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HOUSE BILL NO. 6112
A bill to create the office of Freedmen affairs and prescribe
its powers and duties; to require the submission of reports; and to
provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local
governmental officers and entities.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "American Freedmen 1
affairs act". 2
Sec. 2. As used in this act: 3
(a) "American Freedmen" means descendants of individuals 4
emancipated from slavery in the United States. 5
June 18, 2026, Introduced by Reps. B. Carter, McKinney, Hoskins, Edwards, Scott, Wilson,
Myers-Phillips, T. Carter, Young, Neeley, Tsernoglou, Foreman, O'Neal, Rheingans, Wegela,
Andrews, Byrnes, Skaggs, Steckloff, Weiss, Dievendorf, Paiz, Price, Longjohn, Pohutsky,
Farhat and Coffia and referred to Committee on Government Operations.
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(b) "Department" means the department of civil rights. 1
(c) "Director" means the director of the office or the 2
director's designee. 3
(d) "Office" means the office of Freedmen affairs created in 4
section 3. 5
Sec. 3. (1) The office of Freedmen affairs is created as an 6
autonomous entity within the department. The office shall exercise 7
the powers and perform the duties described in this act 8
independently of the department. 9
(2) The office shall advocate, coordinate, research, and make 10
policy recommendations on matters affecting American Freedmen 11
residing in this state. 12
Sec. 4. The governor shall appoint a director to serve as the 13
head of the office. The term of the director is 5 years. The 14
governor may reappoint the director. The director shall administer, 15
operate, and staff the office. 16
Sec. 5. The office shall do all of the following: 17
(a) Advise the governor and the legislature on policies, 18
programs, and legislation affecting American Freedmen. 19
(b) Provide policy recommendations, based on data, research, 20
and community input, to the governor and the legislature to address 21
documented disparities in the allocation of state resources, 22
funding, and opportunities affecting American Freedmen. 23
(c) Improve access to state programs, services, and benefits 24
for American Freedmen through outreach, education, and coordination 25
with state departments and agencies. 26
(d) Develop and support initiatives to expand economic 27
opportunity, workforce development, and entrepreneurship for 28
American Freedmen. 29
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(e) Establish and maintain genealogy research assistance, 1
archival resources, and historical documentation to support 2
individuals seeking to identify and preserve American Freedmen 3
heritage. 4
(f) Conduct policy analysis, program evaluations, and data-5
informed assessments to measure the effectiveness of state actions 6
affecting American Freedmen. 7
(g) Solicit and consider input from American Freedmen 8
communities, advocacy organizations, and other stakeholders to 9
inform the office's priorities. 10
(h) Partner with public, private, academic, and nonprofit 11
organizations to advance the office's mission and align efforts 12
across sectors. 13
(i) Identify systemic barriers affecting American Freedmen and 14
recommend strategies to state agencies and the legislature to 15
address those barriers. 16
Sec. 6. (1) The office may employ staff to carry out the 17
purposes of this act, including individuals with expertise in 18
policy analysis, community engagement, genealogy and historical 19
research, and economic or financial planning. 20
(2) The office may enter into contracts or agreements with 21
academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, consultants, or 22
other professionals as necessary to carry out the purposes of this 23
act. 24
Sec. 7. Not later than February 28 of each year, the office 25
shall submit a report to the governor, the secretary of the senate, 26
and the clerk of the house of representatives. The report must 27
include all of the following: 28
(a) A summary of the office's activities and accomplishments 29
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from the immediately preceding calendar year. 1
(b) An assessment of the social, economic, and health 2
conditions of American Freedmen residing in this state. 3
(c) Recommendations for legislative, administrative, or policy 4
actions to address identified disparities and improve outcomes. 5
Sec. 8. The office may solicit and accept gifts, donations, 6
grants, loans, appropriations, or other money from a federal, 7
state, local, or private source to carry out the purposes of this 8
act. 9