Dear Neighbor,
Here is some information that I hope you will find helpful, including updates and news from your state government. I encourage you to reach out to me and my staff with any questions, comments or concerns you may have regarding our community or state and with any policy ideas.
Please do not hesitate to reach out by phone at (517) 373-8900 or send an email to KaraHope@house.mi.gov.
Sincerely,
Kara Hope
State Representative
Legislation to Expand Post-Conviction DNA Testing Passes House
My bill, House Bill 5271, to update and expand Michigan’s post-conviction DNA testing passed the House this week. The changes proposed to this 23-year-old law would better reflect current technological capabilities and allow more individuals to be eligible for post-conviction DNA testing. Specifically, this legislation would remove the requirement that an individual needs to be incarcerated to obtain post-conviction DNA testing; allow access to post-conviction DNA testing in guilty plea cases; and reduce restrictions on the availability of testing.
Michigan enacted a post-conviction DNA testing law in 2001 to assist in identifying the factually innocent and ensuring that the true perpetrator is held accountable. Since 2001, DNA testing technology has significantly advanced. For example, smaller amounts of DNA material are now needed to obtain results. I have been working with the Innocence Project at Cooley Law School, my alma mater, on this legislation.
Legislation to Protect Free Speech Passes House
This week, my bill, House Bill 5788, to allow a court to dismiss strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP lawsuits) passed the House. SLAPP suits are retaliatory lawsuits intended to silence, intimidate or punish an individual who speaks out on an issue of public interest. They have been used against environmentalists, scientists, citizen activists and sexual assault survivors. Michigan is one of only 17 states that has not enacted an anti-SLAPP law. Individuals should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of being sued and buried in legal fees.
Bills to Expand Access to Birth Control Pass Senate Health Policy Committee
This week, the Contraceptive Equity bills passed the Senate Health Policy Committee. This legislation will improve access to birth control, including my bill, House Bill 5436, which allows pharmacists to prescribe and dispense all forms of self-administered hormonal contraceptives, including the pill, ring and patch. Pharmacists would be required to complete a pharmacy board-approved training program before prescribing birth control. Patients must complete a self-screening risk assessment before receiving birth control prescribed by a pharmacist.
Another bill in the package, House Bill 5435, requires insurance companies to cover pharmacist-prescribed birth control like other prescriptions, making birth control more affordable. Finally, House Bill 5013 requires insurers to cover a 12-month supply of contraception at one time upon request.
Maternal Infant Health Package Passes Senate Health Policy Committee
This week, bills to improve the health and well-being of mothers and infants across Michigan passed the Senate Health Policy Committee. Severe maternal morbidity — which refers to unexpected outcomes of delivery that result in significant short- or long-term impacts on a woman’s health, including death — has been rising, especially in some underserved communities. Non-Hispanic Black people experience significantly higher rates of severe maternal morbidity and were 2.8 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes in Michigan between 2015 and 2019. Non-Hispanic Black infants also die three times more often than white non-Hispanic infants.
These bills help address this glaring disparity in health outcomes while making pregnancy and the postpartum period safer for everyone. My bill, House Bill 5173, would require hospitals to provide information on the health insurance enrollment process to parents of newborns.
Other bills in the package would:
- Require mental health screenings for new mothers as part of their baby’s 4-week, 8-week, 6-month and 18-month checkups (HB 5169).
- Require these screenings to be covered by private insurance and Medicaid (HBs 5170 and 5171).
- Establish levels of maternal care in Michigan that focus on specific obstetric criteria and promote risk-appropriate care to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity (HB 5172).
- Recognize Michigan’s Perinatal Quality Collaborative, which facilitates the improvement of communication, collaboration and practice statewide and across nine regional entities (HB 5166).
- Require blood pressure monitors for pregnant and postpartum individuals to be covered under Medicaid (HB 5167).
- Require blood pressure monitors for pregnant and postpartum individuals to be covered under private insurance (HB 5168).
- Eliminate expensive and redundant testing of donors of breast milk to breast milk banks (HB 4728).