Michigan laws on contraceptives, housing, voting and more to take effect in 2025

Michiganders will see a slew of new laws go into effect in 2025 governing voter rights, reproductive health care and more.

Here is what some of these new laws mean and what Michigan residents can expect.

Eligible Michigan residents will be automatically registered to vote

Michigan’s current voter registration system requires individuals to opt in to register during transactions at the secretary of state’s office. Starting June 30, Michigan residents who are not registered to vote but are otherwise eligible and have applied for a driver’s license or state ID card will be automatically registered to vote (or preregistered if they are 16 or 17). If a resident is automatically registered to vote under the new guidelines, the secretary of state’s office will mail a notice and a preaddressed return form in which they can decline voter registration if they want to. 

If designated by the secretary of state, other state agencies that would normally collect information that confirms a resident’s eligibility for voter registration would be able to automatically register voters too. Any of Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribal nations will be able to request authorization from the secretary of state to submit information to the department to register tribal members. The law will also register eligible parolees to vote upon their release from prison.

Low-income renters will be protected from discrimination

Those using housing choice vouchers under Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 will be protected from discrimination under a new set of laws beginning April 2.

The federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, administered locally by public housing agencies, helps low-income families, elderly and disabled people afford housing. More than 2.3 million families across the country use the housing vouchers, including 28,000 here in Michigan.

Landlords previously had the option to refuse to rent to people who use Section 8 vouchers. Some Michigan cities already prohibited landlords from discrimination based on a person’s source of income, but the new law expands those protections to tenants statewide.

The law will also allow a person who suffers a loss due to income discrimination to take civil action against a landlord for a certain amount of rent or other losses. 

A landlord or real estate broker with fewer than five rental units will be exempt from these provisions, however.

Minimum wage workers will see an increase in pay

Michigan workers receiving minimum wage will see a jump in pay on Feb. 21, and employers with fewer than 50 workers will no longer be exempt from offering paid sick leave.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last July that Republican lawmakers had in 2018 unconstitutionally adopted two initiatives — one to increase the state’s minimum wage and a second mandating all employers provide employees with paid sick leave — in order to prevent them from appearing on the general election ballot and then amended the proposals’ language to weaken some of their key provisions after the election.

The court decision restored the original intent of the ballot measures, effectively raising the state’s minimum wage and enacting a new paid sick leave policy. On Feb. 21, the following changes will take effect :

• Minimum hourly wage rate will increase to $12.48. 
• Minimum hourly wage rate for tipped workers will increase to $5.99.
• Minimum reported average hourly tips will increase to $6.49.
• Minimum hourly wage for minors under the age of 18 will increase to $10.61.
• Michigan businesses with fewer than 10 employees must allow their workers to accrue up to 40 hours of annual paid sick leave.
• Michigan businesses with 10 or more employees must allow their workers to accrue up to 72 hours of annual paid sick leave.

By 2028, the state’s minimum wage will be about $15 an hour and will increase with inflation in the years thereafter. The law will also gradually phase out a lower minimum wage for tipped workers.

However, after receiving pushback from Michigan business owners, Republicans and Democrats in the state Legislature have introduced separate bills  that could alter the upcoming minimum wage and paid sick leave adjustments. In the Michigan House of Representatives, Republicans are seeking to increase the minimum wage to just $12 an hour this year, and businesses with under 50 employees would not be required to provide paid sick leave. In the state Senate, Democrats want to exempt businesses with fewer than 25 employees from the new paid sick leave rules and would make the minimum wage $15 by 2027, a year ahead of the court’s timeline. 

Patients will be able to get birth control from pharmacists

On April 2, Michigan will authorize pharmacists to prescribe self-administered contraceptives such as pills, the patch and the ring.

According to a Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the legislation, one-third of Michigan residents don’t have access to an OB-GYN who can write a prescription for birth control, and allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives would enable women to acquire affordable birth control.

In 2022, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs issued directives that allowed licensed physicians to work with pharmacists to prescribe self-administered contraceptives, but now those guidelines will be cemented into state law.

In addition to the provisions allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control, the bill package will also require insurance policies to cover for the prescriptions, up to one year’s supply at a time.Michiganders can see a complete list of public acts passed in 2024 here.