Whitmer signs bills to close out 2023

New laws for dental assessments, animals

Closing out the end of 2023, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a series of bills lawmakers sent to her desk before they adjourned for the year.

Dental assessments required for incoming kindergartners

Whitmer signed Senate Bill 280, which requires dental oral assessments for children registering for kindergarten or first grade for the first time in the 2024-25 school year. The legislation — which received bipartisan support — essentially makes permanent an oral health pilot program that was set to expire at the end of the year.

“Dental health is often overlooked when we talk about the health and development of our kids. All families need access to care to ensure their children stay healthy and can be successful,” said bill sponsor state Sen. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, in a statement.

Offering lab animals up for adoption

Senate Bills 148 and 149 also approved by Whitmer require putting cats and dogs used as laboratory animals at research facilities up for adoption before euthanizing them.

State Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, named the legislation “Teddy’s Law” after he met a beagle named Teddy that was rescued from a Michigan lab in 2018.

“This compassionate and bipartisan legislation will create a pathway for countless dogs and cats in Michigan to find loving forever homes,” Hertel said in a statement. State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia — who sponsored the other bill in the package — in a statement called the legislation “the most significant animal welfare law the Michigan legislature has passed in decades.”

Vintage license plates

Under Senate Bill 464 signed by Whitmer earlier this month, the Secretary of State’s Office will soon issue retro license plates: a blue plate replicating the one Michigan issued from 1983 to 2007 and a black registration plate in use from 1979 to 1983.

“For countless residents, these retro license plates evoke nostalgic memories about their childhoods and the cars they grew up with,” said bill sponsor state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, in a statement.

For 2026 only, the new law also requires the issuance of a special red-white-andblue plate to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.