Vendors operating in a flea market setting would need to maintain
documentation of purchase for all new or unused goods they are selling
under legislation reported out of the Senate Local, Urban and State
Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
House Bill 5677, sponsored by Rep. Valde Garcia (R-St. Johns),
would also prohibit the sale of over-the-counter medication that is
beyond its expiration date and the sale of baby formula and other
temperature-sensitive foods for children under two years of age.
The bill was previously modified on the House floor to address
concerns by the vendor community.
The legislation now goes before the full Senate. MRA will continue
to work with members of the Senate until final passage is achieved.
Privacy legislation (Senate Bill 120) that would prohibit obtaining
or
attempting to obtain personal identity information of another person was
voted out of the House Criminal Law and Corrections Committee Tuesday.
Senate Bill 885, a companion bill, prescribes sentencing guidelines
on these
new criminal offenses.
MRA, working with credit bureau representatives, helped secure
an amendment
adding an unlawful intent standard to the legislation. The Association will
continue to monitor this package as it moves to the House floor for
additional consideration.
Testimony on legislation regulating telephone solicitation and
telemarketing
was taken in the House Energy and Technology Committee on Wednesday. MRA's
Peter Kuhnmuench voiced the Association's concern that regulators target
their efforts to those operations that are the cause of the ongoing
complaints without overburdening those businesses that operate responsibly.
"We would hope that any effort to legislate telemarketing
practices would
target those entities that do not maintain an established business presence
in Michigan and are not subject to ongoing state or federal regulatory
oversight, under which appropriate recourse is available," Kuhnmuench
testified to committee members.
Several provisions in the package of bills (House Bills 5446-5459)
are
troubling. They include requiring the solicitor to announce the name and
telephone number of the organization initiating the call both during the
first 25 seconds of the call and at the conclusion of the call. Not only is
such a mandate difficult to enforce, it is also impossible to comply with if
a receiving party chooses to end the call without notice.
The legislation would also prohibit the use of pre-recorded
messages either
in whole or in part. The prohibition frustrates effective and accurate means
of communication that provide a consistency of message and an efficient way
to document the content of a telemarketing solicitation.
No action was taken on the package of bills and no additional
hearings are
currently scheduled.
Kuhnmuench also testified in support of legislation authorizing
the mail
delivery of a prescription drug by Michigan-based pharmacies. Currently, it
is a violation of the state's public health code for a Michigan pharmacist
to employ the mail to deliver a prescription drug to a consumer.
House Bill 5870, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Ehardt (R-Lexington),
establishes
certain conditions under which mail delivery may occur. The first of these
conditions provides that the health care benefit or payment plan providing
the pharmacy service must reimburse a Michigan community-based pharmacy on
the same terms and conditions as a mail-order pharmacy.
Other conditions require the plans to reimburse a community-based
pharmacy
for the emergency delivery of prescription drugs to patients who have not
received their prescription drugs in a timely manner from a mail-order
pharmacy.
Under the legislation, a 90-day supply of a prescribed drug
may be dispensed
via the mail only after the patient has been taking the drug for at least 90
days. The bill further provides that a prescription drug delivered via the
mail must not be kept in an uncontrolled environment for more than 24 hours
and must not be sensitive to temperature or humidity.
No action was taken on the bill, which remains available for
consideration
through the end of the current calendar year.
HB 5943-5945, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Ann Jamnick (D-Ypsilanti),
to revise
notification requirement for township, county and city or village zoning or
rezoning.
HB 5948, sponsored by Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek),
to provide
offer-in-compromise program for overdue income tax accounts.
HB 5957, sponsored by Rep. Gerald Law (R-Plymouth), to
exempt children's
books from sales tax collection.
HB 6035, sponsored by Rep. James Koetje (R-Grandville),
to revise allowable
value of prize for redemption games.
HB 6039 and 6047, sponsored by Rep. Robert Gosselin (R-Troy),
to eliminate
sales and use tax on out-of-state purchases.
HB 6045, sponsored by Rep. Gosselin, to provide cap for
sales tax
collections on gasoline over $1.20 per gallon.
HB 6051, sponsored by Rep. Scott Shackleton (R-Sault
Ste. Marie), to earmark
tobacco settlement funds for elder prescription insurance coverage programs..
SB 1368, sponsored by Sen. David Jaye (R-Washington Twp.),
to increase
percentage of license fees retained by sellers of hunting and fishing
licenses to 10 percent.
SB 1400, sponsored by Sen. Dale Shugars (R-Portage),
to expand power to
regulate pawnbrokers to townships, charter townships and counties.
For back issues of Capitol F@cts on-line visit MRA's web site at http://www.retailers.com/capfax/capfax.html.
Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin should
be directed to:
Peter Kuhnmuench, MRA's Vice President of Governmental
Affairs at pkuhnmuench@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517.372.5656
Toll Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
govt_affairs@retailers.com
http://www.retailers.com
http://www.mallofmichigan.com
Click
here to find more information about any of the bills referenced above.