State Sen. Dana Polhankie outlines recent laws on housing, firearms storage, benefits and workplace protections

State Sen. Dana Polhankie, who represents Canton and surrounding communities, briefed the Canton Township Board of Trustees on March 11 about recent state legislation and developments in Lansing, including new laws she described as affecting housing, public safety and worker benefits.

Polhankie said several laws passed in the recent session that she supports will have direct effects on residents. “One is to end housing discrimination — prevents landlords from denying a renter housing based on their source of income,” she said. She also described a new child-safe-storage law that she called “one of the laws I’m most proud of,” saying it imposes penalties when unsecured firearms in homes, cars or at friends’ houses are accessed by children.

Why it matters: Polhankie said the housing measure expands access for renters whose income comes from sources such as housing vouchers, and that the safe-storage law will require schools to send electronic notices to families about the new requirement so more people are aware of it.

Polhankie listed other enacted measures, including an expansion of the stateethnic-intimidation (hate-crime) statute to add protections for sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability and age; legislation to give pharmacists the authority to prescribe certain contraceptives and to have insurers cover contraceptives prescribed in that manner; and a change to unemployment benefits that raises the maximum weekly benefit and extends the maximum number of weeks available. She said weekly unemployment benefits were raised from a $362 cap to $614 and that the duration increased from 20 months to 26 months.

Polhankie also discussed criminal-law changes that eliminate the statute of limitations for certain degrees of criminal sexual conduct indictments, allowing alleged victims to seek indictment regardless of when the alleged crime occurred. She said the change applies to criminal—not civil—claims.

On labor policy, Polhankie described two measures that drew strong debate. She said House Bill 4002 guarantees earned sick time, setting minimums for large and small employers, and that Senate Bill 15 raises Michiganminimum wage toward $15 by 2027. She said HB 4002, as enacted, provides different accruals for large and small employers than did a ballot initiative that did not reach the ballot; in particular, she said an unpaid block of leave that appeared in the ballot language was removed in the enacted bill after negotiations with small-business stakeholders.

Polhankie said lawmakers also reached a different compromise on tipped wages than what a ballot initiative would have enacted. She said the compromise preserves a tipped wage approach and will raise the tipped wage at a slower pace than the full minimum-wage increase; she described the issue as highly contested among restaurant workers and owners.

Polhankie also told trustees she and other Democratic senators sued the Republican speaker of the state House after he withheld roughly nine bills that had passed both chambers, and that a court has ordered those bills delivered to the governor by March 19.

Trustee Foster asked about the state budget process and whether the delay in transmitting bills affects school and municipal planning timelines. Polhankie said the Senate majority expects to meet the July budget deadline that provides school districts the funds they need to plan their budgets, and she described recent procedural actions in the House as political gamesmanship that she and her caucus will try to overcome.

Polhankie closed by answering questions about federal education proposals and funding, saying Michigan currently receives approximately $2.3 billion in federal K-12 school aid she said includes funding for school lunches, special education and other grants. She said that, while unappropriated future federal funding could change, currently appropriated funds cannot be retracted without congressional action; she added she will closely monitor proposed federal changes.

Polhankie also noted she voted against allowing certain radioactive waste to be brought into the state and said she will oppose any such movement by vote or committee action. She encouraged trustees and residents to stay alert to future bills on that topic.

Polhankie invited trustees and residents to a local coffee hour and to an upcoming State of the Township event and said she will continue to monitor budget and education developments in Lansing.

Ending: Polhankie answered trusteesquestions at the end of her 10-minute update and said she will continue to provide periodic legislative briefings to the township.