The Governor recently signed into law a bill that allows foreign nursing graduates to work in the state without passing an additional exam. The bill removes the requirement for nurses who graduated from nursing schools outside of the United States to pass an additional exam on top of the test given to nurses trained in the United States. According to the Governor=s office, Michigan is slated to have a nursing shortage of 18,000 by 2015. The Legislature hopes that removing the burden of the additional test will attract foreign-trained nurses to work in Michigan. The new law does, however, require that graduates of foreign nursing schools provide verification that the training they received is equivalent to the training received in Michigan nursing schools.

 

New legislation was recently enacted that requires the use of qualified sign language interpreters who posses state or national certification in all accommodations required under the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Under the new law, employers, state and local governments and businesses providing public services are now obligated to provide effective communication. Such entities include public and private schools and colleges, doctors= offices, hospitals and pharmacies, banks, hotels, restaurants and theaters. However, reasonable notice is required if an interpreter is needed. If an entity fails to provide an interpreter or provides an unqualified interpreter, the entity will be subject to a civil fine.

 

 

 

Legislation recently approved by the Senate would require all schools in an intermediate school district to run on a common calendar beginning in the 2008‑09 school year. The bill would require all public school students in a county to have the same winter and spring breaks and the same professional development days. However, schools operating on year‑round or trimester schedules would be exempt from the common calendar. The legislation has now been referred to the Committee on Education in the House.

 

 

Historically, the rules for consuming alcohol and operating snowmobiles, off-road vehicles (ORVs), and watercraft in the state have been the same as for operating a motor vehicle. However, when the Legislature lowered the bodily alcohol content (BAC) for driving while intoxicated from 0.10 to 0.08 grams, it failed to change the statutes regulating recreational vehicles. The proposed bills would prohibit a person from operating an ORV, watercraft or snowmobile with a bodily alcohol level of 0.08 grams or any bodily amount of a Schedule 1 controlled substance or cocaine, increase the length of a license suspension for refusing to submit to a chemical test, and allow for enhanced penalties for multiple violations occurring within any number of years. The legislation was passed by the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration.