Rep. Cynthia Neeley

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies the composition of Michigan's Board of Psychology to include more licensed professionals by replacing public members with psychologists who hold limited licenses. It establishes a new limited license category for individuals with a master's degree in psychology, allowing them to practice under specific supervision and advertising restrictions. To qualify for this limited license, applicants must have a master's degree from an accredited program and complete one year of supervised postgraduate experience in a healthcare setting. The legislation also updates the board's membership requirements to ensure that at least five of its voting members hold a doctoral degree in psychology.

Maddy summaryHB 5588 amends Michigan's Code of Criminal Procedure to update the definitions of specific terms used in sentencing guidelines. The bill clarifies the meanings of words such as aircraft, companion animal, departure, homicide, intermediate sanction, ORV, snowmobile, vehicle, and vessel by referencing their existing definitions in other state laws. These changes ensure that legal documents and sentencing decisions consistently use the current definitions for these terms. The legislation directly affects judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who apply these guidelines during criminal proceedings.

Maddy summaryHB 5937 allows businesses operating in Michigan's Renaissance Zones to end their state tax credits early if they and the Michigan Strategic Fund agree to do so before the zone designation expires. This change enables these businesses to negotiate specific dates for stopping their tax benefits without waiting for the official expiration of the zone status. The bill applies to all businesses currently receiving these credits and does not alter the original rules for how the credits are calculated or claimed.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Michigan's public health code to clarify the legal definition of lead abatement and specify which activities are exempt from regulatory requirements. It directly affects property owners, contractors, and nonprofit organizations by distinguishing between permanent lead hazard elimination and incidental paint removal during general repairs. The legislation explicitly exempts owner-occupied homes and small multifamily buildings from certain rules, while creating a specific exception for unpaid volunteer projects led by qualified nonprofit groups. Additionally, the bill repeals an outdated section of the law to ensure the regulations remain current and consistent with federal standards.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Michigan's insurance code to clarify the rules for sponsored captive insurance companies. It allows a wider range of business entities, including associations and trusts, to participate in these companies without needing to be shareholders or affiliates. The legislation also permits sponsors to participate in their own sponsored captives and requires that participants generally insure only their own risks or those of their affiliates, unless approved by the state insurance director. These changes aim to provide clearer guidelines on who can join such insurance structures and what risks they can cover.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Michigan's insurance code to clarify which entities are eligible to sponsor a sponsored captive insurance company. It specifies that sponsors must be licensed insurers, holding companies, reinsurers, or certain captive companies, while explicitly excluding risk retention groups from acting as sponsors or participants. The legislation also outlines specific requirements for securing business written by these captives, mandating that it be backed by a licensed insurer, state-approved reinsurance, or a secured trust fund. Additionally, the bill directs the insurance director to evaluate proposed sponsors based on their financial stability, experience, and business reputation.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits local governments in Michigan, such as counties, cities, and townships, from creating rules that automatically lower their property tax rates when revenue collection hits a specific dollar limit. It declares any existing local rules with such automatic reductions invalid and requires those governments to stop enforcing them immediately. The law specifically targets self-imposed limits on tax revenue that would force a drop in the tax rate, while leaving other state or constitutional tax restrictions unchanged.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Michigan's insurance code to update the rules for Special Purpose Financial Captives, which are companies that pool risk for specific financial products. It clarifies that issuing new securities to continue securitization activities or swapping out a counterparty for one with a similar or higher credit rating does not count as a major change to the company's plan. The legislation also sets specific deadlines for filing audited financial statements and statements of operations, requires captive insurers to respond to regulator inquiries within 30 days, and establishes a penalty of up to $5,000 plus daily fines for failing to meet these reporting requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Public Library Freedom to Read Act, which creates new rules for how public libraries in Michigan select and remove books and other materials. It requires libraries to adopt written policies that outline their standards for choosing items and the specific steps they must follow when someone requests a book be reconsidered or removed. Under the new law, library directors have the final say on collection decisions, and requests for reconsideration are only reviewed if they come from residents of the library's local area and meet specific conditions, such as the requester having read the entire item. The act defines what counts as a library material and clarifies that it does not apply to websites, interlibrary loans, or programs not run by the library itself.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Michigan's public health code to clarify definitions and reporting requirements related to elevated blood lead levels in children. It establishes specific thresholds for what constitutes an elevated level, requiring that a child's blood lead concentration meet or exceed 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or the current reference value set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The legislation also creates a new role for certified "EBL investigators" who must study a child's living environment to identify lead sources and provide reports on how to remove those exposures. Additionally, the bill defines terms such as emergency renovation operations and encapsulation to ensure consistency in how lead hazards are managed. The law will only take effect if a separate, related bill is also passed into law.