LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s action on lame-duck bills (all times local):
6:30 p.m.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a law making it harder for groups to put proposals on the statewide ballot and vetoed one that would have diluted the power of the incoming Democratic attorney general.
He also has signed a law requiring Democratic Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to better justify new regulations that are stricter than those mandated by the federal government.
The Republican’s action on Friday came days before he leaves office and after a lame-duck dominated by GOP efforts to trim the power of newly elected Democratic state officeholders.
Republicans in Wisconsin enacted even more sweeping laws to curb newly elected Democrats.
One new Michigan law lets ballot drives count no more than 15 percent of their voter signatures from any one congressional district. A separate bid to strip the newly elected Democratic secretary of state’s campaign-finance power stalled in the Legislature.
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5:50 p.m.
Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed bills that would have authorized online gambling in Michigan, including wagers placed on sports.
His decision Friday is blow to a gambling industry that hoped to make Michigan only the fifth state to allow online gambling.
The term-limited Republican wrote a letter to lawmakers saying the legislation merits more careful study, partly because “we simply don’t have the data” to support the change at this time.
Snyder cites concerns about the impact on the lottery system, which helps fund schools. And he says he does not think it is appropriate to sign legislation that would have effectively resulted in more gambling, with a “reasonable chance” of the state losing revenue because internet gambling would have been taxed at a lower rate.
Snyder, who leaves office Tuesday, has also signed $1.3 billion budget legislation that shifts new tax revenue for schools to other priorities such as roads and environmental cleanup.
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5:20 p.m.
Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed legislation that would have made permanent a ban against Michigan doctors prescribing abortion-inducing drugs with webcams or other forms of telemedicine.
The veto issued Friday means Michigan’s prohibition, enacted in 2012, will expire next week.
Snyder says patients should be able to remotely receive safe and proper care, including for a medical abortion, which is when drugs are used to end a pregnancy.
The bill was backed by majority Republicans in the Legislature and opposed by Democrats.
Snyder, who leaves office Tuesday, has also signed $1.3 billion budget legislation that shifts new tax revenue for schools to other priorities such as roads and environmental cleanup.
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