Read the full stored bill text
SB-313, As Passed Senate, May 20, 2026
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 313
A bill to amend 1973 PA 116, entitled
"An act to provide for the protection of children through the
licensing and regulation of child care organizations; to provide
for the establishment of standards of care for child care
organizations; to prescribe powers and duties of certain
departments of this state and adoption facilitators; to provide
penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
by amending sections 2, 3, 5n, 10, and 11c (MCL 722.112, 722.113,
722.115n, 722.120, and 722.121c), section 2 as amended by 2022 PA
111, section 3 as amended and section 11c as added by 2017 PA 257,
section 5n as added by 2017 PA 256, and section 10 as ame nded by
2023 PA 304.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. (1) The departments of health and human services and 1
2
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
licensing and regulatory affairs are responsible for developing 1
rules for the care and protection of children in organizations 2
covered by this act and for promulgating these rules according to 3
the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 4
to 24.328. 5
(2) The department shall establish an ad hoc committee for 6
each type of child care organization as defined in this act when it 7
is formulating or amending rules under this act. The committee 8
shall consist of not less than 12 members, and must include 9
representatives of the following groups and agencies: 10
(a) Department of health and human services. 11
(b) Department of licensing and regulatory affairs, bureau of 12
fire services, and state fire safety board. 13
(c) Department of education. 14
(d) Representatives of organizations affected by this act. 15
(e) Parents of children affected by this act. 16
(3) A majority of the members appointed to the committee 17
established by subsection (2) must be representatives of 18
organizations affected by this act and parents of children affected 19
by this act. The committee shall serve during the period of the 20
formulation of rules, shall have responsibility for making 21
recommendations on the content of rules, and shall recommend to the 22
department revisions in proposed rules at any time before the rules 23
are promulgated. 24
(4) The rules promulgated under this act shall must be 25
restricted to the following: 26
(a) The operation and conduct of child care organizations and 27
the responsibility the organizations assume for child care. 28
(b) The character, suitability, health, training, and 29
3
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
qualifications of applicants and other persons directly responsible 1
for the care and welfare of children served. 2
(c) The character and health of household members. 3
(d) The general financial ability and competence of applicants 4
to provide necessary care for children and to maintain prescribed 5
standards. 6
(e) The number of individuals or staff required to ensure 7
adequate supervision and care of the children received. 8
(f) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness, and general 9
adequacy of the premises, including maintenance of adequate fire 10
prevention and health standards to provide for the physical 11
comfort, care, and well-being of the children received. The rules 12
with respect to fire prevention and fire safety do not apply to a 13
child care center established and operated by an intermediate 14
school board, the board of a local school district, or by the board 15
or governing body of a state approved nonpublic in a school, if the 16
either of the following applies: 17
(i) The child care center is located in a school building that 18
is approved by the bureau of fire services created in section 1b of 19
the fire prevention code, 1941 PA 207, MCL 29.1b, or other similar 20
authority as provided in section 3 of 1937 PA 306, MCL 388.853, for 21
school purposes and is in compliance with the school fire safety 22
rules, R 29.1901 to R 29.1934 of the Michigan Administrative Code, 23
as determined by the bureau of fire services or a fire inspector 24
certified under section 2b of the fire prevention code, 1941 PA 25
207, MCL 29.2b. 26
(ii) The superintendent of the intermediate school district or 27
local school district certifies that the school building has the 28
approval described under subparagraph ( i). 29
4
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
(g) Provisions for food, clothing, educational opportunities, 1
programs, equipment, and individual supplies to assure the healthy 2
physical, emotional, and mental development of children served. 3
(h) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of children 4
served. 5
(i) Maintenance of records pertaining to admission, progress, 6
health, and discharge of children. 7
(j) Filing of reports with the department. 8
(k) Discipline of children. 9
(l) Transportation safety. 10
(5) Rules once promulgated are subject to major review by an 11
ad hoc committee not less than once every 5 years and must be 12
reviewed biennially by the department. The ad hoc committee shall 13
be established by the department, shall consist of not less than 12 14
members, and shall include representatives of the groups and 15
agencies indicated in subsection (2). The ad hoc committee shall 16
hold at least 2 public hearings regarding the review of rules and 17
shall report its recommendations regarding rules to the appropriate 18
committees of the legislature. 19
(6) Unless there is an immediate federal obligation or an 20
immediate risk to health and safety as determined by the 21
department, a child care center, group child care home, or family 22
child care home that is controlled by a rule promulgated under this 23
act has not less than 90 days after a rule is promulgated to become 24
compliant with the rule. 25
Sec. 3. (1) The rules promulgated by the department under this 26
act shall must be used by the department, the bureau of fire 27
services, and local authorities in the inspection of and reporting 28
on child care organizations covered by this act. The inspection of 29
5
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
the health and fire safety of child care organizations shall must 1
be completed by department staff, the bureau of fire services, or 2
local authorities upon request of the department, or according to 3
