Summary — HB 4067 (Safe Delivery of Newborns Law amendments — Michigan)
Status / Context
- Introduced: electronically reproduced 02/12/2025; House introduction filed Feb 12, 2025 (sponsor Rep. William Bruck); referred to Committee on Families and Veterans. Part of a package with HB 4069 and HB 4368 that make related changes to the Penal Code and Public Health Code.
- Statutory change: Amends Chapter XII of the Probate Code (1939 PA 288; MCL 712.1 et seq.), amending sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 17 & 20 and adding a new section 3a.
Purpose and intent
- To add and regulate “newborn safety devices” as an additional, lawful method for a parent to surrender a newborn under Michigan’s Safe Delivery of Newborns Law. The aim is to provide a safe, anonymous, 24/7 option for parents to relinquish newborns while preserving child protection, public-health oversight, and adoption procedures.
Key provisions and changes
- New definition: Adds “newborn safety device” to the law and confirms “newborn” means a child a physician reasonably believes to be no more than 72 hours old.
- New §3a (device requirements): A device must, at minimum:
- Allow anonymous placement from outside an always-staffed emergency service provider building (24/7).
- Display signage identifying it as a newborn safety device.
- Provide a controlled environment for the newborn and lock after placement to prevent outside access.
- Trigger notification to on-duty staff and a centralized building location within 30 seconds after placement.
- Have a transparent interior wall or provide monitored video/audio feed that preserves parent anonymity while allowing staff visibility.
- Be installed so its interior is visible to staff; be locked or inaccessible when no staff is present or the device malfunctions.
- Duties and operational rules for emergency service providers:
- Adopt manufacturer operating, supervision, and maintenance policies; perform and document monthly inspections and tests per manufacturer guidance.
- Publicly post information about the device and provide the device’s address to DHHS for posting on the Safe Delivery Program website.
- Provide an accessible surrender form to capture (optionally) date/time/place of surrender, parent contact, family/medical history, and consent regarding sharing that information with a child-placing agency.
- Liability:
- Manufacturer liable for personal injury or death caused by device malfunction/defect.
- Emergency service providers liable for damages if a device is not locked/inaccessible when staff are absent.
- Post-surrender procedures:
- Non-hospital providers must transfer surrendered newborns to a hospital; hospitals take temporary protective custody, examine the newborn, and notify a child-placing agency.
- Child-placing agencies must attempt to identify and notify any nonsurrendering parent; if unable, agencies must publish surrender notices in the county where the agency is located (print and online, if available) for 28 days and notify the court, county, and DHHS.
- The family division court must publish a website notice upon receiving agency notice (date, time, location).
- Data reporting and Safe Delivery Program:
- DHHS must compile and annually publish non‑identifying program data (date/time/location of surrenders, condition of newborn, hospital, whether device was used) and post surrender notices for 28 days upon agency notification.
Who is affected
- Parents seeking to surrender newborns (gives an additional anonymous option).
- Emergency service providers (fire departments, police stations, hospitals) operating buildings with devices — new responsibilities for device operation, inspection, posting, and reporting.
- Device manufacturers — must meet specifications and face product-liability exposure for defects.
- Hospitals, child-placing agencies, DHHS, and family division courts — additional notification, publication, recordkeeping, and data-posting duties.
- Potential public impacts: increased availability of safe, anonymous surrender options and strengthened procedural oversight and reporting.
Procedural / next steps
- As of reproduction, the bill had been referred to committee (Families and Veterans) for consideration. HB 4069 and HB 4368 are companion measures to align related statutes (Penal Code and Public Health Code).
