Is this the year for "Teddy's Law" in Michigan?

This story dates back to early 2019 when the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) exposed toxic pesticide testing on beagles in an undercover investigation of Dow AgroSciences. The beagles were euthanized after the testing was complete. HSUS stopped this testing and found a partner in the Michigan Humane Society, which rescued the beagles and found them homes. Efforts then began to create a new law requiring adoption over euthanasia for similarly situated animals and to hold testing facilities to account.

The first of these bills, HB4496, was introduced by then-Representative Kevin Hertel (now State Senator) on April 24, 2019, in the 100th Legislature (2019-20). Unfortunately, the bill was parked in the Agriculture committee in November of that year and never made it beyond that point. In the 101st Legislature (2021-22), Representative Kevin Hertel reintroduced the bill as HB4881 in May of 2021, and HSUS dubbed the bill "Teddy's Law." However, the bill remained stuck the entire session and died in the Regulatory Committee. Although it drew more press attention, it did not receive a vote.

Now, in this 102nd legislative session, Teddy's Law has sponsors in both the House and Senate. Senator Hertel introduced SB0149 in the Senate on March 7th, and Representative Veronica Paiz introduced HB4278 on March 14th. These bills are tie-barred to counterpart bills, HB4277 and SB0148, providing details on enforcement.

While the momentum feels like things will go differently this session, you can help ensure these bills receive a vote by contacting your State Representative and Senator and asking them to support these bills. (or send them a big "Thank You!" if they've already signed on sponsors)

If you are uncertain who to contact, OpenStates has a wonderful tool, here: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/ You can input your address and see both your Representative and Senator listed on the page that follows. Simply click their name and you'll find an informational page with email address and phone number.

UPDATE: HSUS has a great tool to help you with submitting a message to your representatives, at humanesociety.org/TeddysLaw