STATE OF MICHIGAN
Journal of the Senate
100th Legislature
REGULAR SESSION OF 2020
Senate Chamber, Lansing, Saturday, August 15,
2020.
10:00 a.m.
The Senate was called to order by the
President, Lieutenant Governor Garlin D. Gilchrist II.
Recess
Senator MacGregor moved that the Senate recess
subject to the call of the Chair.
The motion prevailed, the time being 10:01
a.m.
The Senate was called to order by the
President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist.
The roll was called by the
Secretary of the Senate, who announced that a quorum was present.
Alexander—present Horn—present Outman—present
Ananich—present Irwin—present Polehanki—present
Barrett—present Johnson—present Runestad—present
Bayer—present LaSata—present Santana—present
Bizon—present Lauwers—present Schmidt—present
Brinks—present Lucido—present Shirkey—present
Bullock—present MacDonald—present Stamas—present
Bumstead—present MacGregor—present Theis—present
Chang—present McBroom—present VanderWall—present
Daley—present McCann—present Victory—present
Geiss—present McMorrow—present Wojno—present
Hertel—present Moss—present Zorn—present
Hollier—present Nesbitt—present
Senator Michael D. MacDonald of the 10th
District offered the following invocation:
Lord, calm our anxious spirits and remove the
distractions that would keep us from You here today. Help us to hear Your voice
and the voices of those we represent. Help guide us and our state towards a
better future.
Lord help me to remember that nothing will
happen to me today, tomorrow or the next day that You, I, and we, together
cannot handle.
In Your name we pray. Amen.
The President, Lieutenant
Governor Gilchrist, led the members of the Senate in recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motions and Communications
The motion prevailed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor.
House Bill No. 5911, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 21f (MCL 388.1621f), as
amended by 2018 PA 265.
House Bill No. 5912, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as
amended by 2019 PA 58.
House Bill No. 5913, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending sections 3, 6, 18, 23a, and 104 (MCL
388.1603, 388.1606, 388.1618, 388.1623a, and 388.1704), section 3 as amended by
2017 PA 108, sections 6, 18, and 104 as amended by 2019 PA 58, and section 23a
as amended by 2020 PA 22.
The motion prevailed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor, and the bills were placed on the order of
General Orders.
House
Bill No. 5911
House
Bill No. 5912
House
Bill No. 5913
The motion prevailed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor.
Messages from the Governor
The
following messages from the Governor were received and read:
August 14, 2020
I respectfully submit to the Senate the following appointments to office
pursuant to Public Act 203 of 1965, MCL 28.603 and Executive Order No. 2020-121:
Michigan Commission on Law
Enforcement Standards
Pastor Tellis J. Chapman of 19635 Stratford Road, Detroit, Michigan
48221, county of Wayne, appointed to represent residents of the state, for a
term commencing August 14, 2020 and expiring December 31, 2023.
Pastor Jeffery A. Hawkins, Sr. of 1410 Sunnyside Avenue, Flint, Michigan
48503, county of Genesee, appointed to represent residents of the state, for a
term commencing August 14, 2020 and expiring December 31, 2022.
Dr. Lisa R. Jackson of 4688 Pearl Street, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197,
county of Washtenaw, appointed to represent residents of the state, for a term
commencing August 14, 2020 and expiring December 31, 2021.
Chief Eric P. Payne of 4302 Knapp Valley Drive, N.E., Grand Rapids,
Michigan 49525, county of Kent, succeeding Donald Mawer who has resigned,
appointed to represent an individual nominated by the Michigan Association of
Chiefs of Police, for a term commencing August 14, 2020 and expiring December 31,
2021.
August 14, 2020
I respectfully submit to the Senate the following appointments to office
pursuant to Public Act 186 of 1973, MCL 205.721 and 205.722:
Michigan Tax Tribunal
Ms. Victoria L. Enyart of 836 Woodbine Street, Jackson, Michigan 49203,
county of Jackson, reappointed to represent certified level IV assessors, for a
term commencing August 17, 2020 and expiring June 30, 2024.
Ms. Patricia L. Halm of 1210 Red Oak Lane, Apt. 102, East Lansing,
Michigan 48823, county of Ingham, succeeding Michelle Lange who has resigned, appointed
to represent members at large, for a term commencing August 24, 2020 and
expiring June 30, 2022.
Respectfully,
Gretchen
Whitmer
Governor
The appointments were referred to the Committee on Advice and Consent.
The
following message from the Governor was received and read:
HEALTH
FACILITIES; NURSING HOMES; ADMITTANCE OF COVID-19 POSITIVE PATIENTS TO NURSING
HOMES FROM ANOTHER FACILITY; PROHIBIT
July 31, 2020
Today I am returning Enrolled Senate Bill 956 to you without my
approval.
My response to this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has protected our most
vulnerable, including our seniors, by allowing us to bend the curve on this
virus. Where Michigan was once among the states most heavily hit, our
per-capita case rate is now roughly one third of the national average.
From day one, I have protected nursing home residents, following federal
CMS guidance to establish a system of regional hubs and dedicated isolation
units. To ensure our nursing homes are as safe as possible, I pushed our inspectors
to complete 100% of infection control surveys more than two months before the
federal deadline, and they delivered. And I have worked tirelessly to procure
tests and PPE to keep seniors safe, and to facilitate testing for all nursing
home residents and staff, with little to no assistance from federal
authorities. To protect against a possible second wave, I created the nursing
home preparedness task force, which is set to produce its report August 31.
Finally, my stay-home and safe-start orders – despite opposition from some in
the legislature – have dramatically cut the infection rate and limited
community spread, the single-greatest threat to the residents of long-term care
facilities.
SB 956 is based on the false premise that isolation units created within
existing facilities are somehow insufficient to protect seniors—a claim
unsupported by the data and refuted by the nation’s highest authorities on
infectious disease. Instead of protecting seniors, this bill would require the
state to create COVID-19-only facilities, forcing hospitals and many nursing
homes to send COVID-19-positive patients to such facilities without any
requirement for consent, doctor approval, or notification to the patient or
their family. The legislation fails to explain how such facilities would be
staffed or paid for, or how frail residents would be protected during the
potentially traumatic transfer from one facility to another.
