Whitmer signs data center tax break, charter transparency and transgender name change bills

Nearly three dozen bills were signed into law Friday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which among other things, incentivize data centers, streamline the name change process in Michigan and increase charter school transparency.

With the signing of the 35 bills, Whitmer’s office said she has now signed a record 1,466 bipartisan bills into law since taking office. 

“During my ‘Road Ahead Address,’ I made a commitment to stay focused on solving problems so we can keep creating good-paying jobs right here in Michigan and ensure that we are the home for advanced manufacturing,” said Whitmer. “Together, we can help our young people thrive and make sure Michigan is the best state to start or grow your business. Let’s keep working together to get things done that make a real difference in people’s lives.”

House Bill 4906, sponsored by state Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph), encourages the expansion of data centers in Michigan by extending a tax exemption for individuals and companies investing in data center equipment, which Andrews said would help bolster economic growth and development in the state, particularly southwest Michigan, which has “abundant fresh water resources and reliable nuclear energy infrastructure [that] make it an ideal destination” for the industry.

Michigan House Democrats pass bills to ease name changes and codify changing gender markers

House Bills 5300 and 5303, sponsored by state Reps Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Helena Scott (D-Detroit), significantly reforms the process for residents to change their legal name, whether as a result of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking or gender affirmation. 

Among the changes, those petitioning a court for a name change for non-marriage-related reasons would no longer have to be fingerprinted and mandated to publish name change court dates as fraud would no longer be assumed as the reason for the name change.

When the bills were before the House during its lame duck session last month, Mel Hartman, 38, told the Michigan Advance that as a trans person, the old process unnecessarily treated them as criminals.

“There’s an idea that we’re doing it on a whim or for fun, when the process is so difficult … it isn’t humane for trans people to have to it’s assumed that we change our names because of criminal reason, deviant reason, when we’re simply trying to just live our lives, just live our lives in a normal way,” said Hartman.

A set of five bills focused on updating transparency requirements for Michigan charter schools, also called public school academies, which are publicly funded and operate under a charter contract issued by a public authorizing body such as a university, community college or local public school district. 

House Bills 5231, 5232, 5233, and 5234, sponsored by state Representatives Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), Stephanie A. Young (D-Detroit), Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills), and Helena Scott (D-Detroit) respectively, require charter schools to make the names of those authorizing and managing the school easily accessible, while House Bill 5269, sponsored by state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), requires charter schools to post certain information on their website regarding teachers’ salaries in an effort to promote competitive compensation. 

The legislation follows the State Board of Education passing in April 2024 a resolution requesting that lawmakers pass bills to increase transparency about finances in Michigan’s charter schools, which were referred to as a “threat to democratically governed community-based schools.”

Other education-related legislation signed into law include House Bill 5649, sponsored by state Rep. Carol Glanville (D-Walker), which requires every public high school to offer at least one computer science course.

House Bill 5829, sponsored by state Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills), simplifies the scholarship application process for Michigan students by sunsetting the state competitive scholarship and Michigan tuition grant, as the Michigan Achievement Scholarship replaced both programs. 

Four bills target various aspects of the state’s election system, including House Bill 5574, also sponsored by Andrews, clarifies and simplifies the petition process by amending when updates on the status of a petition need to be posted online and what materials needs to be transmitted to local clerks, while House Bills 6052 and 6053, sponsored by state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), seek to improve ballot printing efficiency and clarifies the timeframe for election related lawsuits. 

House Bill 5551, sponsored by state Rep. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield), prohibits an individual from serving on the Board of State Canvassers or a county board of canvassers if they have been convicted of certain election crimes so as to ensure the validity of election results and protect Michiganders’ right to free and fair elections. 

Two bills support Michigan’s tribal community. House Bill 5600, sponsored by state Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor), creates the Office of the Tribal Legislative Liaison within the Legislative Council helping to establish a government-to-government relationship between the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan and the Legislature. House Bill 4854, sponsored by state Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit), requires schools to allow Native American students to bring traditional objects or wear traditional regalia during ceremonies of honor, including graduation ceremonies, so as to ensure Native American students can honor their heritage. 

House Bills 5949, 5950 and 5951, sponsored by state Representatives Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), and Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), respectively, are aimed at expanding affordable transportation options in Michigan by creating a regulatory framework for peer-to-peer car sharing programs, providing an opportunity to lower the cost of owning a car by creating clear provisions and protections for an individual or company to share a car.  

Senate Bills 962, 975 and 981, sponsored by state Senators John Cherry (D-Flint), Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), and Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), respectively, amend the Michigan Employment Security Act by updating eligibility requirements for shared work plans, improve the efficiency of the administrative law hearing process, and support survivors of domestic violence by protecting Michiganders’ ability to qualify for unemployment benefits if they leave their job due to domestic assault. 

House Bills 5077 and 5078, sponsored by state Reps. Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington) and Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) respectively, make it easier for government agencies to distribute and administer naloxone and other life-saving overdose-reversal drugs. 

House Bills 5379 and 5747, both sponsored by state Rep. Jenn Hill (D-Marquette), seek to support Upper Peninsula logging businesses by simplifying Michigan’s ability to form agreements with other states about how materials to support the logging industry are taxed. 

The remaining nine bills signed aime to make it easier for inheritors of real property to keep the property in the family; help businesses save money by streamlining state tax procedures; encourage prospective lawyers by reducing barriers to joining the State Bar of Michigan; honor a fallen Melvindale police officer; update the fee court reporters and recorders can charge to align with current costs; provide greater flexibility in funding for critical infrastructure by eliminating the requirement for certain funding mechanisms used by the State Building Authority to mature every five years; support Metro Detroit’s tourism industry by providing the option to increase the local hotel room assessment; end transit opt-out zones in Wayne County; and increase the efficiency of drain authorities to maintain and assess for drain upgrades.