Rep. Amos O'Neal

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new tax credit for Michigan residents who purchase required textbooks for college or vocational school courses. To qualify, the student must be enrolled in an eligible institution and currently receiving a federal Pell grant or be a graduate student with financial need who would have qualified for one. The credit allows taxpayers to reduce their state income tax liability by the amount of sales or use tax paid on these books, with any excess amount refunded as a cash payment. The law also requires taxpayers to provide receipts proving the purchase and the student's eligibility if requested by the state department.

Maddy summaryThis bill restricts third-party administrators from creating contracts for health plans that require individuals to pay more than 50% of the cost for specific medical services through copayments or coinsurance. It directly affects insurance companies, healthcare providers, and individuals enrolled in these benefit plans by setting a new financial limit on out-of-pocket costs for covered care. The law gives the state insurance director the authority to investigate and rule on any complaints related to these new restrictions. These rules will apply to new contracts immediately after the bill passes and to existing contracts when they are next renewed or modified.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Michigan judges and other court staff involved in child custody cases to undergo specific training on recognizing and responding to domestic violence and child abuse. The training must include at least 20 initial hours and 15 additional hours every five years, covering topics such as various forms of abuse, trauma, implicit bias, and the dynamics of coercive control. A key provision mandates that all training content be based on evidence-based research and explicitly defines certain terms like "DARVO" to ensure clarity. Ultimately, the legislation aims to improve custody decisions by prioritizing the safety and well-being of children through better-informed court personnel.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Safe Youth Sports Act to create mandatory safety and training standards for youth sports programs in Michigan. It requires organizing entities, such as local leagues and clubs, to implement basic measures like emergency plans, background checks for adults, and concussion training for coaches and participants. The law also offers an optional advanced tier with additional requirements, including designated safety managers, injury prevention plans, and specialized training on inclusivity and mental health. To support these changes, the state will administer a grant program to help organizations, particularly those serving low-income families, meet the necessary standards. An independent institute will oversee the approval of these standards and maintain a public list of certified organizations.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows Michigan residents to register as anatomical donors by checking a box on their state income tax return instead of visiting the Secretary of State's office in person. It requires the Department of Treasury to send this information to the Secretary of State, who will then add eligible individuals to the official donor registry. The law mandates that the registry be accessible 24/7 to organ procurement organizations at no cost, while ensuring that personal data remains private and is only shared with medical teams when a potential donor is near death.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Michigan Secure Retirement Savings Program to help private-sector employees save for retirement through automatic payroll deductions. It creates a new oversight board and a separate trust fund to manage individual retirement accounts for enrolled workers, ensuring the money remains distinct from state funds. Employers that do not currently offer qualified retirement plans are required to participate by allowing employees to make automatic contributions from their paychecks. The legislation also sets up a separate administrative fund to cover the program's operational costs and defines the specific duties of the state officials who will run the system.

Maddy summaryThis bill, known as Messiah's Law, creates a new felony charge for anyone who intentionally fires a gun at a motor vehicle they know or should know is occupied. Under the proposed law, the standard penalty for this act is up to 10 years in prison or a fine of $10,000, or both. If the vehicle contains a minor, the penalties increase significantly to a maximum of 20 years in prison or a fine of $20,000, or both. The legislation applies to all individuals regardless of their relationship to the vehicle or its occupants.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes to update the Michigan law governing pawnbrokers by modifying a specific section of the existing statute. The amendment focuses on clarifying regulations related to certain documents used in pawnshop transactions that request racial identification. By changing the language in the law, the bill aims to refine how pawnbrokers handle these specific forms within their business operations. The change does not create new penalties or alter licensing requirements but instead adjusts the legal text to address these particular documentation practices.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Michigan's civil rights laws to require employers and educational institutions to include a "multiracial" option on forms that ask individuals to identify their race or ethnicity. The legislation mandates that these forms must define "multiracial" as having parents of different races and must remove the generic "other" category. If a federal agency rejects the "multiracial" classification when receiving data, the bill instructs covered entities to redistribute those responses to approved racial categories based on their proportion in the general population. The rules apply to private employers and schools but do not affect public bodies or state universities, which are already governed by separate data collection laws.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new law requiring employers in Michigan to provide severance pay to eligible employees when they close a facility, relocate operations at least 100 miles away, or conduct a mass layoff of 20 or more workers. To qualify for this pay, an employee must have worked at the location for at least one year and not have been fired for cause, while the facility itself must have employed 20 or more people and paid out $2 million or more in the previous year. The severance amount is calculated as one week's pay for each year of employment, and employers must also notify the state labor department at least 90 days before these events occur. If an employer fails to make these payments, they face civil fines and are liable for the unpaid amount plus an additional four weeks' pay, which employees can recover through court action.