The inadequacy of this legislation has been recognized by the
organization created to fulfill the mandate of the Older Americans Act to
advocate on behalf of older adults, the Michigan Senior Advocates Council
(MSAC). MSAC wrote to me, asking me to veto this legislation for the sake of
the safety of Michigan’s nursing residents, because the bill “lacks clarity,
provides an unrealistic timeline, and fails to offer critical details to
ensuring quality of care.”
I look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders and legislators
on the task force to develop real solutions that make sense for Michigan
seniors and their families. Because this legislation fails to protect them, I
am vetoing it.
Respectfully,
Gretchen
Whitmer
Governor
The bill was returned from the Governor on July 31, 2020, at 3:52 p.m.
Senator MacGregor moved that consideration of
the bill be postponed temporarily.
The motion prevailed.
The following message from the Governor was
received and read:
Health occupations:
health professionals; immunity from civil or criminal liability during a
declared emergency; provide for certain health care workers
August 10, 2020
Today I am returning Enrolled Senate Bill 899
to you without my approval. During an especially intense period of this
pandemic, as the number of new cases were surging toward our first peak and we
faced the very real possibility of our hospitals being overrun, I invoked
special liability protections for certain health care providers. The
legislature created these protections under subsection (4) of section 11 of the
Emergency Management Act of 1976, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.411(4). According to this
provision, these protections apply if the governor has declared a state of
disaster and the health care provider offers services at the “express or
implied request” of the governor. I made this request on March 29, 2020 through
Executive Order 2020-30; renewed it on April 26, 2020 through Executive Order
2020-61; and rescinded the request on July 13, 2020 through Executive Order
2020-150.
To the extent the availability of these
liability protections have been rendered questionable during the time period
those orders were in effect, it is only because the majority in both houses of
the legislature have refused to recognize this once-in-a-lifetime global
pandemic for what it is: an emergency. SB 899 is an attempt to mop up one
consequence of that failure.
If this bill only attempted to restore the
protections I offered under my orders, I would consider signing it. But the
bill goes much further in ways that are directly counter to the interests of
those receiving care. For example, this bill would give health care providers
and the facilities that employ them broad immunity every time an emergency or
disaster is declared, regardless of whether the circumstances demand this
extreme measure. A person receiving treatment at a hospital or a resident in a
nursing home would be powerless to seek relief when they are harmed in any but
the most egregious cases.
For this and other reasons I veto this bill.
Respectfully,
Gretchen
Whitmer
Governor
This bill was returned from the Governor on
August 10, 2020, at 3:38 p.m.
Senator MacGregor moved that consideration of
the bill be postponed temporarily.
The motion prevailed.
By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded to
the order of
General Orders
The motion prevailed, and the President,
Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, designated Senator Daley as Chairperson.
Recess
Senator MacGregor moved that the Committee of
the Whole recess subject to the call of the Chairperson.
The motion prevailed, the time being 10:58
a.m.
11:45 a.m.
The Committee of the Whole was called to order
by the Chairperson, Senator Daley.
After some time spent therein, the Committee
arose; and, the President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, having resumed the
Chair, the Committee reported back to the Senate, favorably and with a
substitute therefor, the following bill:
House Bill No. 5911, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 21f (MCL 388.1621f), as
amended by 2018 PA 265.
Substitute (S-1)
House Bill No. 5912, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as
amended by 2019 PA 58.
Substitute (S-2)
House Bill No. 5913, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending sections 3, 6, 18, 23a, and 104 (MCL
388.1603, 388.1606, 388.1618, 388.1623a, and 388.1704), section 3 as amended by
2017 PA 108, sections 6, 18, and 104 as amended by 2019 PA 58, and section 23a
as amended by 2020 PA 22.
Substitute (S-1)
House
Bill No. 5911
House
Bill No. 5912
House
Bill No. 5913
The motion prevailed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor.
By unanimous consent the Senate returned to
the order of
Messages from the Governor
The
following message from the Governor was received on August 15, 2020, and read:
EXECUTIVE ORDER
No. 2020-170
Temporary COVID-19 protocols for
entry into Michigan Department of
Corrections facilities and transfers
to and from Department custody; temporary
recommended COVID-19 protocols
and enhanced early-release authorization for
county jails, local lockups, and
juvenile detention centers
Rescission of Executive Order
2020-146
The novel coronavirus presents an unusually
deadly threat to people living in congregate settings like jails and prisons.
In order to protect these vulnerable people, I took swift action in March 2020
to stem the tide of COVID-19 in prisons and jails by ordering a suspension of
transfers from jails to prisons, and requiring the Department of Corrections to
implement certain risk reduction protocols. Under this order, jails were
allowed to resume transfers only upon demonstrating that they had implemented
comparable risk reduction protocols.
I am extremely proud of Michigan’s efforts to
expand testing, especially of vulnerable populations. Our state now conducts
the sixth-highest number of daily tests and requires testing in congregate
settings like nursing homes and agricultural worker housing. In light of the
ongoing threat of COVID-19 to jail and prison populations, and the increased
availability of testing in our state, it is now reasonable and necessary to
require entry, transfer, and release testing of inmates in Michigan prisons,
and to allow transfers only from jails that implement comparable testing
protocols.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can
result in serious illness or death. It is caused by a new strain of coronavirus
not previously identified in humans and easily spread from person to person.
There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease.
On March 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services
identified the first two presumptive-positive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. On
that same day, I issued Executive Order 2020-4. This order declared a state of
emergency across the state of Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the
Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as
amended (EMA), MCL 30.401 et seq.,
and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, 1945 PA 302, as amended
(EPGA), MCL 10.31 et seq.
Since then, the virus spread across Michigan, bringing deaths in the
thousands, confirmed cases in the tens of thousands, and deep disruption to
this state’s economy, homes, and educational, civic, social, and religious
institutions. On April 1, 2020, in response to the widespread and severe
health, economic, and social harms posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I issued
Executive Order 2020-33. This order expanded on Executive Order 2020-4 and
declared both a state of emergency and a state of disaster across the State of
Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the
Emergency Management Act, and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945.
And on April 30, 2020, finding that COVID-19 had created emergency and disaster
conditions across the State of Michigan, I issued Executive Order 2020-67 to
continue the emergency declaration under the EPA, as well as Executive Order
2020-68 to issue new emergency and disaster declarations under the EMA.
Those executive orders have been challenged in Michigan House of Representatives and
Michigan Senate v.
