Michigan / State / 2025-2026 Regular Session
2026 PA 58 (House Bill 5233) Required 26 days of paid military leave for full-time firefighters and police officers
Created the military leave for first responders act, MCL 419.221 to 419.229, with immediate effect on July 23, 2026. At the beginning of each year an organized fire department or a law enforcement agency, including the Department of State Police, a county sheriff’s office and a local police department, must provide each full-time member enlisted in the reserve components with not less than 26 days of paid military leave at the member’s regular pay rate, plus contractual fringe benefits for a member covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Leave may not be carried over or cashed out and lapses at the end of the year. A member who is not yet enlisted but has orders for a preinduction physical examination must be given paid leave to attend. Part-time, volunteer and paid on-call members are expressly excluded. The companion act, 2026 PA 57, amended MCL 32.273a so a local unit’s option to provide paid military leave is now subject to this act.
Progress
Path to law: Bill in a two-chamber legislature
- Introduced Done,
- In committee Done, House Government Operations
- Passed one chamber Done, House, 101-8
- Passed both chambers Done, Senate, 33-3
- Signed by the governor Done, Public Act 58 of 2026
- In effect Done,
Sponsors
- Ron Robinson
- Matt Koleszar
- Kelly Breen
- Mike McFall
- Denise Mentzer
- Jason Woolford
- Brian BeGole
- Mike Mueller
- Joseph Tate
- Joey Andrews
- Mike Hoadley
- Peter Herzberg
- Alicia St. Germaine
- Jasper Martus
- Tyrone Carter
What it touches
- MCL § 419.225
- MCL § 419.227
- MCL § 32.273a
Catalog entries (2)
Official record
Read 2026 PA 58 (House Bill 5233) on the jurisdiction's own record