The Michigan House and Senate did not meet last week, so this report describes some bills revising regulations, taxes or subsidies related to food sales. The legislature remains in recess until Sept. 7.

House Bill 5705: Impose registration, regulation on carry-out food delivery services

Introduced by Rep. Tommy Brann R-Wyoming, to impose new licensure, regulation and third-party certification mandates on “third-party food delivery platform” businesses and staffers in the business of delivering food ordered by a consumer over the internet for delivery. This would apply to businesses like “Grubhub,” “DoorDash,” etc. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 1083: Require state create child care food poisoning policy

Introduced by Sen. Adam Hollier D-Detroit, to require the state health department to create an “anaphylactic policy for child care centers, group child care homes, and family child care homes setting forth guidelines and procedures to be followed to prevent anaphylaxis and during a medical emergency resulting from anaphylaxis,” a.k.a. food allergy reactions. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bills 5683 and 5684: Exempt pet food from sales and use tax

Introduced by Reps. Pamela Hornberger R-Chesterfield Township and Tommy Brann R-Wyoming, respectively, to exempt “qualified” pet food from sales tax, which means regular pet food and food for “specialty pets,” which are defined in the state animal feed law as a “noncanine or nonfeline domesticated animal kept as a pet and normally confined to and maintained in a cage or tank within the owner’s domicile, including, but not limited to, gerbils, hamsters, canaries, psittacine birds, mynahs, finches, tropical fish, goldfish, snakes, and turtles.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5656: Keep giving state subsidies to urban grocery stores

Introduced by Rep. Julie Rogers D-Kalamazoo, to extend for another four years the sunset on a 2017 law that authorized state subsidies for the owners of grocery stores in urban areas. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 4982: Ban labeling artificial meat as “meat”

Introduced by Rep. Beau LaFave R-Iron Mountain, to prohibit a grocery, restaurant or other vendor from labeling a laboratory-grown substitute as “meat.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bill 5374: Regulate dinnerware

Introduced by Rep. Julie Rogers D-Kalamazoo, to require that the state regulate “lead leachate levels for dinnerware.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

Senate Bill 591 and House Bill 5250: Ban specified chemicals in food packaging

Introduced by Sen. Jeff Irwin D-Ann Arbor and Rep. Yousef Rabhi D-Ann Arbor, to prohibit the use of PFAS, bisphenols, and phthalates in food packaging. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

House Bills 4635 and 4636: Revise sales tax levies on food sold for immediate consumption

Introduced by Rep. Mark Tisdel R-Rochester Hills and Rep. Shri Thanedar D-Detroit, to revise the definition of prepared food sales subject to use tax. The current law makes “food sold with eating utensils provided by the seller” subject to sales tax, and the bill would add a test of the proportion of vendor’s sales of prepared vs. unprepared food, and similar tax calculations on food “sold in an unheated state.” Referred to committee, no further action at this time.

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Source: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit www.MichiganVotes.org.