MichiganVotes Weekly Report: October 14, 2020

House Bill 6030: Epidemic liability shield for employersPassed 23 to 14 in the Senate on October 14, 2020

To establish that businesses and other facilities are not liable for an individual catching COVID-19 on their premises unless the owner or operator acted deliberately in a manner that causes harm. The exemption would apply as long as the facility was operated in compliance with federal, state and local statutes or regulations or executive orders. "Isolated, de minimis deviations" would not be grounds for a lawsuit. The provisions would also apply to any person in the distribution chain of personal protective equipment, medical devices, drugs and more used to treat or prevent the spread of COVID-19.

House Bill 6032: Authorize employee "adverse action" lawsuits in epidemicPassed 37 to 0 in the Senate on October 14, 2020

To authorize employee lawsuits against an employer who takes an “adverse employment action” or “retaliates” against an employee who is absent from work during the declared coronavirus epidemic emergency because the individual is "self-isolating or self-quarantining” in response to an elevated risk or diagnosis, and require employees who test positive for the disease or have symptoms to self-quarantine and not go to work, as specified in the bill.

House Bill 6159: Medical providers liability waiver in epidemicPassed 29 to 8 in the Senate on October 13, 2020

To give medical care providers immunity from lawsuits seeking damages for their actions and treatments during the first months of the coronavirus epidemic. The bill states:“A health care provider or health care facility that provides health care services in support of this state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is not liable for an injury, including death, sustained by an individual by reason of those services, regardless of how, under what circumstances, or by what cause those injuries are sustained, unless it is established that the provision of the services constituted willful misconduct, gross negligence, intentional and willful criminal misconduct, or intentional infliction of harm by the health care provider or health care facility.”This would apply retroactively for the period after March 29, 2020 and before July 14, 2020.

House Bill 6100: Restrict “Integrated Public Alert Warning System” use by governorPassed 57 to 44 in the House on October 13, 2020

To prohibit officials including the governor from using an official “Integrated Public Alert Warning System” to transmit an announcement of a new law or change in government policy. The bill would limit its use to emergencies involving immediate or nearly immediate loss of life or property. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used this system during her ongoing state of emergency to make announcements that did not meet this standard. The system is described as a “secure network connecting all of the public alert and warning systems in the United States into a single system.”

House Bill 4035: Ban local dog regulations based on breedPassed 88 to 13 in the House on October 13, 2020

To prohibit a local government from enacting or enforcing an ordinance or rule that regulates dogs on the basis of their breed.