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LANSING
WATCH
December, 2011
The information presented is not all-inclusive of
the legislation pending.
Unless stated otherwise, these bills have
been either filed or referred to a committee.
HB 4009: LeBlanc
Eliminated those areas where a
concealed weapon can be carried.
If criminals can carry anywhere, why
not the honest citizen?
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HB 4021: Agema, Yonker, Hooker,
Pscholka
SB 0822 & SJR Q: Casperson, Robertson,
Boohar, Proos Emmons
Takes 80% of the current funding for
the Natural Resources Trust Fund and gives it to the
State Aeronautics Fund and MDOT.
Millions of dollars from this fund are
given to local communities to be used to improve
recreational opportunities, particularly in outdoor
activities.
Parks, river cleanups, wetlands restoration,
trails, beaches and similar efforts would go
unfunded.
In addition, this fund supports the DNR land
purchases which in turn become public lands.
A small portion goes to the state parks and
DNR operations.
Fortunately this change requires a
constitutional amendment.
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HB 4111: Rendon, Callton, Cotter,
Potvin, Johnson, McBroom, MacMaster, Zorn, Hughes,
Yonker, Opsommer, Pettalia
Allow the DNR to appoint volunteers to
help carry out its conservation responsibilities.
This is a tremendous assistance in
getting a lot of small advances in habitat
improvements.
These bills have passed their
respective houses and a joint agreement has been
signed by the Governor.
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HB 4250: Meadows, Segal, Tyler, Barnett, Johnson, Smiley, Shaughnessy,
MacMaster
Excludes bird feeding from the baiting
and feeding ban.
This probably generated the greatest
pressure to lift the baiting ban.
Those who do not hunt or have a heightened
interest in managing the natural resources were
angered at not being able to feed birds.
This bill is mute at this point but could
come back into consideration if CWC is discovered
again.
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HB 4259: Cotter, Johnson, Heise,
Foster, Bumstead, Huuki, Schmidt, Genetski, McMillin
Hughes, MacGregor, Shirkey, Rendon, Crawford
Moves the opening day of rifle deer
season to the Saturday closest to November 15th.
The season will be open for the next 16 days.
This would move the opening day three
days earlier or later depending on the fall of the
15th.
No days would be lost to either rifle or
archery hunters.
This has at least two advantages to resource
management.
First, it allows more people a hunting
opportunity which adds to the revenues available to
the DNR.
Second, it allows more youth participation which is
sorely needed for the future of resource management.
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HB 4298: Lindberg, McBroom, Huuki,
Foster
Requires the DNR to grant easements
for roadways under certain circumstances.
Currently the DNR has discretion on
granting easements which it seldom does.
This will result in court settlements which
are never in the best interest of the resource.
Support for these bills comes mainly from the
timber industry.
This bill has passed the House and the
Senate.
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HB 4371: Pettalia, Brown, Brunner,
Cotter, Crawford, Damrow, Goike, Heise, Huuki,
Jacobsen, Lyons, MacGregor, Meadows, Melton, Moss,
O’Brien, Opsommer, Ouimet, Potvin, Rendon, Slavens,
Smiley, Sommerville, Walsh
SB 0207: Hune
Eliminates the minimum age limit for
hunting and establishes a mentored youth hunter
program.
The future of resource management
depends on the support of the people.
The younger the training and education begins
the greater it is established in ones life style.
This has proven effective in many other
states and has led to increased participation in
most of those states.
These bills have passed their
respective houses and a joint agreement has been
signed by the Governor.
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HB 4438/9: Bauer, Meadows
Add libraries to the weapon-free zones
and amend the penal code accordingly.
If criminals can carry anywhere, why
not the honest citizen?
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HB 4499: Franz, Bumstead
Prohibit off-shore wind development on
the Great Lakes.
The locating these structures
off-shore would involve the destruction of shallow
water breeding grounds, the running of electrical
cable to the shore and the sale or leasing of lake
bottom.
None of which seem to be in the best interest of the
resource.
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HB 4503/4/5/6, 4699: McBroom, Tyler,
Huuki, Horn, Crawford, Bumstead, McMillin, Opsommer,
Shirkey, Daley, Goike, Denby, MacMaster, Schmidt
(note; not all signed on for all the bills)
SB 0307/8/9/10: Hune
This series of bills: Regulates
sporting swine operations; Excludes sporting swine
from game regulations; Allows cervid operations to
operate sporting swine activity; Establishes
sentencing guidelines for the sporting swine
marketing act violations. Currently there are no
regulations on sporting swine.
Wild pigs have had a devastating
impact in many states and have been impossible to
eliminate.
These invasive species have been introduced,
like most invasive species, through economically
driven human efforts.
The bills have passed in the House and
are in committee in the Senate.
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HB 4507: McBroom,
Tyler, Huuki, Horn, Crawford,
McMillin, Opsommer, Shirkey
SB 0027: Hansen
Transfers the regulatory
responsibilities for cervid and sporting swine
operations to the Department of Agriculture.
Currently the responsibilities are
split between the DNR and MDA.
It is generally felt that the DNR has a much
greater vested interest in enforcing the regulations
as described in HB 4503 and SB 0307 and related
bills.
