[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6215565,"mediaKeyId","3657353-b249718faed98143f417ac803eb8afb7","parentId",3657353,"title","Committee adopts amendments and hears testimony on bills strengthening penalties for harm to blind pedestrians and service animals","audioSeconds",1204,"startMs",1207000,"endMs",2718,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3657353-b249718faed98143f417ac803eb8afb7&start=1207&end=2","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3657353-b249718faed98143f417ac803eb8afb7/thumbnail_1207000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6215565/Michigan/Committee-adopts-amendments-and-hears-testimony-on-bills-strengthening-penalties-for-harm-to-blind-pedestrians-and-service-animals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6215565-3bce882f9fc8d49daa4d47a438d40fe1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166981&Signature=LwRJQ7naUw~gMfZsXZO6wi38AFOcdRhA8Qbt0oQzZbRWcZFajBiGwk1vtJ3AEb-ec2dXvzejaScTr747StKYGn8JstFjCPV3lXjZY3i3pKYCwCbcz7~WtFrjICqA4JdL7rzuHxiywcJang4r9DQKnNGYUN0l3QxOe5yTa8OHpHYPKx2hi~Lxht0IZRvByvku70QjZ2nw5rMIVFrF5-7qlGDV1cK0Y8upVRe0tYW7a55225z-XoNBSqNeaAlQLLSgfiI~9CJ7AL1c1UxBSS8rgdN2GKDe4iMc5IXd4fj-TLrkr5M0f~YnA1JB0ufZSx69NKtMn7uylpiGcRrAXkZ1yg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan Legislature","date","2025-06-05T01:47:25Z","article","Representative Vanderwall and Representative Tisdale presented House Bills 45-27 and 45-28 to the House Health Policy Committee and the panel adopted amendments to correct drafting errors in statutory-penalty language before taking testimony.

On a motion to amend HB 45-27, the clerk recorded 15 yays, 0 nays, 0 passes; the amendment was adopted. On a separate motion to amend HB 45-28, the clerk recorded 15 yays, 0 nays, 0 passes; that amendment was adopted. The amendments changed the statutory penalty in the bills so that gross negligence causing the death of a blind person carries a penalty consistent with similar Class C felonies — up to 15 years — and established a penalty for killing a leader dog of up to five years, as explained by bill proponents.

Representative Vanderwall, who introduced the package and characterized the bills as “deeply personal,” said the measures “modernize[] and strengthen[] Michigan’s laws by clarifying the protections for blind pedestrians, including those using canes, walkers, or service animals.” He said the bills “critically codif[y] stronger penalties for drivers who fail to properly use precautions, especially in the case of gross negligence that cause injury or even death.”

Representative Tisdale and others explained the sponsor selected a Class C felony penalty to align with other severe offenses; Representative Tisdale said the top penalty for Class C felonies is 15 years and compared the proposed penalty’s severity to second-degree arson.

The committee heard emotional testimony from Nick Vanderwall, identified in the transcript as a youth transition specialist for Disability Advocates of Kent County and as the sponsor’s son, who said he is blind and relies daily on his leader dog, Doc. “They are a way for people to get around. It is my main reliance of getting around,” Nick Vanderwall said. He described multiple close calls in which his leader dog’s refusal to move or the quietness of electric vehicles prevented injury. “If I did not have a service animal, I would have probably been injured,” he said.

Representative DeBoer and other members recounted personal connections to leader-dog recipients and emphasized the dogs’ life-changing role. Representative Tisdale noted that Leader Dogs for the Blind, based in Rochester Hills, invests more than $60,000 per dog in training and services and that recipients train on campus for about three weeks, remarks recorded in the transcript as background to the bills’ penalty provisions.

