House Bill 4077 of 2025 (Public Act 3 of 2026)
HB4077 amends Michigan’s Public Health Code to modernize and clarify the process for certifying death records. The bill requires funeral directors who first take custody of a body to report the death and obtain medical certification within specified timeframes, and it directs that death reports and medical certifications be submitted through the state’s web-based death registration system. It also requires physicians and other authorized certifiers to complete training on that system, and it preserves existing rules for deaths that are under medical examiner investigation.
The bill also updates definitions used in vital records law, including “institution,” “law enforcement agency,” “live birth,” “local registrar,” “miscarriage,” “physician,” and “registration.” It maintains special reporting rules for infants who were born alive after an attempted abortion and later died, requiring the death to be reported as “Baby Doe” without identifying information for the infant or parents. In addition, it keeps in place confidentiality and infection-control notification requirements when an infectious agent is known to be present, and it retains the medical examiner’s authority and deadlines for cases requiring investigation.
Beyond vital records, HB4077 makes a targeted change to the state’s health profession disciplinary statute. It adds failure to comply with the new death-certification requirement in section 2843(5) as a ground for professional discipline under section 16221, which governs investigations and disciplinary action for licensed health professionals. That means physicians and other covered professionals who refuse or neglect to provide required death certification information can face administrative consequences through the licensing system.
The bill’s impact is primarily administrative and procedural, affecting funeral directors, physicians, medical examiners, local registrars, and the Department of Health and Human Services. It streamlines death registration into an electronic system, standardizes certification timelines, and reinforces compliance through licensure discipline. It does not broadly change substantive public health policy, but it does tighten the mechanics of death reporting and recordkeeping in Michigan.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive and largely noncontroversial. The bill passed the House and Senate with overwhelming margins, including unanimous committee reports and a 106-2 House vote and 36-0 Senate vote on immediate effect. The only notable point of contention visible in the text is the special handling of records involving infants born alive after an attempted abortion, which is treated differently from ordinary death records by requiring anonymity and limited identifying information. There is no committee transcript in the provided materials showing extended debate or opposition.
HB4077 amends sections 2804, 2843, 2843b, 2844, and 16221 of the Public Health Code to require electronic submission of death reports and medical certifications through the state’s web-based death registration system, to impose training requirements for certifiers, and to clarify deadlines and responsibilities for funeral directors, physicians, and medical examiners. It also adds noncompliance with the death-certification requirement as a disciplinary ground under the health professions licensing statute, thereby linking vital-records compliance to professional regulation.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and treated as a technical/administrative update rather than a controversial policy change. It was reported favorably without amendment in committee, passed the House 106-2, and passed the Senate 36-0 with immediate effect, indicating strong bipartisan agreement. No committee transcript was provided, and there is no evidence of substantial organized opposition in the materials supplied.
The main substantive sensitivity in the bill is its treatment of deaths of infants born alive following an attempted abortion and later dying, which must be reported as “Baby Doe” without identifying information for the infant or parents. Otherwise, the bill’s changes are largely procedural and administrative, and the voting history suggests little disagreement over the move to electronic filing, certification deadlines, or disciplinary enforcement for noncompliance.