Close up of Education Muse painted on the interior of the Capitol dome in Lansing, Mi

MLA Advocacy News

SB611 Library Privacy Act Passes in the Senate, Heads to House

September 22, 2020

For the past year, the Michigan Library Association (MLA) and our members have worked diligently with Senator Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford) to make sure that any changes to the Michigan Library Privacy Act (1982 PA 455) continue to protect the rights of Michigan citizens.

After an extensive pause in moving bills through the legislative process due to the coronavirus, a few weeks ago, SB611 (S-2) was moved from the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee to the full Senate. With a slight amendment recommended by the MLA Board and approved by Senator MacGregor, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, SB611 (S-2) was heard on the Senate floor and was passed with a unanimous vote of approval. We are proud to say that it will now move onto the Michigan House of Representatives for their consideration (we think after the election) and then onto Governor Whitmer for her final signature (hopefully before the end of the year.)

Executive Orders: The Latest Updates

September 18, 2020

MLA continues to follow the Governor's Executive Orders to monitor their impact on libraries. Here is the status and a short recap of Executive Orders of note to libraries as of September 17, 2020:

EO 2020-181: Amendment to the Safe Start order (EO 2020-176)

In order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in indoor spaces, this order clarifies that indoor social gatherings and organized events among persons not part of the same household remain limited to 10 people or fewer statewide.

EO 2020-177 - Declaration of the State of Emergency and state of disaster-related to the COVID-19 pandemic effective immediately and continuing through October 1, 2020, at 11:59 pm.

REALM Test 3 Complete - Updated Recommendations

August 27, 2020

We continue to learn more every day about the novel coronavirus and what best practices we should adopt to best safeguard against the possible spread of COVID-19.

On August 18, the REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums (REALM) project published the results of the third round of Battelle’s laboratory testing for COVID-19 on five plastic-based materials: talking book USB cassettes, DVD, storage bags, storage containers, and plexiglass.

Executive Orders: The Latest Update

August 27, 2020

MLA continues to follow the Governor's Executive Orders to monitor their impact on libraries. Here is the status and a short recap of Executive Orders of note to libraries as of August 27, 2020:

EO 2020-172 - Protecting workers who stay home, stay safe when they or their close contacts are sick

This Executive Order prohibits employers from discharging, disciplining, or retaliating against employees who make the responsible choice to stay home when they or their close contacts are sick. Under this Executive Order, employers must treat employees who stay home when they are sick as if he or she were taking medical leave.

EO 2020-165 - Declaration of the State of Emergency and state of disaster-related to the COVID-19 pandemic effective immediately and continuing through September 4, 2020, at 11:59 pm.

State of Michigan Budget...Better "Bad" News

August 27, 2020

In May 2020, Michigan was staring at a $3.1 billion budget hole in the FY 2020 budget. After a third Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference on Monday, August 24, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 hole is now estimated at approximately a $936 million loss, based on updated state revenue numbers.

In better news comparatively, the FY 2021 revenue hole is approximately $384 million in the General Fund with a $12.4 million hole in the School Aid Fund. But economists are now projecting that the combined FY 2021 and FY 2022 revenue shortage will create a combined $4.2 billion hole that is unlikely to be fixed without federal support.

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