SB 116 Michigan Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Food: licensing; licensure exemptions; modify to include certain disabled individuals. Amends sec. 4105 of 2000 PA 92 (MCL 289.4105).

SB 116 amends Michigan's Food Law to add a new licensing exemption for certain disabled individuals operating food businesses. The bill modifies Section 4105 of the Food Law to include disabled individuals as a category eligible for exemption from standard food establishment licensing requirements. This change specifically allows disabled individuals to operate food-related activities without needing a separate license, provided they meet the existing criteria for food warehouse or processor exemptions (e.g., handling only uncut produce, storing/sorting their own products). The exemption applies to businesses that align with current rules for food warehouses, focusing on unprocessed items and limiting operations to storage and basic handling. This policy change directly affects disabled individuals seeking to start small-scale food businesses without the burden of full licensing.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 5, 2025 Last action Mar 19, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Senate Introduced Bill → As Passed by the Senate · 6 edits · Mar 19, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Michigan's Food Law to update and clarify exemptions from food establishment licensure requirements. The changes include reorganizing the list of exempt entities, adding new exemptions for certain retail food establishments and commercial fishing guide services, and correcting grammatical errors and inconsistencies in the original text.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of exemptions by adding new categories of businesses that do not need a food establishment license, while clarifying existing exemptions and fixing text errors that could have caused confusion in enforcement.

ELIGIBILITY

Reorganized and renumbered the list of exempt entities from subsections (a) through (m) to improve clarity and consistency in the statute.

Added a new exemption for retail food establishments that only sell prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous foods and offer only incidental food sales.

Added a new exemption for commercial fishing guide services that serve lunch to small parties while on fishing trips.

Added a new exemption for retail outlets selling prepackaged honey or maple syrup produced in Michigan, with specific labeling requirements for small producers.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for temporary food establishments from serving 'non-potentially-hazardous food or beverage' to 'non-potentially-hazardous food or beverage' to align with standard terminology.

TECHNICAL

Corrected grammatical errors and repetitive language throughout the bill, such as changing 'owning that owns' to 'owning' and 'operating that operates' to 'operating'.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 19, 2025

How they voted

31–6

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 38

Mar 19, 2025

D Democratic19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

R Republican19

13 Yea 6 Nay

68% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 19, 2025

Committee

referred to Committee on Regulatory Reform

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Introduced

received on 03/19/2025

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED ROLL CALL # 43 YEAS 30 NAYS 6 EXCUSED 1 NOT VOTING 0

upper

Mar 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

REPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT(S)

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

REPORTED FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT 3/13/2025

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON REGULATORY AFFAIRS

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Introduced

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SARAH ANTHONY

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor