FGM EDUCATION & OUTREACH H.B. 4642:
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4642 (as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Pam Faris
House Committee: Law and Justice
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to do the following:
-- Require the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to develop and administer an education and outreach program that informed the public of the health risks and criminal penalties associated with female genital mutilation.
-- Require the DHHS to develop information on female genital mutilation and the associated criminal penalties and disseminate it to teachers and law enforcement.
"Female genital mutilation" would mean the circumcision, excision, or infibulation, in whole or in part, of the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris of a female who is under 18 years of age.
The bill would require the Department to develop and administer an educational and outreach program that, at a minimum, informed the public, including members of new immigrant populations to Michigan that commonly practiced female genital mutilation and health care providers, of the health risks and emotional trauma inflicted by the practice of female genital mutilation and criminal penalties for female genital mutilation. In developing the program, the Department would have to seek input from all of the following:
-- The general public, including individuals from communities that, as a matter of custom or ritual, traditionally practice female genital mutilation.
-- Women's health organizations.
-- Teachers.
-- Local health departments.
-- State agencies that the DHHS considered relevant.
The Department also would have to develop information on female genital mutilation and the associated criminal penalties and disseminate the information to teachers and law enforcement.
"Health care provider" would mean both of the following: a) a health care professional who is licensed, registered, or otherwise authorized to engage in a health profession under Article 15; and b) a health facility or agency as that term is defined in Section 20106. (Under that section, except as otherwise provided, "health facility or agency" means: an ambulance operation, aircraft transport operation, nontransport prehospital life support operation, or medical first response service; a county medical care facility; a freestanding surgical
outpatient facility; a health maintenance organization; a home for the aged; a hospital; a nursing home; a hospice; a hospice residence; or such a facility or agency (other than a hospice) located in a university, college, or other educational institution.)
The bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.
Proposed MCL 333.9159 Legislative Analyst: Jeff Mann
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have an indeterminate, but likely minimal, negative fiscal impact on the Department of Health and Human Services, and no fiscal impact on local units of government. Under the bill, the DHHS would face an indeterminate increase in administrative costs resulting from the requirement that it develop and administer a public educational outreach program, as well as develop information on female genital mutilation and the related criminal penalties and disseminate it to teachers and law enforcement personnel. The total cost resulting from the bill would depend on the methods the DHHS chose to educate the public, which are not explicitly defined in the bill.
Fiscal Analyst: Ellyn Ackerman
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.