Whitmer. On May 21, 2020, the Court of Claims ruled
that Executive Order 2020-67 is a valid exercise of authority under the
Emergency Powers of the Governor Act but that Executive Order 2020-68 is not a
valid exercise of authority under the Emergency Management Act. Both of those
rulings are being challenged on appeal.
On August 7, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-165, again finding that
the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a disaster and emergency throughout the State
of Michigan. That order constituted a state of emergency declaration under the
Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. And, to the extent the governor
may declare a state of emergency and a state of disaster under the Emergency
Management Act when emergency and disaster conditions exist yet the legislature
had declined to grant an extension request, that order also constituted a state
of emergency and state of disaster declaration under that act.
The Emergency Powers of the Governor Act provides a sufficient legal
basis for issuing this executive order. In relevant part, it provides that,
after declaring a state of emergency, “the governor may promulgate reasonable
orders, rules, and regulations as he or she considers necessary to protect life
and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under
control.” MCL 10.31(1).
Nevertheless, subject to the ongoing litigation and the possibility that
current rulings may be overturned or otherwise altered on appeal, I also invoke
the Emergency Management Act as a basis for executive action to combat the spread
of COVID-19 and mitigate the effects of this emergency on the people of
Michigan, with the intent to preserve the rights and protections provided by
the EMA. The EMA vests the governor with broad powers and duties to “cop[e]
with dangers to this state or the people of this state presented by a disaster
or emergency,” which the governor may implement through “executive orders,
proclamations, and directives having the force and effect of law.” MCL
30.403(1)–(2). This executive order falls within the scope of those powers and
duties, and to the extent the governor may declare a state of emergency and a
state of disaster under the Emergency Management Act when emergency and
disaster conditions exist yet the legislature has not granted an extension
request, they too provide a sufficient legal basis for this order.
Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I order
the following:
1. Transfers from jails to prisons. All transfers into the custody of
the Department of Corrections (“Department”) are temporarily suspended unless
the transferring jail or local lockup satisfactorily implements both the risk
reduction protocols described in section 2 and the testing protocols described
in section 3. This section is effective immediately for jails that have not
resumed transfers into the Department under a prior version of this executive
order, and effective September 8, 2020 for jails that have resumed transfers
into Department custody under a prior version of this executive order.
(a) Beginning seven days from the
effective date of this order, and no more than once every seven days, a jail or
local lockup may request that the Director of the Department (“Director”)
determine that the jail or lockup has satisfactorily implemented both the risk
reduction protocols described in section 2 and the testing protocols described
in section 3.
(b) Upon inspection, if the
Director determines that a jail or local lockup has satisfactorily implemented
risk reduction protocols and testing protocols, transfers from that jail or
lockup will resume in accordance with those protocols.
(c) Jails and local lockups must
provide documentation of each transferee’s testing history upon transfer. The
Director may reject transfers that do not pass the screening protocol for entry
into a facility operated by the Department.
(d) Parole violators in the
Department’s custody must not be transported to or lodged in a county jail or
local lockup unless the Director has determined that such county jail or local
lockup has satisfactorily implemented both the risk reduction protocols
described in section 2 and the testing protocols described in section 3.
2. Risk reduction protocols. The
Department must implement risk reduction protocols to address COVID-19,
including the following:
(a) Screening all persons arriving
at or departing from a facility, including staff, inmates, vendors, and any
other person entering the facility, in a manner consistent with guidelines
issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). Such
screening includes a temperature reading and obtaining information about travel
and any contact with persons under investigation for COVID-19 infection.
(b) Isolating and testing any
inmate who has one or more of the principal symptoms of COVID-19, including
fever, sore throat, a new uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing,
diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, new onset of a severe headache, and new
loss of taste or smell.
(c) Restricting all visits, except
for attorney-related visits, and conducting those visits without physical
contact to the extent feasible.
(d) Coordinating with local public
health departments on isolation plans and outbreak response.
(e) Notifying the local public
health department of any suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
(f) Providing, to the fullest
extent possible, appropriate personal protective equipment to all staff as
recommended by the CDC.
(g) To the extent feasible, opening
windows and doors, and using fans, to increase air circulation; considering
taking additional steps to improve ventilation in the facility, in consultation
with an HVAC professional, based on local environmental conditions.
(h) Conducting routine cleaning and
sanitizing consistent with CDC guidance, as provided at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/correction-detention/index.html.
(i) Ensuring access to personal
hygiene products for inmates and correctional staff, including soap and water
sufficient for regular handwashing.
(j) Ensuring that protective
laundering protocols are in place.
(k) Posting signage and continually
educating on the importance of social distancing, handwashing, and personal
hygiene.
(l) Requiring inmates and staff to practice social distancing to the
fullest extent feasible, and to wear facial coverings when maintaining six feet
of social distance from persons housed separately is not possible.
(m) Minimizing crowding, including
gatherings of 10 or more people, which may include scheduling more times for
meal and recreation to reduce person-to-person contact.
(n) During transport, ensuring that
staff and inmates wear facial coverings and maintain appropriate social distance,
including by reducing vehicle capacity.
3. Testing protocols. Consistent with guidance issued by the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services, the Department must conduct COVID-19
diagnostic testing in all of its facilities as follows (obtaining consent of
the individual or other person legally authorized to make medical care
decisions for the individual):
(a) Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, test all inmates entering a facility upon intake (within 24
hours), or in the 72 hours prior to intake. Although testing is recommended for
all inmates entering a facility, this requirement does not apply to inmates
held outside general population, housed in single cells (i.e. without other
inmates), released within 24 hours, and provided with educational materials on
the importance of testing and contact tracing.
(b) Test any inmate scheduled to be
transferred to another facility, including a Department facility, within 72
hours prior to transfer.
(c) Test any inmate scheduled for
release within 72 hours prior to release. If an inmate tests positive for
COVID-19, that inmate must not be detained solely because of COVID-19 positive
status, but must not be released into any other congregate settings if that
inmate is in isolation protocol.
(d) In case of a sustained outbreak
(any confirmed positive case identified within the last 14 days
epidemiologically linked to another positive case within the same facility) or
other high-risk situation, conduct ongoing testing coupled with contact
tracing, in coordination with the local public health department.
(e) Isolate and medically manage
any inmate who tests positive for COVID-19 as appropriate. Except for transfers
to isolation units, to manage medical needs, or for exigent security reasons,
inmates testing positive should not be transferred to another corrections
facility or other congregate setting, unless they meet the following criteria:
(1) At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset, except in cases in
which infection-control experts recommend longer isolation (e.g., up to 20 days
in severely immunocompromised persons), and;
(2) At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the
use of fever-reducing medications and;
(3) Other symptoms have improved.
