LANSING, Mich. – It’s time for Michiganders to get to know the new laws and amendments that were passed in 2023 and took effect earlier this week.
Making use of the first combined Democratic majority in the state House, Senate and governor’s seat in decades, legislators approved numerous bills from their agenda. As a result, laws related to gun safety, minimum wage, LGBTQ+ protections, the “right-to-work” policy, and more went into effect on Tuesday.
Many of the bills signed into law by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were scheduled to take effect 91 days after the Legislature adjourned for the 2023 season. Because lawmakers adjourned early on Nov. 14, 2023, that deadline fell on Feb. 13, 2024.
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect (including links to the actual legislation):
Gun safety laws
Following the deadly and horrific mass shootings at Michigan State University in February 2023 -- which occurred just over a year after the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 -- state lawmakers quickly passed a series of bills related to firearms in an effort to address gun violence.
Lawmakers sought to reduce gun violence through a three-pronged approach, approving legislation that establishes a red flag law, requirements for gun storage, and universal background checks on firearm purchases. There were several bills related to each of the topics that all passed and were signed into law by Gov. Whitmer -- apart from one of the five bills related to red flag laws.
Here’s what’s taking effect:
- Firearm storage laws: People in Michigan are now required to keep a firearm stored or left unattended on a premises unloaded and locked, either with a locking device or stored in a locked container, if it is “reasonably known that a minor is or is likely to be present on the premises.” There are a range of penalties for violating this requirement. (Bills: Senate Bill 79, Senate Bill 80)
- Gun safety devices: The costs of gun safety devices will be lowered in an effort to allow easier access to materials needed to safely store firearms. This takes effect on May 13, 2024. (Bills: Senate Bill 81, Senate Bill 82)
- Background checks: Background checks related to firearm purchases are expanding to all firearm purchases, from handguns to long guns. Previously, universal background checks were only required when purchasing a handgun in Michigan. (Bills: House Bill 4138, House Bill 4142)
- Red flag laws: Several bills were passed in Michigan to establish extreme risk protection order laws, also known as red flag laws. Red flag laws are designed to help prevent a person in distress or crisis from using a firearm to inflict damage on themself or others. The laws don’t seek to take firearms away from gun owners who aren’t dangerous or in distress. Click here to learn more about how red flag laws work. (Bills: Senate Bill 83, House Bill 4146, House Bill 4147, House Bill 4148, House Bill 4145 (was not approved))
- Domestic violence regulations: In November, Gov. Whitmer signed legislation that prohibits individuals convicted of a misdemeanor related to domestic violence from possessing firearms for at least an eight-year-period. Existing Michigan law only prohibited those convicted of felony domestic violence from possessing firearms. (Bills: Senate Bill 471, Senate Bill 528, House Bill 4945)
Click here to read more about Michigan’s new gun reform laws.
LGBTQ+ civil rights protections expand
In March 2023, Gov. Whitmer signed legislation that expands the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include legal protections for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
Initially passed in 1976, the act prohibits discriminatory practices, policies, and customs based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. The act is expanding to include protect sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from discrimination.
“Our LGBTQ+ friends, family, and neighbors deserve equal protection under the law so they can live their authentic lives, and I want everyone to know that Michigan is a place that will fight for your freedom to be yourself,” Whitmer said in March 2023. “Guaranteeing equal legal protections to LGBTQ+ Michiganders is the right thing to do.”
Bill: Senate Bill 4
Repeal of ‘right-to-work’ law takes effect
Michigan Gov. Whitmer signed a bill into law in March 2023 that repeals the state’s controversial “right-to-work” policy, formally known as the Freedom to Work law.
Passed by Republican lawmakers and taking effect in 2013, the right-to-work law prohibited unionized workplaces from requiring employees to pay union dues and fees. The law was restricting to unions, and received pushback by union supporters in 2012.
In early 2023, Michigan lawmakers voted to repeal the law -- becoming the first state in 58 years to do so. The repeal is seen by many as a victory for organized labor at a time when union membership has been on the decline.
When signing the bill into law, Whitmer said the move would “restore workers’ rights, protect Michiganders on the job, and grow Michigan’s middle class.”
Bill: House Bill 4004
Click here to learn more about the right-to-work law.
Prevailing wage law reinstated
A law repealed by Republicans in 2018 will take effect once again in 2024. Democrat Whitmer signed legislation into law that restores a so-called prevailing wage law that requires contractors hired for state projects to pay union-level wages.
Bill: House Bill 4007
More abortion barriers removed
Abortion became legal in Michigan when voters approved a ballot proposal to amend the state’s constitution in 2022. Still, Democratic lawmakers and state leaders have continued to push to eliminate remaining barriers to abortion care and access.
At the end of November 2023, Gov. Whitmer signed into law the Reproductive Health Act, which is comprised of eight separate bills. According to the governor’s office, the package was designed to repeal “politically motivated, medically unnecessary statutes that criminalized nurses and doctors, forced health care providers to close, raised costs for patients, and restricted access to abortion.”
Here’s what the governor’s office said about the package and what it accomplishes:
- Repeals Michigan’s TRAP Laws, which are designed specifically to close abortion providers. These medically unnecessary and burdensome restrictions have nothing to do with a clinic’s ability to deliver care. They include rules about hallway width, ceiling heights, HVAC systems, and janitor’s closets. These restrictions jack up costs, especially for independent clinics, and have decreased the number of providers available to Michiganders, especially in Western and Northern Michigan.
