LANSING ? Michigan lawmakers wrapped up a flurry of legislation in December, but bills from taxes to texting while driving and out-of-state trash still await members when they return next week.

Taxes will likely be a huge focus in the New Year given the state’s loss of hundreds of millions in federal stimulus dollars in the upcoming budget and it?s still precarious economic situation. Proposals that failed to garner traction in the chambers could be resurrected to deal with the funding shortfall.

The Senate has passed bills phasing out the Michigan Business Tax surcharge, but would also reduce the film credit, freeze the Earned Income Tax Credit and create a tax amnesty program (HB 4514 , SB 838 , SB 884 , SB 1 and SB 69 ) and the House has passed a 3 percent physician tax, a freeze to the personal exemption and a measure that could reduce MBT credits (HB 5386 , HB 5352 and HB 5384 ).

Taxes that go to fund road and bridge projects also could see some hikes in 2010.

The House is readying legislation, but the Senate Transportation Committee already has acted on SB 862 and SB 863 , which would increase the diesel tax to bring it in line with the gasoline tax.

In line with the state revenue issue, the House could move on a bill package lessening the fees imposed on bad drivers, which saw movement last fall (HB 4098 , HB 4101 , HB 4604 and HB 5603 ). And the Senate could take up a bipartisan House package that funded state tourism promotions with a portion of the sales tax funded by the sale of tourism-related goods (HB 5018 , HB 5088 and HB 5089 ).

And before breaking for the holidays, both chambers took moves to ban texting while driving, so completion on those bills could come in the coming months (SB 468 , SB 402 , HB 4394 and HB 4370 ).

Now that 2010 is here, the election season is in full swing, so expect to see the tried-and-true election legislation spring into action, particularly on the Democratic side, where bills imposing a trash dumping fee that would pay for local recycling programs sits on the House floor and the drug immunity package awaits consideration on the Senate floor (HB 5558 , HJR MM , HB 4316 , HB 4317 and HB 4318 ).

House Democrats also may complete bills related to the auto insurance industry (HB 4424 , HB 5627 , HB 5628 , HB 5629 and HB 5630 ), which they say are needed consumer protections, including giving the insurance commissioner more power to reject steep rate hikes. However, Republicans have agreed thus far with the insurance industry that they won’t get to the heart of auto insurance costs.

One of the big questions of the New Year will be whether House Speaker Andy Dillon’s (D-Redford Twp.) insurance pooling plan for all government employees picks up steam and passes the Democratic-led chamber (HB 5345 ).

The legislation has been the subject of months of hearings before a special committee and could gain movement if it becomes part of a government reform and tax package related to the budget.

On the Senate side, lawmakers have yet to vote on SB 478 , which would require the Department of Corrections to submit a report to the Legislature regarding its offender tracking system. The legislation was one of the first of the Senate Republican corrections reform bills to see some movement last year.

And both chambers still are in conference over the so-called “Hire Michigan First” package, which would give preference for state and local economic development incentives for companies that pledge to employ Michigan workers.

Conference committee members were named last year, but the panel has yet to meet on SB 290 , SB 293 , SB 295 , SB 539 , HB 4083 , HB 4089 , HB 4092 , HB 4093 and HB 4094 ).

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

a>>