4. State assistance for expanded
testing.
(a) The Department of Health and
Human Services must provide direct assistance with testing supplies, specimen
collection, and laboratory processing to jails and local lockups that request
assistance, as resources permit. Jails and local lockups may submit requests
for assistance to
MDHHS-cjtestingrequests@michigan.gov.
(b) A jail or local lockup that
receives assistance yet still cannot comply with the testing protocols
described in section 3 due to delays in test processing time may request
adjustments to the timing requirements of section 3, which the Director may
grant in her sole discretion.
5. Early release. To mitigate
the risk of COVID-19 spreading in county jails, strict compliance with the
capacity and procedural requirements regarding county jail overcrowding states
of emergency in the County Jail Overcrowding Act (“CJOA”), 1982 PA 325, MCL
801.51 et seq., is temporarily suspended. While this order is in effect, all
actions that would be authorized under the CJOA in the event of a declaration
of a county jail overcrowding state of emergency are authorized and shall
remain authorized without regard to any reduction in jail population or any
other such limitations on the duration of authorization imposed by the CJOA.
Anyone authorized to act under this section is strongly encouraged to consider
early release for all of the following, so long as they do not pose a public
safety risk:
(a) Older people, people who have
chronic conditions or are otherwise medically frail, people who are pregnant,
and people nearing their release date.
(b) Anyone who is incarcerated for
a traffic violation.
(c) Anyone who is incarcerated for
failure to appear or failure to pay.
(d) Anyone with behavioral health
problems who can safely be diverted for treatment.
6. Reimbursement to counties.
The State Budget Office must ensure that counties are reimbursed for lodging
inmates who would have been transferred into the Department’s custody if not
for the suspension of transfers.
7. Juvenile detention centers.
Juvenile detention centers are strongly encouraged to reduce the risk that
those at their facilities will be exposed to COVID-19 by implementing as
feasible the following measures:
(a) Adopting the risk reduction
protocols and testing protocols described in sections 1 and 2.
(b) Removing from the general
population any juveniles who have COVID-19 symptoms.
(c) Eliminating any form of
juvenile detention or residential facility placement except for juveniles who
are determined to be a substantial and immediate safety risk to themselves or
others.
(d) Providing written and verbal
communications to all juveniles at such facilities regarding COVID-19, access
to medical care, and community-based support.
(e) To the fullest extent possible,
facilitating access to family, education, and legal counsel through electronic
means (such as telephone calls or video conferencing) at no cost, rather than
through in-person meetings.
8. Juveniles on court-ordered
probation. Unless otherwise directed by court order, for juveniles on
court-ordered probation, the use of out-of-home confinement for technical
violations of probation and any requirements for in-person meetings with
probation officers are temporarily suspended.
9. Effective Date. This order is effective immediately and continues
through September 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.
10. Effects on prior orders.
(a) Executive Order 2020-146 is
rescinded.
(b) The Prescription Drug Task
Force created by Executive Order 2020-1 must complete its work and submit a
final report to the governor detailing its findings and recommendations by
January 31, 2021.
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan
Date:
August 15, 2020
Time:
11:18 a.m.
Gretchen
Whitmer
[SEAL] Governor
By
the Governor:
Jocelyn
Benson
Secretary
of State
The
executive order was referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
By unanimous consent the Senate proceeded to
the order of
Introduction and Referral of Bills
Senate Bill No. 1053, entitled
A bill to amend 1976 PA 225, entitled “An act
to defer the collection of special assessments on homestead properties; to
provide for conditions of eligibility for such a deferment; to prescribe the
powers and duties of the department of treasury, local assessing officers, and
local collecting officers; to provide for the advancement of moneys by the
state to indemnify special assessment districts for losses from deferment of
collections; to provide for the advancement of money by the state to an owner
for the repayment of loans used by the owner to pay special assessments; to
provide for the collection of deferred special assessments and interest
thereon, and the disposition of these collections; to make an appropriation;
and to prescribe penalties,” by amending section 2 (MCL 211.762), as amended by
1980 PA 403.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Senators Schmidt and Bumstead
introduced
Senate Bill No. 1054, entitled
A bill to amend 1897 PA 230, entitled “An act
to provide for the formation of corporations for the purpose of owning,
maintaining and improving lands and other property kept for the purposes of
summer resorts or for ornament, recreation or amusement, and to repeal all laws
or parts of laws in conflict herewith; and to impose certain duties on the
department of commerce,” by amending the title and sections 3, 9, 10, and 23
(MCL 455.3, 455.9, 455.10, and 455.23), the title and section 3 as amended by
1982 PA 117.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Economic and Small Business Development.
Senator Nesbitt introduced
Senate Bill No. 1055, entitled
A bill to amend 1966 PA 331, entitled “Community
college act of 1966,” by amending sections 105 and 121 (MCL 389.105 and
389.121), as amended by 2012 PA 495.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
Senator Runestad introduced
Senate Bill No. 1056, entitled
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled “The
general property tax act,” by amending section 78k (MCL 211.78k), as
amended by 2020 PA 33.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Senator VanderWall introduced
Senate Bill No. 1057, entitled
A bill to amend 2016 PA 281, entitled “Medical
marihuana facilities licensing act,” by amending section 408 (MCL
333.27408).
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
Senators Wojno and VanderWall
introduced
Senate Bill No. 1058, entitled
A bill to amend 2016 PA 281, entitled “Medical
marihuana facilities licensing act,” by amending section 102 (MCL
333.27102), as amended by 2019 PA 3.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
Senator Lucido introduced
Senate Bill No. 1059, entitled
A bill to amend 1927 PA 372, entitled “An act
to regulate and license the selling, purchasing, possessing, and carrying of
certain firearms, gas ejecting devices, and electro-muscular disruption
devices; to prohibit the buying, selling, or carrying of certain firearms, gas
ejecting devices, and electro-muscular disruption devices without a license or
other authorization; to provide for the forfeiture of firearms and
electro-muscular disruption devices under certain circumstances; to provide for
penalties and remedies; to provide immunity from civil liability under certain
circumstances; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local
agencies; to prohibit certain conduct against individuals who apply for or
receive a license to carry a concealed pistol; to make appropriations; to
prescribe certain conditions for the appropriations; and to repeal all acts and
parts of acts inconsistent with this act,” by amending sections 2 and 2a (MCL
28.422 and 28.422a), section 2 as amended by 2015 PA 200 and section 2a as
amended by 2016 PA 301.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
Senator Chang introduced
Senate Bill No. 1060, entitled
A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled “Corrections
code of 1953,” (MCL 791.201 to 791.285) by adding section 64b.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
Senator Chang introduced
Senate Bill No. 1061, entitled
A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled “Corrections
code of 1953,” (MCL 791.201 to 791.285) by adding section 64a.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
Senator Bayer introduced
Senate Bill No. 1062, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending sections 6 and 101 (MCL 388.1606 and
388.1701), as amended by 2019 PA 58.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Education and Career Readiness.
