HB-5795 Summary

• Creates the office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer within the department of civil rights, headed by an appointed advocacy officer.

• Defines sexual assault as violations of Michigan penal code sections 520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, and 520g, applying to incidents on college campuses or at institution-sponsored events.

• Establishes advocacy officer duties including: advocating for student victims, encouraging institutions to improve support services, promoting sexual assault prevention measures, maintaining statistics, providing information and referral services, and coordinating with state agencies.

• Grants the advocacy officer authority to access institutional records with student consent and request progress reports from colleges on sexual assault cases.

• Requires annual reporting to the department and legislature committees, with reports posted publicly but protecting identities of all parties involved; exempts office records from freedom of information disclosure.