Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Memorial Highways topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves multiple memorial highway namings, including Darian Young and Keegan Spencer
Summary
The Michigan House passed several bills designating stretches of state highway as memorials to people who died performing public service or in traffic incidents; votes were recorded by roll call and most measures took immediate effect.
The Michigan House of Representatives on May 20, 2025, approved several bills amending the Michigan Memorial Highway Act to name portions of state roads after people who died serving their communities, including animal control officer Darian Young and tower worker Keegan Spencer.
The measures passed on record roll-call votes and sponsors urged colleagues to support the designations as tributes and reminders of roadway safety. Representative Brock, speaking for House Bill 4100 to name a section of M-50 in Monroe County for Darian Young, recounted the June 4, 2020 crash in which she “lost her life to a drunk driver” while driving to work and said the designated sign “will be a reminder…that choices have consequences.” Brock said the driver was traveling about 80 miles an hour and a post-crash toxicology showed a blood alcohol level of 1.137; the sponsor also noted the driver was later sentenced to 17 to 30 years. The chamber approved House Bill 4100 by a roll-call vote of 106 ayes and 1 nay; the majority floor leader then moved for immediate effect, which was ordered.
Representative Regas introduced House Bill 4267 to designate a portion of highway in Kent County as the Keegan Spencer Memorial Highway. Regas recounted that Keegan Spencer, a 25-year-old tower worker from Hastings, was struck and killed on Nov. 11, 2023, while assisting motorists on M-6 near Craft Avenue and said the designation is “a call to action to remind us of the sacrifices made by towers, first responders, and roadside workers.” The House passed HB4267, 104 ayes and 3 nays, and ordered immediate effect.
Other memorial measures advanced alongside those bills. Representative Tisdale sponsored House Bill 4105 to designate part of Rochester Road as the William S. Broomfield Memorial Highway; the bill passed on a roll-call vote of 105 ayes and 2 nays and was given immediate effect. Representative Schmaltz introduced House Bill 4145 to name a mile of U.S. 127 in Jackson County for Second Lieutenant Roosevelt Steiger, a Tuskegee Airman; HB4145 passed 107–0, also with immediate effect.
These highway designations amend the Michigan Memorial Highway Act and are largely ceremonial. Sponsors framed the namings as honors to local public servants or historical figures and as visible reminders to motorists, particularly for highway workers and first responders. The House recorded roll-call tallies for each bill and ordered immediate effect on the measures that were moved for immediate effect.
Formal actions: House Bill 4100 (Darian Young) — passed 106–1; immediate effect ordered. House Bill 4267 (Keegan Spencer) — passed 104–3; immediate effect ordered. House Bill 4105 (William S. Broomfield) — passed 105–2; immediate effect ordered. House Bill 4145 (Roosevelt Steiger) — passed 107–0; immediate effect ordered.