Senator Hollier introduced
Senate Bill No. 1063, entitled
A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled “Open
meetings act,” by amending section 3 (MCL 15.263), as amended by 2018 PA 485.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Oversight.
Senator Hollier introduced
Senate Bill No. 1064, entitled
A bill to amend 1927 PA 175, entitled “The
code of criminal procedure,” by amending section 16m of chapter XVII (MCL
777.16m), as amended by 2018 PA 637.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
Senate Bill No. 1065, entitled
A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled “The
Michigan penal code,” by amending section 223 (MCL 750.223), as amended by
2012 PA 242, and by adding section 223a.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
Senator Bumstead introduced
Senate Bill No. 1066, entitled
A bill to amend 1984 PA 270, entitled “Michigan
strategic fund act,” by amending section 29d (MCL 125.2029d), as amended
by 2011 PA 291.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Senator Hertel introduced
Senate Bill No. 1067, entitled
A bill to amend 1998 PA 58, entitled “Michigan
liquor control code of 1998,” by amending section 303a (MCL 436.1303a), as
added by 2018 PA 155.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Senator Hertel introduced
Senate Bill No. 1068, entitled
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled “Natural
resources and environmental protection act,” by amending sections 11550 and
16908 (MCL 324.11550 and 324.16908), section 11550 as amended by 2018 PA 640
and section 16908 as amended by 2014 PA 543.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Senator Hollier introduced
Senate Bill No. 1069, entitled
A bill to amend 1994 PA 295, entitled “Sex
offenders registration act,” by amending section 5b (MCL 28.725b), as
amended by 2011 PA 17.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Senator Hollier introduced
Senate Bill No. 1070, entitled
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “Michigan
vehicle code,” by amending section 819 (MCL 257.819), as amended by 2016 PA
280.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Senator Hollier introduced
Senate Bill No. 1071, entitled
A bill to amend 1987 PA 231, entitled “An act
to create a transportation economic development fund in the state treasury; to
prescribe the uses of and distributions from this fund; to create the office of
economic development and to prescribe its powers and duties; to prescribe the
powers and duties of the state transportation department, state transportation
commission, and certain other bodies; and to permit the issuance of certain
bonds,” by amending section 11 (MCL 247.911), as amended by 2018 PA 473.
The bill was read a first and second time by
title and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Recess
Senator MacGregor moved that the Senate recess
subject to the call of the Chair.
The motion prevailed, the time being 12:05
p.m.
The Senate was called to order by the
President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist.
By unanimous consent the Senate returned to
the order of
Third Reading of Bills
Senator MacGregor moved that the Senate
proceed to consideration of the following bill:
House
Bill No. 5911
The motion prevailed.
The following bill was read a third time:
House Bill No. 5911, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 21f (MCL 388.1621f), as
amended by 2018 PA 265.
The
question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor,
as follows:
Roll Call No.
264 Yeas—24
Ananich Horn MacGregor Schmidt
Barrett Johnson McBroom Shirkey
Bizon LaSata McCann Stamas
Brinks Lauwers Nesbitt Theis
Daley Lucido Outman VanderWall
Hertel MacDonald Runestad Victory
Nays—14
Alexander Chang McMorrow Santana
Bayer Geiss Moss Wojno
Bullock Hollier Polehanki Zorn
Bumstead Irwin
Excused—0
Not
Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator MacGregor moved that the bill be given
immediate effect.
The motion prevailed, 2/3 of the members
serving voting therefor.
Pursuant to Joint Rule 20, the full title of
the act shall be inserted to read as follows:
“An act to make appropriations to aid in the
support of the public schools, the intermediate school districts, community
colleges, and public universities of the state; to make appropriations for
certain other purposes relating to education; to provide for the disbursement
of the appropriations; to authorize the issuance of certain bonds and provide
for the security of those bonds; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and
officials; to create certain funds and provide for their expenditure; to
prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,”.
The Senate agreed to the full title.
The following bill was read a third time:
House Bill No. 5912, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as
amended by 2019 PA 58.
The
question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Chang offered the following amendment:
1. Amend
page 7, line 2, after “district.” by
striking out the balance of the line through “75%.” on line 7.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of
the members serving not voting therefor.
The
question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor,
as follows:
Roll Call No.
265 Yeas—23
Ananich Horn MacGregor Shirkey
Barrett Johnson McCann Stamas
Bizon LaSata Nesbitt Theis
Brinks Lauwers Outman VanderWall
Daley Lucido Runestad Victory
Hertel MacDonald Schmidt
Nays—15
Alexander Chang McBroom Santana
Bayer Geiss McMorrow Wojno
Bullock Hollier Moss Zorn
Bumstead Irwin Polehanki
Excused—0
Not
Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator MacGregor moved that the bill be given
immediate effect.
The motion prevailed, 2/3 of the members
serving voting therefor.
Pursuant to Joint Rule 20, the full title of
the act shall be inserted to read as follows:
“An act to make appropriations to aid in the
support of the public schools, the intermediate school districts, community
colleges, and public universities of the state; to make appropriations for
certain other purposes relating to education; to provide for the disbursement
of the appropriations; to authorize the issuance of certain bonds and provide
for the security of those bonds; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and
officials; to create certain funds and provide for their expenditure; to
prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,”.
The Senate agreed to the full title.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Chang’s statement is as follows:
I rise to offer an amendment that would eliminate the funding penalties
associated with the 75 percent two-way interaction goal. While I believe
wholeheartedly that interaction between pupils and their teachers is of course
vitally important to ensure learning is happening, the bill as written is
disconnected from the reality we are facing—families without internet; children
and teachers who may get infected with COVID and spend long periods of time in
the hospitals or quarantine; families without caregivers to ensure that
children can get online; families without reliable access to a phone or the
same consistent phone number. We cannot ignore these realities.
