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Michigan House passes bill to ban certain additives from school food; sponsor cites child health concerns
Summary
House Bill 4369, a bill described on the floor as amending the "food law," passed on third reading after sponsor Representative Paquette urged banning specific ingredients from food and drink provided in schools.
LANSING — The Michigan House of Representatives on July 1 passed House Bill 4369, a measure described in the bill title as amending the state’s "food law," after a lengthy floor statement from sponsor Representative Paquette urging the chamber to prohibit specified additives and ingredients from foods and drinks distributed in schools.
Representative Doug Paquette (title on the transcript: Representative Paquette) told the chamber that the bill addresses ingredients he described as harmful to children’s health and learning. "It is the root that produces the fruit," he said. Urging support, Paquette said the measure targets ingredients used in products marketed to children and supplied in school cafeterias. He listed specific substances in his remarks: "propylparaben, synthetic dyes, potassium bromate, and brominated vegetable oil." Paquette said the bill reflects input from "toxicologists, nutritionists, and health leaders" and from parents.
On the floor the clerk read House Bill 4369 for third reading. After debate and the closure of further amendments, the House held a roll-call vote. The clerk announced that House Bill 4369 passed with 58 aye votes and 47 nay votes. Majority Floor Leader Bagole moved for immediate effect; the House approved immediate effect.
The sponsor framed the measure as a public-health and education issue: "Food is medicine," Paquette said, and argued that school-provided food should not contain ingredients he said are "detrimental to health and brain development." The transcript records Paquette stating that the bill seeks to prevent taxpayer dollars from purchasing foods containing the listed ingredients for schools.
The transcript did not include the bill text read on the floor, committee analyses, or fiscal notes explaining implementation mechanisms or enforcement details. The bill title in the record identifies it only as "a bill to amend the food law." The sponsor’s floor statement says alternatives to the listed ingredients exist, but the chamber record provided does not include procurement or enforcement language.
Actions recorded on the floor show the bill passed and was given immediate effect; further details, including the bill’s specific prohibited substances list and enforcement provisions, are available in the official bill text and committee materials.