subsection (2). 4
(2) If an inspection is not conducted according to subsection 5
(1), a person owning or operating or who that proposes to own or 6
operate a child care organization must comply with either of the 7
following: 8
(a) The person may enter into a contract with a local 9
authority or other person qualified by the department to conduct an 10
inspection according to subsection (1) and pay for that inspection 11
after an inspection is completed according to this subsection. 12
(b) If the child care organization is a child care center in a 13
school building, the person provides the department with 14
certification from the superintendent of the intermediate school 15
district or local school district that the health and fire safety 16
described under subsection (1) is sufficient in the school 17
building. 18
(3) The rules promulgated by the department for foster family 19
homes and foster family group homes shall must be used by a child 20
placing agency or governmental unit when investigating and 21
certifying a foster family home or a foster family group home. 22
(4) Inspection reports completed by state agencies, local 23
authorities, and child placing agencies shall must be furnished to 24
the department and shall will become a part of its evaluation for 25
licensing of organizations covered by this act. After careful 26
consideration of the reports and consultation where necessary, the 27
department shall assume responsibility for the final determination 28
of the issuance, denial, revocation, or provisional nature of 29
6
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
licenses issued under this act. A report of findings shall must be 1
furnished to the applicant or license e. 2
Sec. 5n. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (13), 3
when a person, partnership, firm, corporation, association, 4
governmental organization, or nongovernmental organization applies 5
for or applies to renew a license to operate a child care center, 6
group child care home, or family child care home under section 5m 7
and before a group child care home or family child care home allows 8
an individual to be a member of the household, or a child care 9
center, group child care home, or family child care home allows an 10
individual to become a child care staff member, the department 11
shall do all of the following: 12
(a) Review its database of individuals with previous 13
disciplinary action within a child care center, group child care 14
home, or family child care home or an adult foster care facility. 15
(b) Conduct a search of the individual through the national 16
sex offender registry. 17
(c) Request a search of the individual through all state 18
criminal registries or repositories for any states of residence in 19
the past 5 years. 20
(d) Request that the department of state police perform a 21
criminal history check on the individual, child care staff member, 22
or adult member of the household. 23
(2) If the individual, child care staff member, or adult 24
member of the household has resided out of the United States within 25
the preceding 5 years, equivalent clearances of those described in 26
subsection (1)(b) and (d) and section 5q from each country must be 27
provided, if available. If the country does not have the equivalent 28
clearance, the individual must sign a self -certifying statement 29
7
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
that he or she the individual is not ineligible to receive a 1
license, to be an adult member of the household, or to be a child 2
care staff member as prescribed by sections 5q and 5r. An 3
individual who provides or is determined to have provided false 4
information or knowingly omits information in the self -5
certification statement is ineligible for that application. 6
(3) Each individual listed in subsection (1) shall give 7
written consent at the time of the license application and before a 8
group child care home or family child care home allows an 9
individual to be a member of the household, or before becoming a 10
child care staff member to allow the department of state police to 11
conduct the criminal history check required under subsection (1). 12
The department shall require the individual to submit his or her 13
the individual's fingerprints to the department of state police and 14
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the criminal history check 15
as required in subsection (1). 16
(4) The department shall request a criminal history check 17
required under this section on a form and in the manner prescribed 18
by the department of state police. 19
(5) Within a reasonable time after receiving a complete 20
request for a criminal history check on a person under this 21
section, the department of state police shall conduct the criminal 22
history check and provide a report of the results to the 23
department. The report shall must contain any criminal history 24
record information on the person maintained by the department of 25
state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 26
(6) The department of state police may charge the department a 27
fee for a criminal history check required under this section that 28
does not exceed the actual and reasonable cost of conducting the 29
8
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
check. The If the department does not receive a sufficient 1
appropriation in a fiscal year to cover the cost of conducting each 2
check required under this section, the department may pass along to 3
the individual fingerprinted the actual cost or fee charged by the 4
department of state police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or 5
a vendor approved by the department of state police for performing 6
a criminal history check during that fiscal year required under 7
this section. 8
(7) The department shall provide whether the individual is 9
eligible or ineligible as provided by sections 5q and 5r within 45 10
days after the date on which the request was submitted. 11
(8) The individual may serve as a child care staff member 12
pending the results of the record and database checks required by 13
this section and section 5q if the individual is supervised at all 14
times. 15
(9) Within 45 days after the date on which the request was 16
submitted, the department shall provide a statement to the child 17
care center, group child care home, or family child care home that 18