In Detroit, my own home school district where my daughter will be
entering kindergarten in a few short weeks, administrators have had a hard time
even reaching families by email, phone, and door-to-door to find out if they’re
selecting in-person or remote and virtual learning. How can we penalize these
educators for simply doing their best by taking away their funding? I am
extremely concerned that we would pursue penalizing districts that have the
most vulnerable children and families by taking away money based on unrealistic
expectations during a school year that is unlike any other in history. We
should of course continue working towards as much two-way interaction as
possible as a goal, but at the same time must recognize the immense challenges
that our districts, our families, and communities are facing during this
pandemic. I encourage you to support my amendment.
The following bill was read a third time:
House Bill No. 5913, entitled
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled “The
state school aid act of 1979,” by amending sections 6, 6a, 11p, 104, 201c, and
236g (MCL 388.1606, 388.1606a, 388.1611p, 388.1704, 388.1801c, and 388.1836g),
sections 6 and 104 as amended by 2020 PA 146, section 6a as amended by 2007 PA
137, and sections 11p, 201c, and 236g as added by 2020 PA 146, and by adding
section 98a.
The
question being on the passage of the bill,
Senator Geiss offered the following amendments:
1. Amend
page 35, line 16, after “re-confirmed.”
by striking out “Thirty days” and
inserting “At the start of the first
quarter, trimester, or semester, as applicable,”.
2. Amend page 35, line 17, after “and” by inserting “at the start of”.
3. Amend page 35, line 17, after “every” by striking out “30 days” and inserting “quarter, trimester, or semester, as
applicable,”.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of
the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Polehanki offered the following amendments:
1. Amend
page 43, line 26, after “(8)” by
striking out the balance of the line through “meet” on line 27 and inserting “A district may accomplish”.
2. Amend page 43, line 27, after “following” by striking out “requirements:” and inserting a colon.
3. Amend page. 43, line 29, after “district” by striking out “shall” and inserting “may”.
4. Amend page 44, line 7, after “district” by striking out “shall” and inserting “may”.
5. Amend page 44, line 19, after “subsection” by striking out “(14)” and inserting “(13)”.
6. Amend page 45, line 6, after “assessments” by striking out “toward meeting the requirement under”
and inserting “for the purposes of”.
7. Amend page 45, line 21, by striking out all of
subsection (12) and renumbering the remaining subsections.
The question being on the adoption of the
amendments,
Senator Chang requested the yeas and nays.
The
yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The
amendments were not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting
therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No.
266 Yeas—17
Alexander Chang Irwin Moss
Ananich Geiss McBroom Polehanki
Bayer Hertel McCann Santana
Brinks Hollier McMorrow Wojno
Bullock
Nays—21
Barrett LaSata Nesbitt Stamas
Bizon Lauwers Outman Theis
Bumstead Lucido Runestad VanderWall
Daley MacDonald Schmidt Victory
Horn MacGregor Shirkey Zorn
Johnson
Excused—0
Not
Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Irwin offered the following amendment:
1. Amend page 48, following line 11, by
inserting:
“Sec. 104c. (1) In Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, in order to receive state aid under this article, a district
shall administer the state assessments described in this section. However, subject to federal law, a
district is not required to administer the state assessments described in this
section in the 2020-2021 school year to receive state aid under this article.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the
department shall develop and administer the Michigan student test of
educational progress (M-STEP) assessments in English language arts and
mathematics. These assessments shall be aligned to state standards.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the
department shall implement a summative assessment system that is proven to be
valid and reliable for administration to pupils as provided under this
subsection. The summative assessment system must meet all of the following requirements:
(a) The summative assessment system must
measure student proficiency on the current state standards, must measure
student growth for consecutive grade levels in which students are assessed in
the same subject area in both grade levels, and must be capable of measuring
individual student performance.
(b) The summative assessments for English
language arts and mathematics must be administered to all public school pupils
in grades 3 to 11, including those pupils as required by the federal individuals
with disabilities education act, Public Law 108-446, and by title I of the
federal every student succeeds act (ESSA), Public Law 114-95.
(c) The summative assessments for science must
be administered to all public school pupils in at least grades 5 and 8,
including those pupils as required by the federal individuals with disabilities
education act, Public Law 108-446, and by title I of the federal every student
succeeds act (ESSA), Public Law 114-95.
(d) The summative assessments for social
studies must be administered to all public school pupils in at least grades 5
and 8, including those pupils as required by the federal individuals with
disabilities education act, Public Law 108-446, and by title I of the federal
every student succeeds act (ESSA), Public Law 114‑95.
(e) The content of the summative assessments
must be aligned to state standards.
(f) The pool of questions for the summative
assessments must be subject to a transparent review process for quality, bias,
and sensitive issues involving educator review and comment. The department
shall post samples from tests or retired tests featuring questions from this
pool for review by the public.
(g) The summative assessment system must
ensure that students, parents, and teachers are provided with reports that
convey individual student proficiency and growth on the assessment and that
convey individual student domain-level performance in each subject area,
including representative questions, and individual student performance in
meeting state standards.
(h) The summative assessment system must be
capable of providing, and the department shall ensure that students, parents,
teachers, administrators, and community members are provided with, reports that
convey aggregate student proficiency and growth data by teacher, grade, school,
and district.
(i) The summative assessment system must
ensure the capability of reporting the available data to support educator
evaluations.
(j) The summative assessment system must
ensure that the reports provided to districts containing individual student
data are available within 60 days after completion of the assessments.
(k) The summative assessment system must
ensure that access to individually identifiable student data meets all of the
following:
(i)
Is in compliance with 20 USC 1232g, commonly referred to as the family
educational rights and privacy act of 1974.
(ii)
Except as may be provided for in an agreement with a vendor to provide
assessment services, as necessary to support educator evaluations pursuant to
subdivision (i), or for research or program evaluation purposes, is available
only to the student; to the student’s parent or legal guardian; and to a school
administrator or teacher, to the extent that he or she has a legitimate
educational interest.
(l)
The summative assessment system must ensure that the assessments are pilot
tested before statewide implementation.
