Updates About Public Health

Legislative committee agendas were full this week with testimony being heard on both the House and Senate’s gun reform legislation packages as well as efforts to repeal Michigan’s 1931 abortion prohibition laws. The House moved quickly on repealing the state’s 1931 law prohibiting abortions and heard hours of compelling testimony on why Michigan needs gun reform legislation.

We anticipate the legislature to move the gun reform legislation out of their respective House and Senate committees next week, with possible passage before legislative Spring Break at the end of March.

The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, which was established in April 2020 and created per Executive Order 2020-55, released its final report.

The report, which details efforts by the task force to respond to the disproportionate pandemic surges within disadvantaged communities, outlines investments and approaches made to improve health equity during the pandemic. It also discusses additional recommendations that the state can adopt moving forward to continue to improve health equity in Michigan.

Notable data in the report revealed that Michigan exceeded the national net drop in death rates of Black Americans. Black Michiganders fell from 15 deaths per 10,000 to 6.1 deaths in 2022. National averages revealed Black Americans saw 8.9 deaths per 10,000.

The full report can be found here.

The Capitol community has been in mourning this week following Monday night’s mass shooting on Michigan State University’s campus. Three MSU students died, five were critically wounded, and thousands forever changed by this senseless act.

Through the unimaginable, MSU students and the community stood Spartan Strong and gathered together on the steps of the Capital building to call for change. Turning to action, Senate Democrats introduced a package of gun reform bills on Thursday. Specifically, the package seeks to enact universal background checks, safe storage of firearm laws, and “red flag” laws that would allow individuals to petition a judge to confiscate firearms from a person if that person is a danger to themselves or others. The bills were referred to the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee where we expect them to have a hearing in the coming weeks.