LANSING, Mich. – A bill banning COVID-19 vaccine passports in Michigan is heading to the state Senate.
A northern Michigan representative has introduced a bill that would prevent tax-payer funded entities from requiring people to be vaccinated for COVID. Such a move would include universities like the University of Michigan and the University of Oakland, who have already mandated that students must get vaccinated if they are living on campus.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said that, as things stand right now, the state is not planning on requiring a vaccine passport -- but Republican state Rep. Sue Allor isn’t taking the governor for her word. Rather, Allor sponsored Michigan Bill 4667, which would ban vaccine passports or any other systems where individuals’ civil rights are diminished by their COVID-19 vaccination status.
And the bill has already passed in the Michigan House of Representatives.
Related: Vaccine passport efforts draw opposition from GOP lawmakers
About 40% of Michigan residents have opted out of getting their shot. As of June 3, the state reports that 59.1% of Michigan residents ages 16 and older have received at least their first shot of a COVID vaccine, and 49.7% of Michigan residents ages 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Rep. Allor, of Wolverine, said in a Floor speech on Wednesday that the “control of one’s life based on his or her vaccination status is frightening.”
Democratic state representatives have mirrored Gov. Whitmer’s take on the subject, saying that Republican lawmakers are wasting their time and energy working on bills to address non-existent problems.
“Instead of worrying about phantom bills that don’t exist, this body should be focusing on bringing home all the federal COVID dollars to Michigan,” Democratic state Rep. Julie Rogers, of Kalamazoo, said in a Floor speech.
After passing in the House with the help of four Democrats, the bill is heading to the state Senate. There is usually a wait time between the House and the Senate, so the bill is likely to reach the Senate Floor next week.
Click here to read the entire Bill 4667, as passed by the Michigan House.
Michigan COVID: Here’s what to know June 3, 2021
Related: EXPLAINER: How vaccine passports for global travel will work