HB 5426 Summary

• Requires hospitals and state-owned facilities to submit annual written staffing plans to the Department of Community Health within 1 year of the bill's effective date that ensure sufficient, appropriately qualified nursing staff in each unit.

• Mandates establishment of unit-level staffing committees with at least 50% registered nurses as direct care providers to develop staffing strategies; committee participation counts as regular work time with no retaliation allowed.

• Establishes minimum direct care registered nurse-to-patient ratios for 11 unit types within 3 years, ranging from 1:1 in critical care and operating rooms to 1:6 in postpartum/well-baby care, with flexibility for higher ratios based on patient acuity.

• Prohibits mandatory overtime except in unforeseen emergencies; requires posting of staffing plans publicly and providing copies to nursing staff showing required and assigned nurse numbers per shift.

• Imposes administrative fines up to $10,000 per violation for non-compliance, with each day without a filed plan and each understaffed shift constituting separate violations; fines directed to the Michigan nursing scholarship program.