From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 10:44 AM
Subject: What the Governor's talking about this week

What the Governor’s Talking about This Week
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

 Governor Signs Bills Protecting Customers from Shutoff of Municipal Electric, Natural Gas Utilities
 Governor Signs Legislation Clarifying Day-Care Laws

Governor Signs Bills Protecting Customers from Shutoff of Municipal Electric, Natural Gas Utilities
 
The governor on Monday signed three bills into law that provide increased protection from shutoff for customers of municipal electric and natural gas utilities across the state.  In signing the bills, the governor is urging lawmakers to complete work on the larger legislative package, which is designed to protect citizens from utility shutoffs.

Under the legislation, municipal utilities are now required to postpone a shutoff of service for up to 21 days if the customer or a member of the household is a critical-care customer or has a certified medical emergency.  The utility would have to extend the postponement of shutoff under certain conditions.

Additionally, municipal utilities are now required to notify the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) of any shutoff of service that resulted in death or serious injury, and they must provide the MPSC with the procedures followed during the shutoff.  Also, the MPSC is now authorized to investigate any shutoff by a municipal utility that resulted in death or serious injury.  Following the investigation, the MPSC could refer the matter to the attorney general for possible civil action.
 
Key messages:

•  Electric and natural gas customers of municipal utilities in Michigan now have increased shutoff protection.

•  This is a great first step toward ensuring that customers of municipal electric and natural gas utilities have the same protection as customers of regulated utilities, but the legislature needs to finish its work on the larger legislative package.

Governor Signs Legislation Clarifying Day-Care Laws

On Tuesday the governor signed legislation exempting baby-sitting from the state’s day-care laws. 
 
Public Act 155 (HB 5514) exempts uncompensated child-care and baby-sitting from day-care licensing requirements, and defines baby-sitting as caring for another’s child for less than $600 a year.
 
In September, the governor directed the Michigan Department of Human Services to work with legislators to amend the day-care laws after a Michigan mother received a letter from the department in response to a report it received that she was watching her neighbors’ children in the morning.  The letter asked that she become licensed if she was operating a day-care, and specified penalties for anyone operating a day-care without a license.

Key messages:
 
•  This amendment to the definition of a family child-care home is clearer than the earlier language on the books, and makes it easier for the state and the public to identify when a license is or isn’t needed.
 
•  Day-care laws have been made easier to interpret.  The new law clarifies what we already knew: that being a good neighbor can include keeping an eye on each other’s children.

# # #