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.
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