The transcript records no final committee vote to report HB 45-27 or HB 45-28 to the House floor in the excerpt provided; the committee adopted the drafting amendments and then took testimony. Committee members thanked witnesses and placed no additional motions on the record in the sections of the transcript supplied.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Health Policy - 6/4/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Vanderwall and Representative Tisdale presented House Bills 45-27 and 45-28; the committee adopted drafting amendments that raise the statutory penalty for gross negligence causing death of a blind person to align with Class C felonies and heard testimony from blind advocates and Leader Dogs recipients.","taxTitle","2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",77683,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6215570,"House Health Policy Committee reports three bills to the floor; witness urges outside probe of psychiatric fraud",613,947000,1560000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3657353-b249718faed98143f417ac803eb8afb7&start=947&end=1560","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3657353-b249718faed98143f417ac803eb8afb7/thumbnail_947000.jpg","/articles/6215570/Michigan/House-Health-Policy-Committee-reports-three-bills-to-the-floor-witness-urges-outside-probe-of-psychiatric-fraud","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6215570-1ffbb3fe6e630f1d35b4e11115638afb/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166981&Signature=QFa~JRm-h19IE~Da1Jn~EMz6YEUg7FZkSkw3clSbiDPCXAhQO6uN0BwP0SbZh8hv~Gl2MAC2AgmFOvf~cnMESEImNDrLyzdUdHo~aRWb8Az7JEMdfnf4DGgJXdHhNxMOlcvCPLrVRogo4C2sPhmolu7EzV9hP6VuyhrS6-y0F5IgOxGA4XZB4~q7GsaMoJmNQfR31SKTOnA8zhBWQXKWlGcgOZIm5H2IoHTwf4WMMS~brln~6A1pdtTbYXzWPoQ9J5tvZorXch0f45FyUWfwHF-1KSRzJh2eLMBWr9IJa6xFY49QGysRHWhovhTSiRVClXzUNqtIGadRd4M7e6wGsQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Michigan House Health Policy Committee on an undisclosed 2025 date voted unanimously to report three bills to the House floor: House Bill 42-18, House Bill 42-19 (as substituted H-1), and House Bill 42-77.

On a motion by Representative Thompson, HB 42-18 was reported to the floor with recommendation, the clerk announced 15 yays, 0 nays, 0 passes. Representative Tisdale moved to adopt the H-1 substitute for HB 42-19; that substitute was adopted and Representative Bonack (transcript: Bonak/Bonack) moved to report HB 42-19 to the floor with recommendation; the clerk announced 15 yays, 0 nays, 0 passes. Representative Bierlein moved to report HB 42-77; the clerk announced 15 yays, 0 nays, 0 passes. The committee clerk confirmed each motion prevailed and the bills were reported with recommendation.

During the public-comment portion preceding the roll calls, a witness identified as Miss McGee testified in support of HB 42-18 and HB 42-19 and described what she called “psychiatric fraud” that led to incapacitation orders and inclusion in a state database. “The citizens of Michigan were labeled incapacitated based off of Havenwood Hospital,” she said in the transcript, and she told the committee she remains registered in the state database and is “still fighting to get my name cleared.”

Miss McGee asked the committee to pass the bills so “outsiders again can investigate this because, you know, CMH and other recipient rights sources through the hospital, they’re not going to deem that these providers is engaging in fraud and mental abuse. It’s just gonna be covered up, and there’s no justice for victims like me or others.”

Representative Carter asked Miss McGee for her city and which screening facility she referenced; the exchange in the transcript indicates the committee recorded the comment and offered to follow up. The transcript does not record an additional committee directive or a formal staff assignment stemming from Miss McGee’s testimony.

No final floor action on the three reported bills appears in the transcript portion provided. The roll calls in committee were unanimous in favor of reporting the bills to the House floor.","The Michigan House Health Policy Committee voted unanimously to report House Bills 42-18, 42-19 and 42-77 to the full House. A public commenter, identified in the transcript as Miss McGee, urged passage of HB 42-18 and HB 42-19 and asked the committee to allow outside investigation of alleged psychiatric fraud and to clear incapacitation records.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee adopts amendments and hears testimony on bills strengthening penalties for harm to blind pedestrians and service animals

House Health Policy Committee reports three bills to the floor; witness urges outside probe of psychiatric fraud