Rep. Carrie Rheingans

Maddy summaryThis resolution symbolically designates March 2025 as Athletic Trainer Month in Michigan to recognize the work of licensed athletic trainers. It directly affects over 1,700 athletic trainers in Michigan who provide healthcare services like injury prevention, rehabilitation, and clinical evaluation under physician collaboration. The resolution aims to raise public awareness of the profession's role in healthcare across settings like schools, hospitals, and sports organizations. As a commemorative resolution, it does not create new laws or funding but honors the profession's contributions.

Maddy summaryThis resolution declares March 2025 as Agriculture Appreciation Month in Michigan. It encourages all citizens to recognize the state's agricultural sector, which contributes over $125 billion annually to Michigan's economy and supports 805,000 jobs. The resolution is purely ceremonial and does not create new laws, funding, or policy changes.

Maddy summaryHB 4134 amends Michigan's sentencing guidelines to establish specific penalties for crimes that prevent access to healthcare facilities, such as blocking entrances to clinics. It directly affects individuals convicted of obstructing access to medical care, including abortion providers or other healthcare services. The bill modifies existing sentencing guidelines (MCL 777.13n) to create new, higher sentencing ranges for these offenses. This change would apply to cases where someone intentionally interferes with lawful access to a healthcare facility. The bill is currently in committee review after its February 2025 introduction.

Maddy summaryHB 4133, the "Access to Health Facilities Act," prohibits physical obstruction, intimidation, or violence targeting individuals accessing or providing reproductive health services at licensed health facilities, including abortion care. It criminalizes actions like blocking entrances, threatening patients, or damaging property at these facilities, with penalties ranging from misdemeanors (up to 1 year jail, $10,000 fine) to felonies (up to life in prison for causing death). The law also allows civil lawsuits for $5,000 per violation and civil fines up to $25,000 for violators. It explicitly protects First Amendment-protected protests but does not affect local abortion regulations or existing protest laws.

Maddy summaryHB 4131 updates Michigan's animal care laws by clarifying definitions and requirements for dog shelter and tethering. It directly affects dog owners, breeders, pet shops, and animal shelters by specifying that dog shelters must include properly insulated doghouses with dry bedding (like straw or cedar shavings) during freezing temperatures, excluding items like blankets, cardboard, or crawl spaces. The bill also requires tethers for dogs to be at least three times the dog's length (nose-to-tail) unless used for grooming, training, transport, or hunting. These changes aim to ensure dogs have adequate protection from weather and prevent harmful tethering practices. The bill is currently in committee after its February 2025 introduction.

Maddy summaryHB 4132 amends Michigan's personal protection order law to explicitly include animal-related abuse as a prohibited act in domestic violence cases. The bill adds new language (subsection 1(k)) making it illegal for a respondent to injure, kill, threaten, or remove an animal in which the petitioner has ownership interest, or to retain an animal taken from the petitioner. This directly affects domestic violence victims who rely on pets for emotional support, expanding court orders to protect both people and their companion animals. The provision specifies it does not override lawful animal use (e.g., hunting under state law) and aligns with existing protections for victims.

Maddy summaryHB 4130 amends Section 2 of Michigan's Animal Welfare Fund Act (MCL 287.992) by updating the definition of "State animal anticruelty laws" to explicitly include specific sections of the Michigan Penal Code (MCL 750.49-750.70, 750.70a, and MCL 750.50(8) and (12)). This technical update ensures the fund act correctly references existing animal cruelty laws without creating new policies or funding. The bill affects how the Animal Welfare Fund Act applies to enforcement of current animal protection laws. It is a procedural clarification, not a substantive policy change.

Maddy summaryHB 4053 creates the "nondisclosure agreement definitions act" by defining a "nondisclosure agreement" as a contract that prohibits a party from disclosing, discussing, describing, or commenting on the agreement or its terms. This bill does not directly prohibit such agreements but establishes definitions for a future law that would address them. It requires the enactment of another bill (HB 4052 or SB 558) to take effect and passed the Michigan House of Representatives on February 25, 2025, with 91 votes in favor.

Maddy summaryHB 4052 prohibits Michigan legislators and their legislative staff from signing confidentiality agreements related to their official legislative work. Any such agreement entered into after the law takes effect would be void. The bill applies to all agreements made, amended, extended, or renewed on or after the effective date, specifically covering work performed in a legislative capacity. It does not affect personal or non-legislative matters.

Maddy summaryHB 4121 prohibits local governments (counties, cities, townships, villages) from adopting property tax caps that automatically reduce tax rates when revenue hits a fixed dollar limit. It voids any existing local tax cap with this automatic reduction feature and requires local units to disregard such caps. The bill specifically targets caps imposed by local charter, ordinance, or policy - not state-mandated limits - making them unenforceable. This change ensures local tax revenue limits cannot trigger automatic rate cuts based solely on annual dollar amounts.