Thursday, March 28, 2024

Legislation introduced to alter licence applications

January 29, 2001

Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, introduced a resolution Friday to remove a federal mandate requiring states to collect social security numbers for applicants of drivers and a variety of professional and recreational licenses.

The numbers are collected to track down parents who owe child support.

In a written statement, Bishop said the mandate is a privacy threat to law-abiding citizens, adding that dead-beat parents should be held accountable, but Congress should find a better way to collect this information.

Secretary of State Candice Miller recently filed suit in a federal court to block the collection of social security numbers. States that fail to collect the numbers risk losing $1 billion in federal highway funds.

Voting reform agenda announced

State Sen. Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, announced an agenda on Thursday for voting reforms in Michigan’s election process. Byrum hopes that any new reform may take place in time for Michigan’s 2002 election, which will include the gubernatorial race.

In a written statement, Byrum stated that she hopes the reforms will improve accessibility, accuracy and accountability.

The proposed reforms include allowing the use of absentee ballots for all voters, modernizing voting equipment to prevent confusion and create a uniform system and more training for election day workers.

Environmental program for Michigan farms announced

The Michigan Agriculture Department gave an update Wednesday on a new environmental program. The program, called the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance program, is intended to aid farmers by developing and implementing feasible pollution prevention techniques.

The program initially began in early December of last year and hopes to target the state’s environmentally sensitive areas and have 85 percent of all livestock production participating by 2005.

The program includes educational sessions for livestock producers and on-farm risk assessments to develop customized management programs.

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