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Read. Follow. Verify.Michigan expands prohibition on local opioid lawsuits against settled pharmaceutical companies
Last action · July 29, 2026: ASSIGNED PA 0049'26 WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECTSponsor: Sylvia Santana
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What This Bill Does
Michigan enacts Senate Bill 616 to expand the list of pharmaceutical companies and settlements protected from civil lawsuits brought by local s. The measure updates definitions and adds deadlines prohibiting new or ongoing legal actions against specific opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Local governments, counties, and cities lose the ability to initiate or maintain independent civil lawsuits related to opioid settlements against newly added pharmaceutical entities.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Political subdivisions
Counties, cities, villages, townships, school districts, and special districts are prohibited from commencing or maintaining civil lawsuits against specified opioid settlement defendants after set dates.
Opioid litigation settlement defendants
Specific pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors listed in the settlements are protected from civil actions brought by local political subdivisions.
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
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
28 actions- Jul 29, 2026SenateASSIGNED PA 0049'26 WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
- Jul 29, 2026SenateFILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE 7/23/2026 11:32 AM
- Jul 29, 2026SenateEnrolledAPPROVED BY GOVERNOR 7/21/2026 1:28 PM
- Jul 15, 2026SenateEnrolledPRESENTED TO GOVERNOR 7/14/2026 11:08 AM
- Jul 3, 2026SenateORDERED ENROLLED
- Jul 3, 2026SenateFULL TITLE AGREED TO
Show 22 earlier actions
- Jul 3, 2026SenateGIVEN IMMEDIATE EFFECT
- Jul 3, 2026Housereturned to Senate
- Jul 3, 2026Houseinserted full title
- Jul 3, 2026HouseFloorpassed; given immediate effect Roll Call #294 Yeas 102 Nays 6 Excused 0 Not Voting 2
- Jul 3, 2026HouseFloorread a third time
- Jul 2, 2026Houseplaced on third reading
- Jul 2, 2026HouseFloorread a second time
- Apr 15, 2026Housereferred to second reading
- Apr 15, 2026HouseCommitteereported with recommendation without amendment
- Dec 2, 2025HouseCommitteereferred to Committee on Judiciary
- Dec 2, 2025HouseIntroducedread a first time
- Dec 2, 2025Housereceived on 12/02/2025
- Dec 2, 2025SenateFloorPASSED ROLL CALL # 315 YEAS 36 NAYS 1 EXCUSED 0 NOT VOTING 0
- Dec 2, 2025SenatePLACED ON IMMEDIATE PASSAGE
- Dec 2, 2025SenateRULES SUSPENDED
- Dec 2, 2025SenatePLACED ON ORDER OF THIRD READING
- Dec 2, 2025SenateREPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT(S)
- Dec 2, 2025SenateRULES SUSPENDED FOR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION
- Dec 2, 2025SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
- Dec 2, 2025SenateCommitteeREPORTED FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT 11/13/2025
- Oct 22, 2025SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS, JUDICIARY, AND PUBLIC SAFETY
- Oct 22, 2025SenateIntroducedINTRODUCED BY SENATOR SYLVIA SANTANA
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.
Expansion of Opioid Settlement Immunities
Senate Bill 616 systematically adds numerous pharmaceutical entities and corresponding retroactive cutoff dates to Michigan's existing opioid liability shield for local governments.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.mi.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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