MEMBERS:
SEN. PETER J. LUCIDO, MAJORITY VICE CHAIR
SEN. LANA THEIS
SEN. MICHAEL D. MACDONALD
SEN. JEFF IRWIN, MINORITY VICE CHAIR
THE SENATE
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT
SENATOR ED MCBROOM
CHAIR
7200 BINSFELD OFFICE BUILDING
P.O. BOX 30036
LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909-7536
PHONE: (517) 373-7840
FAX: (517) 373-3932
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
September 17, 2020
A meeting of the Senate Committee on Oversight was scheduled for Thursday, September 17, 2020, at 8:00
a.m., in the 1100 Room of the Binsfeld Office Building.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The agenda summary is as follows:
1. Presentation from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service regarding emergency
orders impacting farm workers.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The Chair called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. He instructed the Clerk to call the roll. At that time, the
following members were present: Chair McBroom, Sen.(s) Lucido, Theis, MacDonald and Irwin, a quorum was
present.
The Chair invited the committee to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Chair entertained a motion by Sen. Lucido to adopt the meeting minutes from September 16, 2020. Without
objection, the minutes were adopted.
The Chair invited the following individuals to present testimony regarding the MDHHS emergency orders
impacting farm workers:
Director Robert Gordon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – no position
Director Gary McDowell, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development – no position
Member questions followed regarding the surge in Covid-19 positive testing in migrant workers and technical
aspects of testing; percentage of Covid-19 tests completed for migrant workers; Covid-19 resources provided
by the departments to the migrant workers and farms, and the extent to which these were utilized.
The Chair accepted a letter of support from the MI Immigrant Rights Center for the EO affecting migrant farm
workers.
There being no further business before the committee, the Chair moved to adjourn the committee. Without
objection, the committee was adjourned at 8:47 a.m.
Date Adopted by Committee: 09/22/2020