Act No. 135

Public Acts of 2016

Approved by the Governor

May 26, 2016

Filed with the Secretary of State

May 26, 2016

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 24, 2016

STATE OF MICHIGAN

98TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2016

Introduced by Reps. Phelps, Brinks, Yanez, Faris, Howrylak, Chang, Singh, Plawecki, Hoadley, Rutledge, Talabi, Love, Chirkun, Derek Miller, Glenn, Wittenberg, Schor, Moss, Guerra, Durhal, Santana, LaFontaine, Sarah Roberts, Maturen, LaVoy, Zemke, Garrett, Cochran, Irwin, Dianda, Brunner, Darany, Liberati, Gay-Dagnogo, Pagan, Neeley, Kosowski, Smiley, Callton, Graves, Price, Crawford, Hooker, Pagel, Bizon, Inman, Lucido, Runestad, Vaupel, Garcia, Cox and Aaron Miller

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5188

AN ACT to amend 1937 PA 72, entitled “An act to establish the division on deafness and the advisory council on deafness within the department of labor; to prescribe the powers and duties of the department, the division, the council, and certain state officers; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; and to provide for an appropriation,” by amending section 4 (MCL 408.204), as amended by 1988 PA 434.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 4. (1) Under the supervision of the department, the division shall do all of the following:

(a) Advocate for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons who encounter communication and other difficulties in employment, education, public accommodation, public service, and housing.

(b) Work closely with all public and privately funded organizations that provide developmental, educational, financial, preventative, protective, placement, recreational, rehabilitative, or health services to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons.

(c) Encourage providers of services to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons to improve the quality and coordination of their delivery systems.

(d) Provide information on deafness to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons and the public.

(e) Provide information and referral services to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons to ensure that their rights are protected.

(f) Provide information to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons on programs and services provided for them by each level of government.

(g) Promote new services, when necessary, for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons.

(h) Sponsor or cosponsor conferences, workshops, or seminars to educate deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons and the public about deafness.

(i) Maintain statistics, facts, and data pertaining to deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons of all ages and degrees of hearing loss.

(j) Provide technical assistance to state agencies and the public regarding communication accessibility for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing persons.

(k) Coordinate with state agencies, the legislature, and the governor on requests for direct interpreter services.

(l) Fulfill its duties under the deaf persons’ interpreters act, 1982 PA 204, MCL 393.501 to 393.509.

(2) The division may assess reasonable fees for conferences sponsored or cosponsored by the division, the use of materials developed by the division, and for services provided by the division.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor