Senators Consider Stone Soup Legislation
HB 4834 was introduced in June of 2011. That issue, requiring photographs on medical marijuana cards, has been dropped from the current version of HB 4834 being floated in the Senate, V-2. Senators and Representatives unfamiliar with this bill, who rely on these descriptions for guidance, will be voting for a fraud. HB 4834 has been altered so many times the content is confusing to even the most intimately involved politicos. A companion bill, HB 4851, has proposed or contained more than 15 different variations on changes to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (see chart below). Even single issues appear on different bills. Transporting live marijuana plants in a car is allowed under HB 4834, but rules regarding transporting dried useable marijuana in a car are found in HB 4856. The passage of the Walsh bills would create more of the “Swiss cheese” that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act is routinely compared to.
Single issue bills are completely possible- the Senate did it. The three Bills that have been passed by the Senate and are headed for a vote in the House- SBs 321, 505 and 933- are single-issue bills, easily read and understood. So are two of the four House bills, HB 4853 and HB 4856. Combined, the two controversial House bills 4851 and 4834 currently contain more than 30 proposed changes to the MMA.
Much of this confusion is the result of the legislative stone soup nature of the development of the Walsh Bills. It appears each bill was started as a single issue before various special interest groups each added their own flavor to the soupy package. "Special interest groups are lining up to push their agendas and collect political IOUs," says the Morning Sun. The Michigan State Police, the Michigan Township’s Authority, the Attorney General’s office, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, all contributed pieces to the end result. This is especially apparent when evaluating the additional restrictions on patients made after both HB 4851 and 4834’s initial filing (see chart below).
And there will be no time to read these convoluted pieces of legislation: reports suggest the Senate has booked themselves an early exit from duty, bowing out as early as December 13th, whereas the House may continue to conduct business until the 20th. If true, this gives the Senate only six days in session remaining in 2012 with more pressing issues left to resolve, including the NPO status of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Right to Work, regional transportation, Emergency Managers, tax credits for fetuses, etc.
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