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SENATE BILL NO. 940
A bill to amend 1970 PA 91, entitled
"Child custody act of 1970,"
by amending sections 3 and 5 (MCL 722.23 and 722.25), section 3 as
amended by 2016 PA 95 and section 5 as amended by 2016 PA 96.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 3. (1) As used in this act, "best interests of the child" 1
means the sum total of the following factors to be considered, 2
evaluated, and determined by the court: 3
(a) The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing 4
between the parties involved and the child. 5
April 29, 2026, Introduced by Senator RUNESTAD and referred to Committee on Civil Rights,
Judiciary, and Public Safety.
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(b) The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to 1
give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the 2
education and raising of the child in his or her the child's 3
religion or creed, if any. 4
(c) The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to 5
provide the child with food, clothing, medical care or other 6
remedial care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state 7
in place of medical care, and other material needs. 8
(d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, 9
satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining 10
continuity. 11
(e) The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or 12
proposed custodial home or homes. 13
(f) The moral fitness of the parties involved. 14
(g) The mental and physical health of the parties involved. 15
(h) The home, school, and community record of the child. 16
(i) The reasonable preference of the child, if the court 17
considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference. 18
(j) The willingness and ability of each of the parties to 19
facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child 20
relationship between the child and the other parent or the child 21
and the parents. A court may not consider negatively for the 22
purposes of this factor any reasonable action taken by a parent to 23
protect a child or that parent from sexual assault or domestic 24
violence by the child's other parent. 25
(k) Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was 26
directed against or witnessed by the child. 27
(l) Any other factor considered by the court to be relevant to 28
a particular child custody dispute. 29
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(2) When making a determination of the best interests of the 1
child, the court must make findings and conclusions of law in 2
writing. 3
Sec. 5. (1) If a child custody dispute is between the parents, 4
there is a presumption that it is in the best interests of the 5
child to award equal or approximately equal parenting time to each 6
parent. The presumption may be rebutted only by clear and 7
convincing evidence placed on the record that equal or 8
approximately equal parenting time is not in the best interests of 9
the child. If a child custody dispute is between a parent and 10
between agencies, or between third persons, the best interests of 11
the child control. If the child custody dispute is between the 12
parent or parents and an agency or a third person, the court shall 13
presume that the best interests of the child are served by awarding 14
custody to the parent or parents, unless the contrary is 15
established by clear and convincing evidence. 16
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions provision of this 17
act, if a child custody dispute involves a child who is conceived 18
as the result of acts for which 1 of the child's biological parents 19
is convicted of criminal sexual conduct as provided in sections 20
520a to 520e and 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 21
750.520a to 750.520e and 750.520g, or a substantially similar 22
statute of another state or the federal government, or is found by 23
clear and convincing evidence in a fact-finding hearing to have 24
committed acts of nonconsensual sexual penetration, the court shall 25
not award custody to that biological parent. This subsection does 26
not apply to a conviction under section 520d(1)(a) of the Michigan 27
penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520d. This subsection does not 28
apply if, after the date of the conviction, or the date of the 29
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finding in a fact-finding hearing described in this subsection, the 1
biological parents cohabit and establish a mutual custodial 2
environment for the child. 3
(3) An offending parent is not entitled to custody of a child 4
described in subsection (2) without the consent of that child's 5
other parent or guardian. 6
(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions provision of this 7
act, subsection (2) does not relieve an offending parent of any 8
support or maintenance obligation to the child. The other parent or 9
the guardian of the child may decline support or maintenance from 10
the offending parent. 11
(5) A parent may assert an affirmative defense of the 12
provisions of subsection (2) in a proceeding brought by the 13
offending parent regarding a child described in subsection (2). 14
(6) Notwithstanding any other provisions provision of this 15
act, if an individual is convicted of criminal sexual conduct as 16
provided in sections 520a to 520e and 520g of the Michigan penal 17
code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520a to 750.520e and 750.520g, and the 18
victim is the individual's child, the court shall not award custody 19
of that child or a sibling of that child to that individual, unless 20
both the child's other parent and, if the court considers the child 21
or sibling to be of sufficient age to express his or her the 22
child's or sibling's desires, the child or sibling consent to the 23
custody. 24
(7) As used in this section, "offending parent" means a parent 25
who has been convicted of criminal sexual conduct as described in 26
subsection (2) or who has been found by clear and convincing 27
evidence in a fact-finding hearing to have committed acts of 28
nonconsensual sexual penetration as described in subsection (2). 29
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Final Page
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Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect 1
unless all of the following bills of the 103rd Legislature are 2
enacted into law: 3
(a) Senate Bill No. 941. 4
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(b) Senate Bill No. 942. 6