MI HB5537

Adds definition of "merit" as a reasonable expectation based on objective criteria such as experience, education, and training that a prospective employee can adequately perform job duties.

Requires persons submitting proposals for state construction contracts (section 241) and procurement contracts (section 261) to submit a form attesting under penalty of perjury that they use only merit-based hiring practices, subject to a $5,000 civil fine for false attestation.

Prohibits the department from awarding construction or procurement contracts to persons that use hiring practices based on criteria other than merit or fail to submit the required merit-based hiring attestation form.

Adds "information technology services" to the definitions section, specifying it includes application development, computer support, networking, project management, and telecommunications services.

Makes technical corrections throughout the act, including replacing "shall" with "must," "upon" with "on," and updating references to federal law and capitalization of agency names.