Public Act 274 of 2011

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• Introduced by Sen. Howard Walker (R) on December 1, 2011, to require that certain Public Service Commission reports and delinquent utility bill customer shut-off restrictions be posted on the internet. The Senate substituted and passed a very different version of this bill.
  • Referred to the Senate Energy and Technology Committee on December 1, 2011.
    • Reported in the Senate on December 7, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-2) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on December 7, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that instead would impose utility bill surcharges to provide low income subsidies. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on December 7, 2011.
• Passed 34 to 2 in the Senate on December 7, 2011, to create a state fund to collect money from a proposed mandate that utilities impose an extra surcharge on customer bills to subsidize paying the delinquent bills of low income households. This had been mandated in an earlier statute that was later repealed, and this bill would also refund money collected after that law expired. Reportedly this will impose around $60 million in extra charges on consumer gas and electric bills. On the same day House passed a rival bill (HB 5189) to use federal welfare money to provide these subsidies this year.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on December 7, 2011.
  • Referred to the House Energy and Technology Committee on December 7, 2011.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Kenneth Horn (R) on December 15, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that makes it part of a House-Senate compromise to extend a disallowed utility surcharge for a limited time and also use other state tax revenue to pay these heating bill subsidies. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on December 15, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Kenneth Horn (R) on December 15, 2011, to clarify a detail of the nine-month extension of these utility bill customer surcharges. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on December 15, 2011.
• Passed 106 to 1 in the House on December 15, 2011, to create a state fund to collect money from a mandate that will be extended for another nine months that utilities impose an extra surcharge on customer bills to subsidize paying the delinquent bills of low income households. The final version of this bill, plus Senate Bill 364 and House Bill 4190, include different parts of a House-Senate compromise to extend the surcharge as described, plus add $10 million in state "general fund" tax revenue to pay the subsidies this year.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on December 15, 2011, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill. Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate on December 15, 2011.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on December 20, 2011.