Updates About Legislation

In 2024, two bills passed by the Michigan Legislature requiring schools to adopt cardiac emergency response plans were signed into law (Publict Acts 36 and 37). However, the bills were contingent on the Legislature appropriating sufficient funding to implement the response plans. As of now, the current $321 million school safety budget lacks dedicated funding for the cardiac response plans. A Senate proposal to allocate $25 million for safety measures, including AED devices, was also not included in the final FY 25-26 budget.

In the absence of a sufficient appropriation, the law cannot be enforced and school districts cannot be not required to comply. With approximately 5,000 public and nonpublic schools statewide, adoption varies based on local capacity and resources. Currently, just under 1,000 schools hold the state’s MI HEARTSafe designation, a title earned by schools with cardiac response plans, annual cardiac emergency drills, and enough employees trained to respond to a cardiac emergency.

Governor Whitmer’s $88 billion budget proposed in her recent executive recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year also omitted specified funding for cardiac emergency response plans.

Recently, Governor Whitmer signed SB 495 (Polehanki, D-Livonia) and HB 4141 (Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills) into law with immediate effect. Representative Tisdel’s bill, now Public Act 1 of 2026, bans the use of cellphones by students during instructional periods in all Michigan schools. The bill champoined by Senator Polehanki, now Public Act 2 of 2026, requires schools to develop protocols for when and how students may use their cellphones during an emergency. The legislation passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support.

The previous law allowed districts to create their own policies regarding cellphones. Whitmer called for the ban during her State of the State address last year. The Governor hopes the ban will help students with overall ability to learn, reduce behavioral issues, support higher test scores, and improve students’ mental health. The law applies only to instructional time, and future changes could be considered based on feedback from school leaders.

Shortly after the new year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued her formal opinion that the mechanism used by the Michigan House Appropriations Committee to eliminate over $644 million in work project funding is unconstitutional. The disapproval mechanism used, MCL.18.1451a(3), can be found in the Management and Budget Act and allows for previously approved funding from the last fiscal year to continue to be used for its direct purpose in the new fiscal year. The funds are approved by the State Budget Director and are known as work projects. According to the law, either the Senate or House Appropriations Committee can then decide to approve or disapprove the work project funding. Historically in Michigan this funding has typically been approved by both chambers.

In her opinion, AG Nessel deemed MCL.18.1451a(3) unconstitutional. She argues that the mechanism violates Separation of Powers because it allows a single legislative committee to effectively have authority over the executive’s law implementation powers. Continuing her argument, she laid out that since the action was not approved by the Senate, and subsequently by the Governor, it violates the Bicameralism and Presentment requirements. Lastly, Nessel concluded that the veto disapproval mechanism is separate from the rest of the statute, so the remaining portions, such as the State Budget Director’s authority, can remain.

Two weeks after the Attorney General’s formal opinion was published, Court of Claims Judge Michael Gadola issued a preliminary injunction that preserves the status quo of the law. This injunction temporarily prohibits state departments from spending any remaining work project funds until the courts have made a final decision on the constitutionality of the House Republican Appropriations Committee’s actions.