Michigan recently signed into law new regulations regarding the purchase and use of high powered fireworks. Before this law passed, Michigan had in place some of the stricter regulations in the entire country. Many residents drove to border states to buy their precious fireworks for the 4th of July. The State of Michigan was hurting from this lost revenue and has decided to change the law. With the economy in Michigan being what it is, I see this change as a good thing. Obviously there is concern with the possibility of more accidents occuring, but I feel people got their fireworks whether they were from Michigan or not. This law also increases the fees corresponding to selling and using upgraded fireworks. If you are a business in Michigan selling this new class of fireworks, you must pay a $1000 fee for permanent business locations or a $600 fee for a non-permanent location. Consumers will also pay increased prices for their fireworks. A 6% fireworks safety fee is being applied to purchases from consumers. Hopefully this change will provided some much needed revenue for the struggling Michigan economy.

Rick Snyder just signed into law a bill that is going to eliminate driver responsibility fees for specific offenses. Starting for offenses occurring after October 1, 2011 drivers will no longer be assessed driver responsibility fees for the following offenses.

Accumulating seven or more points on a driving record.
Driving without a valid license.
Failing to produce proof of insurance.
Failing to have no-fault insurance under the Insurance Code.
While driver responsibility fees will not be levied for these offenses occurring after October 1, 2011, driver reasonability fees will still be charged in offenses where a person is convicted of drunk driving and/or impaired driving such as a charge for an OWI, OWID, or an OWVI. The fees for these offenses will remain unchanged and generally require $1,000.00 for a period of two years or greater.

This change in the current law is a step in the right direction for eliminating unnecessary fees for drivers; however, there remains a lot of room for improvement in the laws that still remain on the books.

A proposal which would allow residents to own a stun gun is going through the Michigan Legislature currently. There are already 44 other states that have enacted such measures. The Michigan senate already approved the measure by a vote of 35-3, indicating it won’t face too much opposition.

The measure will make it perfectly legal for residents to own a stun gun permitting they have a current concealed pistol license. Although the weapon is considered non-lethal, there have been many instances where death has occured due to heart failure resulting from the electrical shock from the device. Most of these cases actually involve the police, since the majority of stun-gun owners are law enforcement officers.

I agree that a stun-gun is less dangerous than a real firearm, but there are other considerations to account for. I know I would be more likely to use a stun gun than a real firearm since the result most likely doesn’t end in death. I’m sure others think this way as well and we don’t really know enough about the long-term consequences, or how willing people will be using one. I mean this is the country where pepper spray is used to get the best deals on black friday at Wal-Mart, who knows what we’ll do with a stun gun! I will keep you updated and let you know if this measure passes through legislature.