Senate designates March 2025 as Multiple Sclerosis Week, lawmakers acknowledge advocates in gallery

The Michigan Senate on March 2025 unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 16, designating March 2025 as Multiple Sclerosis Week and drawing floor remarks from a sponsoring senator who described the disease and highlighted advocacy efforts.

Senate Resolution 16 was offered for immediate consideration after the rules were suspended. Senator Haug spoke to the chamber in support of the resolution, describing multiple sclerosis as a neurological disease that affects the central nervous system and noting that it often strikes people in “the prime of their lives between the ages of 20 and 50.” He cited a figure stated on the floor that “nearly 1,000,000 people in the United States” live with MS and said the disease’s unknown cause and lack of cure make awareness and research important. The resolution was adopted after a voice vote; the clerk recorded the resolution as adopted.

Senator Haug also recognized advocates from the National MS Society in the gallery, identified in the transcript as “the Digmans,” and thanked them for their ongoing advocacy. A later floor acknowledgment repeated that the Digmans were seated in the west gallery.

The resolution does not create new policy or appropriate funds; the transcript records the Senate’s symbolic recognition and Senator Haug’s remarks to elevate public awareness and legislative attention to MS.

Ending: The Senate’s adoption of the resolution places March 2025 on the legislative record as Multiple Sclerosis Week and acknowledges local advocates; no implementation steps or funding were specified in the recorded discussion.