indicates whether the individual is eligible or ineligible to be, a 19
licensee, an adult member of the household, or a child care staff 20
member as provided under sections 5q and 5r without revealing any 21
disqualifying crime or other related information regarding the 22
individual. 23
(10) If the individual is ineligible due to the records or 24
database checks required under this section and section 5q, the 25
department shall provide information related to each disqualifying 26
item in a report to the individual who has been determined 27
ineligible. 28
(11) An individual who has been determined to be ineligible as 29
9
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
provided under sections 5q and 5r may request a redetermination by 1
the department if he or she the individual believes that the basis 2
for the ineligible determination is inaccurate. The individual 3
shall file the request for redetermination with the department 4
within 30 calendar days after receiving the written notice that he 5
or she was determined to be ineligible. If an individual has been 6
determined to be ineligible based upon a conviction that has been 7
expunged or set aside or a central registry case that has been 8
expunged, the individual shall provide the supporting court, law 9
enforcement, or department of health and human services, or 10
equivalent department from another state, documents along with the 11
request for redetermination. The individual shall not be determined 12
to be ineligible based upon a conviction that has been set aside or 13
expunged or a central registry case that has been expunged. The 14
department shall review the request and issue a written decision 15
within 30 business days after receiving the request for 16
redetermination. The decision of the department is final. 17
(12) Each ineligible individual shall be given instructions 18
about how to complete the request for redetermination process as 19
provided in subsection (11). 20
(13) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, not 21
later than September 30, 2017, every child care center licensee, 22
group child care home licensee, family child care home licensee, 23
child care staff member, and adult member of the household shall 24
submit his or her the individual's fingerprints to the department 25
of state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to 26
carry out the records and database checks required under this 27
section and section 5q. If the department of education obtains an 28
extension on the implementation of this program from the federal 29
10
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
government, the provisions of this section may be implemented no 1
later than September 30, 2018. 2
(14) If a licensee, licensee designee, or program director of 3
a child care center, group child care home, or family child care 4
home applying for a new license or to renew a license to operate a 5
child care center, group child care home, or family child care home 6
has previously undergone a criminal history check required under 7
subsections (1) and (13) and has remained continuously licensed 8
after the criminal history check has been performed, that licensee, 9
licensee designee, or program director of a child care center, 10
group child care home, or family child care home is not required to 11
submit to another criminal history check upon renewal of, or 12
application for, the license obtained under this act. 13
(15) Upon consent of an applicant as required in subsection 14
(3) and upon request from a child care center, group child care 15
home, or family child care home, the department shall review the 16
information received from the criminal history check, if any, and 17
notify the requesting child care center, group child care home, or 18
family child care home of the information in the manner prescribed 19
in subsection (7). Until the Federal Bureau of Investigation 20
implements an automatic notification system as outlined in section 21
5k, a child care center, group child care home, or family child 22
care home may rely on the criminal history record information 23
provided by the department under this subsection and a new request 24
as provided under this section is not necessary if all of the 25
following requirements are met: 26
(a) The criminal history check was conducted during the 27
immediately preceding 5-year period. 28
(b) The applicant has been continuously employed by a child 29
11
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
care center, group child care home, or family child care home since 1
the criminal history check was conducted in compliance with this 2
section. 3
(c) The applicant can provide evidence acceptable to the 4
department that he or she the applicant has been a resident of this 5
state for the immediately preceding 5 -year period. 6
(16) The checks and clearances required in subsection (1)(a) 7
to (c) and section 5q shall must be updated at least every 5 years 8
if the individual has been continuously licensed, has continuously 9
been serving as a child care staff member, or has continuously been 10
an adult member of the househol d. 11
Sec. 10. (1) The department may investigate, inspect, and 12
examine conditions of a child care organization and may investigate 13
and examine the licensee's books and records. The licensee must 14
cooperate with the department's investigation, inspection, and 15
examination by doing all of the following: 16
(a) Admitting members of the department into the child care 17
organization and furnishing all reasonable facilities for thorough 18
examination of its books, records, and reports. 19
(b) Allowing the department to perform routine investigative 20
functions during the course of an investigation, inspection, or 21
examination. Routine investigative functions include, but are not 22
limited to, interviewing potential witnesses, such as staff and 23
household members, and taking photographs to assess and document 24
the conditions of the child care organization and its compliance 25
with this act and the rules promulgated under this act. 26
(c) Providing accurate and truthful information to the 27
department, and encouraging witnesses, such as staff and household 28
members, to provide accurate and truthful information to the 29
12
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
department. 1
(2) The Except for a child care center for which a 2
