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Read. Follow. Verify.House Bill 6401 Updates Criminal History Check Requirements for Healthcare Facility Employees
Last action · September 29, 2026: bill electronically reproduced 09/24/2026Sponsor: Sarah Lightner
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 6401 revises criminal history check timelines, disqualifying offenses, and reporting duties for prospective and current employees, independent contractors, and clinical staff at covered healthcare facilities in Michigan. The measure outlines specific lookback periods for various misdemeanor and felony convictions and establishes automatic fingerprint notification procedures.
Healthcare workers and prospective facility staff face modified lookback windows for past convictions that determine employment eligibility, while covered facilities must adjust their screening, conditional hiring, and fingerprint retention workflows.
- House Bill 6401 is part of a legislative package in the Michigan House of Representatives during the 2025-2026 session modifying public health code regulations. context
- Section 20173a of the Public Health Code governs background checks and criminal history requirements for individuals working in vulnerable patient care environments in Michigan. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Healthcare facility employees
Employees and prospective workers face modified criminal history lookback periods and mandatory self-reporting requirements upon arraignment.
Covered healthcare facilities
Facilities must adhere to updated screening, conditional hiring, supervision, and record-handling rules when evaluating applicants and staff.
Staffing agencies
Staffing agencies providing temporary or permanent personnel must conduct required criminal history checks and submit relevant information to hiring facilities.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a healthcare worker is arraigned on a criminal charge after being hired?
Can a healthcare facility hire an applicant before the criminal history check results are finalized?
What are the penalties for knowingly providing false information on an employment background statement?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- Sep 29, 2026Housebill electronically reproduced 09/24/2026
- Sep 24, 2026HouseCommitteereferred to Committee on Health Policy
- Sep 24, 2026HouseIntroducedread a first time
- Sep 24, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced by Representative Rep. Sarah Lightner
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Conditional Hiring Safeguards Added
The legislation modifies conditional employment rules by permitting unsupervised access only when specific public records checks and residency verifications are completed.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.mi.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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