Updates About Legislation

The state House and Senate have been in gridlock for months over legislation that would keep Michigan in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), which currently allows 8,000 physicians to practice in the state using their home state license. If legislation extending the compact is not passed by its expiration date of March 28, estimates say over 100,000+ Michiganders will be negatively affected through canceled appointments and loss of medical providers.

The spat between the two chambers does not stem from disputing policy language or the legislation’s intent, but rather over which lawmaker will receive credit for sponsoring the bill. Last May, the Senate passed SB 303, which was introduced by Senator Roger Hauck (R-Mount Pleasant), who represents a solidly Republican district. Twin bill HB 5455 was then introduced in January by Representative Rylee Linting (R-Wyandotte), who resides in a highly competitive district. HB 5455 was then voted out of the House and transmitted to the Senate.

Since early February, the House and Senate bills have sat in each other’s chambers without action, despite vocal concerns from various stakeholders about the approaching deadline.

Yesterday, in an unexpected twist, the House and Senate struck a deal to pass one of the IMLC bills before the Senate adjourns for Spring Break next Thursday. The House has agreed to pass an unrelated bill sponsored by Senator Kevin Hertel (D-Saint Clair Shores) in exchange for HB 5455. The deal offers wins for both vulnerable Republican Rylee Linting and Democrat Kevin Hertel as they prepare for two of the fiercest campaign races Michigan will see this year.

The Senate is expected to vote on the IMLC bill next week and send it to the Governor before the March 28 deadline.

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.