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HB 4577: Johnson
HB 4579: Foster, Haveman, McMillin,
Kowall, MacMaster, Cotter, Rendon, Opsommer,
Schmidt, Gilbert, Heise, Hauch, Huuki, Crawford,
Pettalia, Rogers, Damrow, Bumstead, O’Brien,
McBroom, Horn, Jacobsen, Nesbitt, Tyler, Glardon,
Price, Ouimet, Lyons, Liss, Hughes, Lindberg,
Pscholka, Daley, Kandrevas, Scott, Potvin,
Knollwnberg, Lund
Require the Natural Resources Trust
Fund to make 100% of the payments in lieu of taxes
on property purchased through the fund.
Currently the Fund pays 50%.
This will eliminate approximately $1
million from the grants to local communities for
recreation projects freeing general fund monies for
other uses.
These bills have passed their
respective houses and a joint agreement has been
signed by the Governor.
This change requires a constitutional
amendment.
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HB 4894: O’Brien
Drops the provision requiring the
sheriff to destroy all unlicensed dogs.
And what do we do with feral dogs or
constantly violating owners?
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HB 4684: Mac Master, Foster
Allows saddle and pack animals on all
state land trailways.
Jeopardized $25 million in federal
funding for allowing saddle and pack animals on
lands purchased primarily for hunting.
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HB 4917: Pettalia, Foster
Adds crossbows to the law restricting
in vehicle carry – same as guns and bows.
Common sense.
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HB 4927: Olson
Sets punishment for illegal baiting
and increases the punishment for each succeeding
conviction.
All regulation should carry increased
punishment for each succeeding conviction.
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HB 5175: Foster
Expands the pack and saddle trailways
and adds future requirements.
Somewhere there has to be a limit to
these and other trails.
This cannot be good for the resources.
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SB 0059: Green Casperson, Pavlov,
Robertson, Moolenaar
Eliminates the gun boards and
authorizes the Secretary of State to issue concealed
pistol licenses.
This is a much more simplified and
consistent approach.
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SB 0248: Casperson, Robertson, Green,
Marleau, Brendenberg, Pappageorge
Prohibits the DNR from holding or
controlling for the use of the general public more
than 4,600,000 acres.
One of the greatest assets of this
state is the amount of land open for public use.
This bill has passed the Senate.
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SB 0332: Casperson, Moolenaar, Rocca,
Boohar, Proos, Walker, Green, Colbeck, Marleau,
Emmons
Require the DNR to convey (sell) all
closed state forest camp grounds to local
governments or to private citizens via a bid
process.
One of the greatest assets of this
state is the amount of land open for public use.
Even though closed, the property is available
for public use.
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SB 0412: Booher, Hansen, Green, Proos,
Marleau, Casperson
The creation & management of wild
turkey habitat on state land, annual wild turkey
population survey, annual random disease testing
across wild turkey range.
This creates additional work and will
actually reduce the amount spent on habitat.
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SB 0499: Casperson, Walker, Colbeck,
Caswell, Green
Requires the DNR to allow
Telecommunication Facilities on state property free
of charge.
Anyone using state property for
financial gain should pay for the privilege.
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SB 0508, 0509, 2510: Casperson,
Walker, Hansen, Moolenaar, Booher, Rocca,
Pappageorge, Marleau, Schuitmaker, Proos, Warren,
Hopgood, Bieda, Smith, Young, Caswell, Green,
Meekhof, Nofs, Kowall, Jansen, Jones
Establishes an Aquatic Invasive
Species Advisory Council to make recommendations on
the final update of the Michigan Aquatic Invasive Species Management
Plan.
Defines the committee membership, timeline for
reporting and who is to be reported to.
Invasive Species Management Plan is
not the correct nomenclature.
It should be the Invasive Species Prevention
Plan.
This titling reflects the legislators’ lack of
understanding of the impact of the Great Lakes on
all aspects of the lives of
Michigan
residents.
This appears to be just another meaningless
flag waving effort that says “we are doing
something”.
This was passed by the Senate.
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SB 0588: Jones, Marleau, Warren,
Schuitmaker, Proos, Caswell, Hopgood, Brandenberg,
Nofs
Prohibits wild boar and related feral
swine species from being introduced in
Michigan.
This is the best news out of Lansing this year.
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SB 0615: Schuitmaker, Nofs, Walker,
Hildenbrand, Emmons, Hune, Smith, Gleason, Anderson,
Gregory, Hood, Warren, Hopgood, Proos, Green,
Brendenberg, Hansen, Casperson
Establishes Memorial Day, Labor Day
and the fourth of July as free fishing days in
addition to the four other days already established
by the DNR.
This might be agreeable if it weren’t
for the already severe drop-off of license sales.
Four free days is enough.
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House Joint Resolution H: Agema,
Callton, Sommerville, Haines, Tyler, Huuki,
Crawford, MacMaster, Shaughnessy, LaFontaine,
Genetski, Franz
Senate Joint Resolution H: Hildebrand,
Robertson, Kowall, Booher, Meekhof, Rocca, Jansen,
Emmons, Pavlov, Gleason, Brandenberg, Marleau,
Hansen, Nofs, Moolenaar, Green, Schuitmaker,
Caswell, Proos, Jones, Hune
Proposed constitutional amendment
establishing the right of the people to hunt, fish
and trap.
Long over due.
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