superintendent provides certification that a health or fire 3
protection requirement under this act is met, a licensee shall 4
allow the department, the bureau of fire services, or local 5
authorities access to the child care organization to carry out the 6
provisions of this act and rules promulgated under this act related 7
to the health or fire protection of children. 8
(3) A licensee shall keep the records the department 9
prescribes regarding each child in its control and care and shall 10
report to the department, if requested, the facts the department 11
requires with reference to the children upon forms furnished by the 12
department. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and 13
subsection (4), records regarding children and facts compiled about 14
children and their parents and relatives are confidential and 15
disclosure of this information must be properly safeguarded by the 16
child care organization, the department, and any other entity in 17
possession of the information. Records that are confidential under 18
this section are available to 1 or more of the following: 19
(a) A standing or select committee or appropriations 20
subcommittee of either house of the legislature having jurisdiction 21
over protective services matters for children, according to section 22
7 of the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.627. 23
(b) The child advocate established in section 3 of the office 24
of the child advocate act, 1994 PA 204, MCL 722.923. 25
(c) An employee of an agency, bureau, division, or other 26
entity within the department, or an employee of a child caring 27
institution, or a child placing agency contracted with the 28
department, but only to the extent necessary for the administration 29
13
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
of child welfare services in each case. The director of the agency 1
responsible for child welfare services, or the director's designee, 2
is responsible for authorizing an employee to have access to the 3
records according to this subdivision and for ensuring that access 4
is given only to the extent necessary. 5
(d) A national accreditation program, only while on -site, for 6
the purpose of review and accreditation of a child welfare program, 7
agency, or organization. 8
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) and sections 5 and 7(2) of 9
the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.625 and 722.627, 10
information or records in the possession of the department or the 11
department of licensing and regulatory affairs may be shared to the 12
extent necessary for the proper functioning of the department or 13
the department of licensing and regulatory affairs in administering 14
child welfare or child care licensing under this act or in an 15
investigation conducted under section 43b of the social welfare 16
act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.43b. Information or records shared under 17
this subsection shall must not be released by the department or the 18
department of licensing and regulatory affairs unless otherwise 19
permitted under this act or other state or federal law. Neither the 20
department nor the department of licensing and regulatory affairs 21
shall release or open for inspection any document, report, or 22
record authored by or obtained from another agency or organization 23
unless 1 of the conditions of section 7(5) of the child protection 24
law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.627, applies. 25
(5) A child care center, group child care home, or family 26
child care home licensee shall provide the department with child 27
information cards for all children presently enrolled for care, as 28
requested by the department, whenever the department initiates or 29
14
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
conducts an investigation, inspection, or assessment. If the 1
investigation, inspection, or assessment results in the department 2
pursuing disciplinary action as provided by section 11, the child 3
care center, group child care home, or family child care home 4
licensee must provide the department with child information cards 5
for newly enrolled children for the pendency of the proposed 6
disciplinary action. 7
(6) The department may suspend, deny, revoke, or refuse to 8
renew a license of the child care organization if the licensee does 9
not cooperate with an investigation, inspection, or examination 10
under this section. 11
(7) An audio or video recording provided to the department by 12
a licensee under this section is exempt from disclosure under the 13
freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. 14
Sec. 11c. (1) In the case of a disaster, a child care center, 15
group child care home, or family child care home may temporarily 16
operate at an unlicensed location under this section. The 17
requirements to temporarily operate at an unlicensed location under 18
this section are as follows: 19
(a) The child care center, group child care home, or family 20
child care home cannot operate in a new location until after the 21
department has conducted an inspection and approved the new 22
location. 23
(b) For Except as provided in this subdivision, for a child 24
care center, a fire safety inspection, an environmental health 25
inspection, and, if necessary, a lead hazard risk assessment, and, 26
for a group child care home or family child care home, an 27
environmental health inspection, if necessary, are conducted within 28
45 days of the proposal of the new location. A fire safety 29
15
Final Page
OOH S00828'25 (S-1)_SB313_APS_1 mbxvko
inspection and an environmental health inspection under this 1
subdivision are not required for a child care center located in a 2
school building if the superintendent of the intermediate school 3
district or local school district certifies that the location is 4
safe. If any of the inspections find an inspection required under 5
this subdivision finds the new location to be unsafe, the child 6
care center, group child care home, or family child care home must 7
discontinue operation in that new location. 8
(2) If the child care center, group child care home, or family 9
child care home will remain at the new location, the licensee must 10
apply for and obtain a new license within 1 year of moving to the 11
new location. 12
(3) The department shall determine what constitutes a disaster 13
under this section. 14