(m) The summative assessment system must
ensure that assessments are designed so that the maximum total combined length
of time that schools are required to set aside for a pupil to answer all test
questions on all assessments that are part of the system for the pupil’s grade
level does not exceed that maximum total combined length of time for the
previous statewide assessment system or 9 hours, whichever is less. This
subdivision does not limit the amount of time a district may allow a pupil to
complete a test.
(n) The total cost of executing the summative
assessment system statewide each year, including, but not limited to, the cost
of contracts for administration, scoring, and reporting, must not exceed an
amount equal to 2 times the cost of executing the previous statewide assessment
after adjustment for inflation.
(o) Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year,
the summative assessment system must not require more than 3 hours in duration,
on average, for an individual pupil to complete the combined administration of
the math and English language arts portions of the assessment for any 1 grade
level.
(p) The summative assessments for English
language arts and mathematics for pupils in grades 8 to 10 must be aligned to
the college entrance test portion of the Michigan merit examination required
under section 104b.
(4) The department shall offer benchmark
assessments in the fall and spring of each school year to measure English
language arts and mathematics in each of grades K to 2. Full implementation
must occur not later than the 2019-2020 school year. These assessments are
necessary to determine a pupil’s proficiency level before grade 3 and must meet
the requirements under section 104d(4).
(5) This section does not prohibit districts
from adopting interim assessments.
(6) As used in this section, “English language
arts” means that term as defined in section 104b.”.
The question being on the adoption of the
amendment,
Senator Chang requested the yeas and nays.
The
yeas and nays were ordered, 1/5 of the members present voting therefor.
The
amendment was not adopted, a majority of the members serving not voting
therefor, as follows:
Roll Call No.
267 Yeas—17
Alexander Chang Irwin Moss
Ananich Geiss McBroom Polehanki
Bayer Hertel McCann Santana
Brinks Hollier McMorrow Wojno
Bullock
Nays—21
Barrett LaSata Nesbitt Stamas
Bizon Lauwers Outman Theis
Bumstead Lucido Runestad VanderWall
Daley MacDonald Schmidt Victory
Horn MacGregor Shirkey Zorn
Johnson
Excused—0
Not
Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator Irwin offered the following amendment:
1. Amend
page 3, line 22, after “district,”
by striking out the balance of the line through “times” on line 25 and inserting “the greater of the district’s, public school academy’s, intermediate
district’s, or community district’s 2019-2020 membership as calculated under
this section in 2019-2020 or”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of
the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator Chang offered the following amendments:
1. Amend
page 37, line 15, after “its” by
striking out “weekly” and inserting “monthly”.
2. Amend page 37, line 19, after “each” by striking out “month” and inserting “quarter”.
The amendments were not adopted, a majority of
the members serving not voting therefor.
Senator McMorrow offered the following amendment:
1. Amend
page 36, line 19, after “metrics.”
by inserting “The local public health
department is responsible for providing public health data used in these
metrics and determining if they provide sufficient protection for students and
school personnel in the districtwide guidelines.”.
The amendment was not adopted, a majority of
the members serving not voting therefor.
The
question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor,
as follows:
Roll Call No.
268 Yeas—23
Ananich Horn MacGregor Shirkey
Barrett Johnson McCann Stamas
Bizon LaSata Nesbitt Theis
Brinks Lauwers Outman VanderWall
Daley Lucido Runestad Victory
Hertel MacDonald Schmidt
Nays—15
Alexander Chang McBroom Santana
Bayer Geiss McMorrow Wojno
Bullock Hollier Moss Zorn
Bumstead Irwin Polehanki
Excused—0
Not
Voting—0
In The Chair: President
Senator MacGregor moved that the bill be given
immediate effect.
The motion prevailed, 2/3 of the members
serving voting therefor.
Pursuant to Joint Rule 20, the full title of
the act shall be inserted to read as follows:
“An act to make appropriations to aid in the
support of the public schools, the intermediate school districts, community
colleges, and public universities of the state; to make appropriations for
certain other purposes relating to education; to provide for the disbursement
of the appropriations; to authorize the issuance of certain bonds and provide
for the security of those bonds; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and
officials; to create certain funds and provide for their expenditure; to
prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,”.
The Senate agreed to the full title.
Protests
Senators Geiss, Wojno, Alexander, Santana and
Hollier, under their constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18),
protested against the passage of House Bill Nos. 5911, 5912, and 5913.
Senator Geiss’ statement, in which Senators Wojno, Alexander, Santana
and Hollier concurred, is as follows:
I rise to give my “no” vote explanation on the bills that were just
before us.
While I appreciate the efforts to find a safe way to ensure the best
possible health and outcomes for our students, teachers, faculty, and parents,
while delivering the education needs of our students, the legislation that we
just passed does not do that for the people of my district—the people who sent
me here to this very chamber to be their voice for them, the people who have
been saying loud and clear that they are trying their best to make sure
students learn in the difficult days ahead—and during an already global
pandemic—that none of us have ever experienced before—they are begging us to
not add more tasks and tracking benchmarks on top of what exists, particularly
when they are already trying to do more with less and with less-than-adequate
funding, and who, in many cases, spent the summer examining how spring went and
planned intensely for how to educate our students amidst the pandemic.
We know these are tough and unusual times and those who need the most
support even in non-pandemic times—whether they are adults or children—need
even more support now. The bottom line is this, Our schools need better
funding. In fact, they needed it months ago and our administrators have been
waiting for it. They told us what they needed and we’re here offering them much
less than that. And yes, this bill package offers some flexibility, makes
adjustments for academic year 2020-2021—which for most districts begins in just
24 days—but while giving flexibility, it simultaneously requires additional
hurdles and unnecessary administrative gymnastics that further complicate and
muddle life in COVID-19-era education.
Our schools don’t need last-minute strings attached, complete with a
litany of requirements that blindly assume every district across the state has
the same financial backing, stability, and support systems in place to assure
the best successes. Our educational leaders called upon legislators to bring
them into the fold when these options were discussed, yet here we are—a day
late and a dollar short—pushing through a mediocre proposal for the sake of
saying it was done.
We expect excellence from our schools. We owe them excellence, not
mediocrity, and I simply could not support something that falls short of the
mark on meeting the needs of our educational communities, and one that is so
incredibly tardy that it probably should get detention.
I voted “no” on this package, and I wanted to make sure that was in the
record.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Geiss’ statement is as follows:
In the attempt to provide districts with flexibility, this bill has
managed to add reporting requirements that are so frequent, they would serve to
bog down the ability of school districts to meet the required deliverables.
