Bill
HB 4117
HB 4117 bans confining gestating sows, veal calves, and egg-laying hens to non cage-free or space-limited systems in Michigan and prohibits shell egg sales from violators (with exe
Status & procedural history
- Title: Animals: other; Animal Industry Act; modify — amends section 46 of 1988 PA 466 (MCL 287.746).
- Introduced: February 25, 2025 (Rep. Jennifer Wortz). Referred to Committee on Agriculture; read first time. (Additional legislative action dates listed through October 2025 in the record provided.)
- Bill text (as provided) consists principally of revisions to section 46 governing confinement of certain farm animals and the sale of shell eggs.
Purpose / intent
- To prohibit certain methods of confining specific farm animals (gestating sows, calves raised for veal, and egg‑laying hens) on farms, and to ban the sale in Michigan of shell eggs produced in ways that violate those confinement standards — subject to enumerated exemptions and defenses.
Key definitions added or clarified
- Covered animal: gestating sow, calf raised for veal, or egg‑laying hen kept on a farm.
- Cage‑free housing system: defined in detail; applicable to indoor and outdoor systems; requires freedom to roam (subject to exterior walls and limited interior fencing), enrichments (e.g., perches, nest boxes, dust baths, scratch areas), and the ability for farm staff to care for hens while standing within the usable floor space. Excludes battery cages, colony/enriched cages and similar systems.
- Usable floor space: total square footage per hen excluding perches/ramps; guidance reference is the United Egg Producers (UEP) 2017 “Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg‑Laying Flocks.”
Major substantive provisions
- Prohibitions (subject to exceptions): A farm owner/operator shall not:
- Tether or confine a covered animal in a way that prevents it from lying down, standing up, fully extending its limbs, or turning around freely (majority of the day).
- Confine an egg‑laying hen except in a cage‑free housing system.
- House hens with less than the usable floor space per hen specified in UEP 2017 cage‑free guidelines.
- Sale prohibition: Business owners may not knowingly sell shell eggs in Michigan that they know or should know were produced in violation of these confinement rules.
- Farm-size exemption: The sale prohibition does not apply to shell eggs from farms with fewer than 3,000 egg‑laying hens.
- Exemptions to confinement rules: scientific/agricultural research; veterinary care or surgery; transportation (subject to other transport laws); certain exhibitions (e.g., rodeos, state/county fairs, 4‑H); slaughter; and for gestating sows, the period beginning 7 days before expected farrowing.
- Enforcement and remedies:
- The Department (presumably MDARD) or the Attorney General may seek temporary or permanent injunctions and other equitable relief in circuit court to restrain violations.
- Criminal penalties referenced elsewhere (section 44) are explicitly stated to not apply to violations of this section.
- A business owner defending an enforcement action may assert good‑faith reliance on a written supplier certification/guarantee that eggs were produced in compliance.
Who would be affected
- Farm owners/operators raising gestating sows, veal calves, and egg‑laying hens — notably medium and large egg producers because of the cage‑free and floor‑space requirements.
- Egg suppliers, distributors, and retail business owners selling shell eggs in Michigan (subject to the supplier‑certification defense and the 3,000‑hen farm exemption).
- State agencies (department with jurisdiction over animal/agricultural enforcement), Attorney General, and courts (for injunction actions).
- Consumers and retailers could see changes in supply, labeling practices, and potentially prices if production systems transition.
Potential impacts and implementation notes
- Compliance costs for producers may be significant where renovations or new housing systems are required; smaller farms under 3,000 hens are partially exempt from the sales restriction.
- The bill relies on civil enforcement (injunctions) rather than criminal sanctions for violations of this section.
- The bill references external standards (UEP 2017) for specific floor‑space requirements; final compliance will depend on those published guidance numbers.
- The provided text is truncated in places and may not include all operative provisions (e.g., detailed penalties, implementation timelines, recordkeeping or labeling requirements). Interested readers should consult the final enacted text or subsequent committee reports for complete requirements and effective dates.
Primary sponsor and contact
- Introduced by Rep. Jennifer Wortz (filed Feb 25, 2025). (Committee referrals and co‑sponsor information appear in the legislative history.)
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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