Prohibits requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination by agencies receiving funding under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

State: MI
Bill Number: HB 5783
Position: SUPPORT
Action Required: None
Status: Enacted, Public Act 166, Effective 7/20/2022

Legislation Details:

HB 5783 is the appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.  The bill passed as Public Act 166 and went into effect on 7/20/2022

Governor Witmer did veto certain sections, but the section on COVID19 vaccine passports under this department were left in the bill.  

HB 5783 includes the following prohibition on COVID-19 vaccine passports:

Sec. 222. (1) Any department, agency, board, commission, or public officer that receives funding under part 1 (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) shall not do any of the following:

(a) Require as a condition of accessing any facility or receiving services that an individual provide proof that he or she has received a COVID-19 vaccine except as provided by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal Medicare or Medicaid funding.

(b) Produce, develop, issue, or require a COVID-19 vaccine passport.

(c) Develop a database or make any existing database publicly available to access an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status by any person, company, or governmental entity.

(d) Require as a condition of employment that an employee or official provide proof that he or she has received a COVID-19 vaccine. This subdivision does not apply to any hospital, congregate care facility, or other medical facility or any hospital, congregate care facility, or other medical facility operated by a local subdivision that receives federal Medicare or Medicaid funding.

(2) A department, agency, board, commission, or public officer may not subject any individual to any negative employment consequence, retaliation, or retribution because of that individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status.

(3) Subsection (1) does not prohibit any person, department, agency, board, commission, or public officer from transmitting proof of an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status to any person, company, or governmental entity, so long as the individual provides affirmative consent.

(4) If a department, agency, board, commission, subdivision, or official or public officer is required to establish a vaccine policy due to a federal mandate, it must provide exemptions to any COVID-19 vaccine policy to the following individuals:

(a) An individual for whom a physician certifies that a COVID-19 vaccine is or may be detrimental to the individual’s health or is not appropriate.

(b) An individual who provides a written statement to the effect that the requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine policy cannot be met because of religious convictions or other consistently held objection to immunization.

(5) As used in this section, “public officer” means a person appointed by the governor or another executive department official or an elected or appointed official of this state or a political subdivision of this state.

 http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/publicact/htm/2022-PA-0166.htm - enrolled version of HB 5783