LANSING, Mich., Dec. 9, 2022 — State Rep. and Sen.-elect Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) bid farewell on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives and scored three legislative victories this week before she leaves the House for the Senate in January. Three of her bills are headed to the governor’s desk, where they are anticipated to be signed into law.
“Since taking office, my priorities have been those of my constituents. We know it’s long overdue that our state takes a definitive stance against housing discrimination. Since I first introduced the bill to ban restrictive covenants in 2019, I have been tirelessly fighting to get it across the finish line,” Anthony said. “With the support of vital stakeholders, like the Association of Registers of Deeds, the Lansing ACLU, and the Michigan Realtors, I am proud we could craft meaningful legislation that received unanimous bipartisan support in the House and Senate.”
House Bill 4416 bans the recording of restrictive covenants in housing deeds and establishes a user-friendly process for eliminating discriminatory language that still exists in deeds. Although the federal Fair Housing Act has prohibited housing discrimination since 1968, many property deeds nonetheless still contain language discriminating against African-Americans, Jewish-Americans and women, among others.
House Bills 6130, part of a bipartisan package with departing state Rep. Ben Frederick (R-Owosso), improves upon the success of Michigan Reconnect, a program that provides scholarships to adult learners who return to school to earn their first associate degree or skilled trades certification. The bills will expand Reconnect short-term training grants for career training programs for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations and require participating institutions to adopt nationally recognized best practices. Anthony and Frederick co-sponsored the legislation in 2019 that first created the Michigan Reconnect Program.
House Bill 6300, part of a bipartisan package, establishes more transparent group capital calculation procedures to aid insurance regulators and make risks more identifiable. The package will also allow the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) to maintain its accreditation with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
“The legislative process in Lansing is never perfect, but the legislation we’ve worked so tirelessly to pass will transform people’s lives right here in Lansing and across the state,” Anthony said. “I look forward to continuing this hard work as I start a new chapter in the state Senate.”