Legislative Update

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Follow the Great Lakes Justice Center and be heard on key policy developments effecting Christian people, good governance, and the Rule of Law. Here are some high priority concerns to follow in the U.S. Congress and in the Michigan legislature:

State of Michigan

HR 72   (Rep. Wittenberg)

A resolution to declare May 2, 2019, as Holocaust Remembrance Day 
 http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.aspx?page=CommitteeBillRecord
Committee Clerk: Angie Lake – Phone: 517-373-5795 / e-Mail: alake@house.mi.gov

Government Operations, Rep. Jason Sheppard, Chair 

HEARING DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 2019 / TIME: 9:00 AM / PLACE: Room 308, House Office Building, Lansing, MI 

New Bills or Resolutions:

• HB 4416 of 2019
  Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for the crime of disclosing confidential information regarding abortion; eliminate. Amends sec. 13k, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.13k). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4417’19
  Last Action: 4/9/2019 bill electronically reproduced 03/21/2019
• HB 4417 of 2019
  Health; abortion; additional abortion complication reporting; require. Amends secs. 2835 & 2837 of 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.2835 & 333.2837) & adds sec. 2839.
  Last Action: 4/9/2019 bill electronically reproduced 03/21/2019

• SB 0229 of 2019
  Health; abortion; partial-birth abortion provision; modify to include dismemberment abortion. Amends sec. 90h of 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.90h).
  Last Action: 3/19/2019 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY
• SB 0230 of 2019
  Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for the crime of dismemberment abortion; enact. Amends sec. 16d, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.16d). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0229’19
  Last Action: 3/19/2019 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY

• HB 4435 of 2019
  Civil rights; speech and assembly; campus free speech act; create. Creates new act.
  Last Action: 4/10/2019 bill electronically reproduced 04/09/2019
• HB 4436 of 2019
  Civil rights; speech and assembly; safeguards for exercise of free speech rights on community college and university campuses; provide for. Creates new act.
  Last Action: 4/10/2019 bill electronically reproduced 04/09/2019

• HB 4112 of 2019
  Liquor; licenses; posting to warn of the potential problems of drinking alcohol during pregnancy; require on premises of retail liquor licensees. Amends 1998 PA 58 (MCL 436.1101 – 436.2303) by adding sec. 905a.
  Last Action: 3/13/2019 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON REGULATORY REFORM
• Passed by the House;
• SJ 26 REFERRED TO Senate COMMITTEE ON REGULATORY REFORM

• HB 4320 of 2019
  Health; abortion; partial-birth abortion provision; modify to include dismemberment abortion. Amends sec. 90h of 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.90h).
  Last Action: 3/13/2019 bill electronically reproduced 03/12/2019 
• HB 4321 of 2019
  Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for the crime of dismemberment abortion; enact. Amends sec. 16d, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.16d). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4320’19
  Last Action: 3/13/2019 bill electronically reproduced 03/12/2019
• HB 4322 of 2019
  Health; funding; prohibition for state to contract with providers that offer abortion services; provide for. Amends title & sec. 1 of 2002 PA 360 (MCL 333.1091).
  Last Action: 3/13/2019 bill electronically reproduced 03/12/2019

• SB 0165 of 2019
  Health; abortion; pain-capable unborn child protection act; enact. Amends 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.1 – 750.568) by adding sec. 325.
  Last Action: 3/5/2019 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH POLICY AND HUMAN SERVICES

FEDERAL

HR 5, a bill before Congress, targets Christian people and our sincerely held Christian values. It  compels Christian people to endorse, accept, and embrace anti-Biblical sinful sexual conduct. Now before the House of Representative, HR 5 forces churches to wed same-sex couples and hire cross-dressing teachers. It permits men to use women’s restrooms and dressing rooms, If your church refuses, it loses its tax-exempt status. Under the bill Churches also face expensive litigation, fines and financially crippling court judgments. Most troubling, under the provisions of HR 5, your free exercise of religion is no longer a defense.

Under HR 5 Churches must host same-sex ceremonies. Nonconforming Churches lose tax-exempt status. Nonconforming Colleges lose accreditation. The bill prohibits nonconforming educational institutions at all level rom receiving students loans. Inevitably, Christian institutions will either cease to exist or bow to a secular god by compromising their core Christian mission.

The implication are real. If Christians schedule a mission trip, the proposed law prohibits the Christian organization from separating rooms by biological sex. Thus, men must have access to the women’s showers and bathrooms.  Additionally the proposed law prohibits churches from following Biblical precepts on sexuality when hiring church ministry and staff. Thus, it violates the proposed law to consider whether a candidate openly engages in sinful sexual conduct. The bill allows lawsuits by someone who believes a church did not hire or select them due to their sexual lifestyle. Thus, even if the church denied the job for other reasons, it could face costly “damages” in a court judgment.

The only thing required for the conquest of wickedness, is for good people to remain idle

In a heartbeat…

H.R. 490, the Heartbeat Protection Act, will protect every unborn child whose heartbeat can be detected.  With 170 co-sponsors, it has more Congressional support than any other pro-life bill.  This common-sense bill is supported by seven out of ten in America, 86 percent of Republicans, and 55 percent–a majority–of Democrats (George Barna poll, 2017).  

Here are some other important legislative proposals in the Michigan House and Senate impacting Christian people in Michigan:

Important 2019-2020 MI House Bills

Important 2019-2020 MI Senate Bills