HOUSE BILL No. 4206

February 17, 2015, Introduced by Reps. Geiss, Garrett, Darany, Chang, Durhal, LaVoy, Love, Santana, Sarah Roberts, Faris, Brinks, Banks, Callton, Gay-Dagnogo and Moss and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.

A bill to require human breast milk banks, companies, and

cooperatives to comply with certain standards; to provide for

education and support of certain breastfeeding mothers; and to

prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec 1. As used in this act:

(a) "Department" means the department of community health or a

successor agency.

(b) "Hospital" means that term as defined in section 5883 of

the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.5883.

Sec. 2. (1) Procuring, processing, storing, distributing, or

using human milk for the purpose of infant human consumption from a

nonprofit human breast milk bank is a rendering of a service and

not the sale of human milk for profit or financial gain.

(2) A hospital or organization that collects, processes,

stores, or distributes human milk either from a mother exclusively

for her own child or from a mother to nourish a child other than

her own shall comply with the standards, ethical practices, and

guidelines for collecting, processing, storing, or distributing

human milk of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America

unless the department of community health approves alternate

standards.

(3) No screening test is required to be performed on human

milk collected from a mother exclusively for her own child.

Sec. 3. A for-profit human breast milk bank, company, or

cooperative that provides financial compensation or shares in stock

for procuring, processing, distributing, or using human milk for

the purpose of human consumption must comply with the Human Milk

Banking Association of North America or more stringent guidelines

for safe procurement, processing, storing, or distributing of human

breast milk.

Sec. 4. (1) A for-profit human breast milk bank, company, or

cooperative working with breastfeeding mothers in this state can

only accept milk from a mother who is at least 180 days postpartum.

(2) A for-profit human breast milk bank, company, or

cooperative operating in this state cannot remit payment to a

participating mother until at least 28 days after receipt and

acceptance of the expressed human breast milk.

Sec. 5. A for-profit human breast milk bank, company, or

cooperative shall work with local, community-based lactation

support groups to provide ongoing breastfeeding education and

lactation support for its participating mothers to ensure that the

needs of the nursing children of participating mothers are the

priority and are adequately nourished by the mother's own breast

milk.

Sec. 6. A for-profit human breast milk bank, company, or

cooperative operating in this state shall ensure that, at a

minimum, 50% of the human breast milk produced by participating

mothers in a specific locality is distributed to hospitals in this

state for the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit or to local

nonprofit human milk banks to provide human breast milk for the

vulnerable premature or ill infants or for distribution to foster

parents or adoptive parents in this state who wish to provide

breast milk for their foster or adoptive newborn or infant

children.

Sec. 7. A for-profit milk bank operating in this state shall

conduct an annual audit, at its own expense, that clearly

demonstrates whether or not the distribution of breast milk

collected complies with the requirements of section 5. The for-

profit milk bank shall submit a report with the findings of the

audit to the department no later than January 31, 2017 and every

January 31 annually after that.

Sec. 8. A for-profit milk bank that does not comply with

section 7 shall be responsible for a fine to be determined by the

director of the department. The state treasurer shall credit the

money received under this act to the department for use in infant

mortality prevention projects.