- Repeals an old, outdated law from 1931 that would have criminalized nurses and doctors for prescribing medication abortion including mifepristone. Medication abortions are the most common way abortions are performed and have been safely used for decades. While other states restrict access to these pills, the passage of the RHA ensures Michigan providers and patients will have every option available.
- Ensures students at Michigan public universities have access to accurate information about all their reproductive health options. Young adults deserve the same medical choices that every other patient gets. For too long, students at Michigan universities could be denied access to information about their options—including abortion—depending on where they went to college.
- Repeals the law that forced patients to buy a separate insurance rider for abortion. Effectively, the law forced people to pay more out of pocket just in case they were assaulted.
Bills:
Repeal of third-grade reading law takes effect
Starting in 2024, third-grade students in Michigan will no longer get held back because of low reading scores.
In early 2023, state lawmakers voted to change a 2016 law that provides instructions for institutions and educators to help third graders “achieve a score of at least proficient in English language arts on the grade state assessment.” Under that law, third grade students with insufficient reading assessment scores would be held back under most circumstances starting in 2019-2020 school year.
Gov. Whitmer in March signed Senate Bill 12 into law, amending the portion of the reading law to prevent students from being held back based on reading scores. Instead, the updated law states that if a student receives a low reading assessment score, their parent or guardian will be notified and provided information about intervention options. The student will also be placed into a reading intervention program through fourth grade to help address their reading difficulties.
Most other parts of the original law were not amended.
Previously, a third grade student with insufficient reading test scores would only be allowed to move on to fourth grade if a superintendent or chief administrator of the school district granted the student an exemption.
Bill: Senate Bill 12
Minimum wage increase, but ...
Michigan employees making minimum wage will see a slight raise in pay in 2024.
Under Michigan’s Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act of 2018, the state’s minimum wage is required to increase in certain increments at certain intervals.
As of Jan. 1, 2024, the state’s minimum wage increased from $10.10 to $10.33 per hour.
Here’s how the increase will affect minor, tipped, and training employees:
- The 85% rate for minors aged 16 and 17 will increase to $8.78 per hour.
- The tipped employee rate of hourly pay increases to $3.93 per hour.
- The training wage of $4.25 per hour for newly hired employees ages 16 to 19 for their first 90 calendar days of employment remains unchanged.
Despite the increase, the $10.33 per hour wage is not considered a livable wage in Michigan, according to MIT’s Living Wage calculator. By their calculations, an adult without children needs to make at least $16.27 per hour to support themself, while an adult with one child requires at least $36.81 per hour.
The state’s minimum wage has been wrapped up in legal issues for years, after the then-Republican led state Legislature adopted a proposal to increase the minimum wage, but then amended it before it took effect.
The 2018 Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act initially proposed to increase Michigan’s minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022, then establish an indexing plan that would raise the wage each year by a rate that is automatically adjusted for inflation. The Michigan Legislature adopted the 2018 act but modified it, changing the “2022″ deadline to “2030.” The lawmakers established a schedule for minimum wage increases each year in Michigan, with plans to reach an hourly wage rate of $12.05 by 2030.
A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled in 2022 that the state Legislature’s altering of the adopted 2018 ballot measure was unconstitutional. The state’s hourly minimum wage did not get automatically raised to $12 after that decision was made, though.
State attorneys appealed the claims court’s decision, and the appeals court sided with attorneys in January 2023, reversing the Court of Claims’ ruling and blocking a minimum wage increase. The appellate court decision was appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the fall of 2023. The high court has not yet made a decision.
Separately, a ballot proposal seeking to raise Michigan’s hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2027 has been recommended by the Michigan Bureau of Election to appear on the ballot for Michigan voters in 2024. However, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers -- which must approve the proposal for the ballot -- deadlocked when voting on whether to approve it in October.
Those behind the initiative filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Board of State Canvassers in hopes of getting the proposal approved for the ballot. If the proposal is approved, the Legislature has a window of time in which it can approve the proposal. If the Legislature rejects the proposal, it would instead appear on the ballot for voters in November 2024.
Learn more: Minimum wage: How we got here and why it’s not working
Climate action plan
A package of climate-related bills were signed into law in November 2023. The new Michigan Clean Energy & Climate Action law includes several Democrat-led proposals to lower household utility costs, protect state water and air, and create more green energy jobs.
Here’s what will take effect this year and when:
- Energy efficiency: Senate Bill 273 improves energy efficiency and waste reduction programs to drive down costs for families and small businesses. It will reportedly help Michiganders upgrade their homes to save money while ensuring access to reliable power. Took effect Feb. 13, 2024.
- Prioritizing local communities: Senate Bill 502 authorizes the Michigan Public Service Commission to consider climate and equity in their regulatory decisions in an effort to prioritize the health and well-being of Michigan communities as they expand energy production. Took effect Feb. 13, 2024.
- Clean energy standard: Senate Bill 271 establishes a 100% clean energy standard for Michigan. The bill calls for Michigan to produce all its energy from clean sources by 2040. By 2030, Michigan will produce 50% of its energy from renewable sources and 60% from renewables by 2035. Lawmakers say meeting the standard will drive down costs for consumers while reducing the state’s reliance on foreign fuel and create jobs. Takes effect Feb. 27, 2024.
- Clean energy projects: House Bill 5120 and House Bill 5121 authorized the Michigan Public Service Commission to streamline the permitting of utility-scale clean energy in the same way they’re currently allowed to do for other sources of energy. Takes effect November 2024.