATE BILL 662
Give "rewards" to gas stations that
increase ethanol sales
Introduced by state Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Muskegon
The bill would give a subsidy to gas stations that increase ethanol sales above certain thresholds specified in the bill. The subsidy would be a refundable Michigan Business Tax credit, and the value would be between 2 cents and 6 cents per gallon of ethanol sold above the threshold. "Refundable" means that the state will send a gas station a check for the amount that the credit exceeds the owner's tax liability.
SENATE BILL 131
Mandate driver's ed recycling message
Introduced by state Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Fawn River Township
The bill would mandate that driver's education courses include state-approved material expressing a belief in "the importance of recycling," and containing information on "opportunities to support statewide recycling efforts," as well as an antilitter message.
HOUSE BILL 4433
Mandate public school African-American
history teaching in all grades
Introduced by state Rep. George Cushingberry, D-Detroit
The bill would require public schools to provide instruction at all grade levels in African-American history.
SENATE BILL 468
Ban driving while using hand-held cell
phone
Introduced by state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw
The bill would prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, subject to a $100 fine.
To comment on these bills, please see www.mackinac.org/10762.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.