Written by Forrest Wall, CAE, Staff Vice President and Industry Relations
Bill Allowing Medical Marihuana Prohibition Passes Senate
vised version of Senate Bill 783, which would amend the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, has passed the Michigan Senate. The legislation proposes to prohibit the smoking of medical marihuana on private property in violation of a prohibition established by the property owner. It also prohibits smoking marihuana in any public place including any portion of private property that is open to the public. Finally, the bill states that nothing in the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act could be construed to require a private property owner to lease property to a person who smoked or cultivated marihuana on the premises, if that activity were prohibited in the written lease. The bill now goes to the Michigan House of Representatives for action.
Human Trafficking Legislation Introduced
A multi-bill package of legislation that addresses the crime of human trafficking has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives. Two of the bills, House Bill 5230 and House Bill 5233, could impact the multifamily rental property industry if enacted. Specifically, House Bill 5230 proposes to amend the Revised Judicature Act by expanding the definition of property that is considered a nuisance to include: a place where human trafficking occurs; property used to facilitate armed violence; and, property considered a dangerous building used to commit an unlawful act. This bill also makes revisions to the seizure and forfeiture provisions pertaining to nuisances. House Bill 5233 would amend the Omnibus Forfeiture Act to add to the list of crimes allowing seizure and forfeiture of property, extend various procedural timeframes, and void transfers of property connected to a crime subject to forfeiture. Furthermore, the bill amends the provision that exempts property from seizure and forfeiture in cases where the owner did not have prior knowledge of the crime, to include a limitation based on “willful blindness.” While supportive of efforts to strengthen laws to combat human trafficking, AAM is concerned with the broad expansion of this law as it relates to dangerous buildings, especially given the potential for property to be seized without the owner ever being convicted of a crime.