Michigan Votes: Senate Passes Tax Cut, House Approves Divorce Rule, Robo-Bartenders

Senate Bill 768, Cut state income tax rate: Passed 22 to 16 in the Senate

To cut the state income tax rate from 4.25% to 3.9% starting Jan. 1, 2022; authorize a $600 nonrefundable tax credit for dependents age 18 and below; and reduce the corporate income tax from 6.0% to 3.9%. The bill would also increase the annual income tax deduction allowed for individuals age 67 and above from $20,000 to $30,000, and for couples from $40,000 to $60,000.

House Bill 4195, Delay divorce filing publication until defendant served: Passed 104 to 0 in the House

To establish that when a person files for a divorce the court may not make the filing available to the public until the defendant has been served with or received notice of the complaint, or until 92 days have passed, whichever comes first.

House Bill 4084, Revise fines for illegal garbage dumping: Passed 94 to 7 To make it a misdemeanor punishable by fines up to $2,500 for unauthorized dumping of between 3 cubic feet and 5 cubic yards of refuse or trash, with the fine going up by another $2,500 for each subsequent offense. Employers would be potentially liable, and offenders could also be ordered to clean up the mess. Under current law this is a civil not criminal offense.

House Bill 5058, Exempt industrial hemp from food adulterant list: Passed 98 to 3 in the House

To amend a section of the state food law that deals with adulterated food, so as to declare that its prohibitions do not apply to food that contains or has added to it any quantity of "industrial hemp."

House Bill 5304, Authorize “robo-bartenders”: Passed 74 to 27 in the House

To authorize and create a comprehensive regulatory regime for the use of “robo-bartender” dispensing machines for beer, wine and mixed drinks that are located at a customer's table or with use of a secure "key card" in other parts of establishments with a liquor license, including restaurants, certain hotel rooms and more. The machines could not dispense more than 96 ounces in a single order, or dispense spirituous liquor “straight.” Customers would still have to place the order with a human staff member, and staff members would still be required to monitor the service.

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit www.MichiganVotes.org.

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