Monthly reporting and reconfirming of pandemic learning plans is too frequent.
My amendment would not remove the reporting requirements, but simply align the
reporting to the manner in which a school or school district has already
subdivides its academic year, whether that subdivision is by quarters,
trimesters, or semesters, and would be due at the start of each of the district’s
subdivisions.
Senator Polehanki’s statement is as follows:
I rise to ask my colleagues to vote “yes” on my amendment to House Bill
No. 5913. This amendment removes the requirement that benchmark testing be made
mandatory for the upcoming school year and removes any requirement that
benchmark test scores be reported to the state.
As we know, local school districts have been given the flexibility to choose
how instruction will be delivered and many have chosen to start online. And
depending on the course of COVID-19, health and safety needs may keep students
online for an indeterminate period of time. While benchmark assessments can be
useful to drive instruction and monitor student progress when administered in
controlled testing situations like in a computer lab with a proctor, they are
not designed to be taken from home because academic integrity can’t be ensured,
rendering any report the state may create from tests taken from home as
useless.
Benchmark tests take multiple class periods to administer for each
subject and they are untimed. To add yet another standardized test onto kids’
plates in the first new school year during COVID-19, to ask students and
teachers to participate in what would amount to a weeks-long exercise in
futility—especially when what they’re yearning for is meaningful instruction
time with each other—to ask students and teachers to do that is unfair.
For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to vote “yes” on my amendment.
Senator
Theis’ statement is as follows:
I very
much appreciate where the good Senator is coming from with respect to the
benchmark tests.
I
would argue that it is extraordinarily necessary that every single school know
exactly where the students are as they go to start teaching them. We are in unprecedented
times. They have no idea what has been learned or lost since we left for COVID.
There
are even proctoring organizations that are professional organizations to
oversee these to make sure that the tests are accurate. We have been going
online nationally. This is not new. This is something that is absolutely
essential. I would consider it educational malfeasance if we didn’t know where
our children were, as we were trying to begin education for them for this year.
It is essential that we have the benchmark tests.
I ask
that we vote “no” on the amendment.
Senator Irwin’s first statement is as follows:
I rise to ask my colleagues to support my amendment to House Bill No.
5913 because over the course of the last couple of decades I’m sure you all know
that the amount of money that we have actually allocated to our schools is 25
percent less in inflation-adjusted dollars. And what the Legislature has been
doing recently is that we’ve been replacing the resources that we used to give
to schools with more and more accountability measures; more and more
box-checking exercises; more and more administrative work for the schools to do
which distracts from the critical and important job of instructing students and
learning.
So what my amendment does is it seeks to provide flexibility around this
odd year and say that we’re not going to do the M-STEP assessment this year. We
know this is an odd year. We know we’re facing a pandemic. We know that our
schools have been dealing with the chaos of inaction from this Legislature and
I think it would be a great benefit to our schools to give them a little bit
more flexibility and to allow them to know that they’re not going to have to
dominate their computer labs with even more testing because the Legislature has
said we’re going to take a year off of M-STEP. So that’s what I’m proposing. I
appreciate your support.
Senator Irwin’s second statement is as follows:
This amendment would allow our districts to
use last year’s student count for their per-pupil count. I don’t know if all of
you have been in contact with your superintendents and your school leaders, but
I know that I have. One of the things that my school leaders have been
saying—both from board members to superintendents—is that we want to get back
to learning and to instruction. We want less administrative burden from the Legislature.
This is going to be an odd and difficult year already. Please don’t send us
into an administrative nightmare of trying to track down students online and
properly report all that data when it would be much easier to use the count
from last year. Let’s take advantage of the administrative efficiencies offered
by this amendment and give our schools a little bit more clarity, certainty,
and ease in reporting their student counts.
Senator Chang’s statement is as follows:
I think we all recognize the incredible challenges and unprecedented
hard decisions that our school boards and superintendents have had to make
during the past few months. My amendment would change the burdensome requirement
to post and announce every month the weekly two-way interaction rates. Instead
of posting and reporting these weekly interaction rates on a monthly basis,
through my amendment we would be posting and reporting the monthly interaction
rates on a quarterly basis. This is much more reasonable for our districts and
our school boards to handle amidst all of the health precautions, virtual and
remote learning that’s being set up, and all the other things that they’ve
never had to do to this degree before. We have enough challenges during this
pandemic. Let’s allow our education professionals to do their work and spend
time working with our kids and families through this confusing and traumatic
time without unnecessarily burdensome requirements.
Senator McMorrow’s statement is as follows:
I offer an amendment today that’s very, very simple and straightforward.
In both the executive order and this bill there is the requirement that school
districts work in coordination with public health departments when putting
together their plans for reopening. But in practice that hasn’t gone as smooth
as people would like because as you can imagine, like all of us, our school
administrators and our school board members are not themselves public health
experts. So when they receive data and information and numbers and trends on
cases, they’re not entirely sure how to interpret that data in the right way.
So they have said, in no uncertain terms, we feel a huge weight of
responsibility for all of our staff, all of our teachers, all of the students
who are coming in, and as we look around the country at schools who are
reopening in places like Georgia and are suddenly having to shut down, I think
everybody wants to avoid unnecessary disruptions to peoples’ lives. So all this
amendment would do would clarify that the public health department is required
for providing the data and the analysis and interpretation of that data so that
school districts can make an informed decision when they’re putting their plans
together on making sure they’re plans are safe for everybody involved.
Committee
Reports
COMMITTEE ATTENDANCE REPORT
The Joint Select Committee on the
COVID-19 Pandemic (HCR 20) submitted the following:
Meeting held on Thursday, August 13,
2020, at 9:00 a.m., Room 352, House Appropriations Room, 3rd Floor,
Capitol Building
Present: Senators Schmidt, Hollier
and Hertel
Excused: Senators Nesbitt and LaSata
COVID-19 Pandemic Joint Select - Thursday, August 13, 9:00 a.m., Room 352, House Appropriations
Room, 3rd Floor, Capitol Building (517) 373-5795
Senator MacGregor moved that the Senate
adjourn.
The motion prevailed, a majority of the
members serving voting therefor, the time being 12:57 p.m.
Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No.
28, the President, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, declared the Senate adjourned
until Tuesday, September 1, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
MARGARET
O’BRIEN
Secretary
of the Senate