LWVMI demonstrated Advocacy Success in this legislative session:
Firearms Safety
- Bills passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Whitmer:
• safe storage of firearms if accessed by a minor
• requiring background checks for firearms purchases
• prohibit sales to a person under an extreme risk protection order, “red flag” laws
- Bills to be taken up when the Michigan legislature reconvenes in January, 2024:
• bans on concealed carry on state capitol grounds
• prohibition on firearms at polling places and absentee counting boards
Environment
- MI Healthy Climate Plan has now been established. It creates a path toward 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. The Clean Energy and Jobs Act will create approximately 160,000 jobs.
Health Care
- Many provisions of the Affordable Care Act are now part of state law:
adult children up to age 26 may use their parents’ health insurance
old anti-abortion laws repealed after voters approved Proposal 2022-3
Pending legislation – Freedom to Read Acts
- The majority of demands to ban books have come from pulling individual words or phrases in a book out of context and claiming the mere presence of these words constitutes grounds for removal. In many, if not most, cases the requester has not read the book; they’ve only “cherry-picked” the text using key word searches. Other requests have been made by spokespersons from national groups who do not live in a library’s service area.
- Michigan voters overwhelmingly oppose book bans. Two bills have been introduced in the Michigan legislature incorporating recommendations from the Michigan Library Association, including:
• public library directors shall have final responsibility on selection of materials
• libraries must have written policies that clearly state standards for selecting materials and a written process for requesting materials to be withdrawn from the collection. - The request to remove material from the shelves requires:
• reason(s) for removal
• that requester has read the entire material before filling
• the request may be made only by a resident in the library’s service area
• the request cannot be based on religion, race, color, age, sex, national origin, gender identity, weight, family status, age, marital status.
For the full text of the Michigan Library Association’s position, go to
MILibraries.org Freedom to Read Act
For the Statewide Survey on Book Banning and Other Issues
MILibraries.org Library Association Report April 2023
For the Grosse Pointe Public Library’s Director’s Report of November 16, 2023