On October 15, 2023, the Michigan Senate passed House Bill 4520 and House Bill 4521, increasing penalties for assaults on health professionals and volunteers in emergency departments. The bills were reported from that committee without opposition the following week. Recall that the House voted in late June in an overwhelming fashion to send the bills to the Senate. The Senate made one minor change, expanding the bills to mental health facilities as well as hospitals, sending them back to the House to concur.
Today the House concurred the changes which now sends the legislation on to the Governor for her signature.
This is a great moment for physicians and staff in Michigan’s emergency department settings and the culmination of lots of work from MCEP members over the past several years!