AG Reissues Guidance to Healthcare Providers and Patients
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Bills to Protect Michiganders from Sexual Exploitation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 26, 2025 Contact: press@michigan.gov Governor Whitmer Signs Bills to Protect Michiganders from Sexual Exploitation Governor Whitmer also signed legislation honoring an officer who lost his life in the line of duty
LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed three bipartisan bills that will help protect Michiganders from sexual harassment or exploitation by making it a crime to create and distribute harmful artificial intelligence (AI)-created images or videos which feature a specific person in sexual situations. She also signed a bipartisan bill honoring Deputy Sheriff William Butler, Jr. who lost his life in the line of duty in 2024. Including today’s legislation, Governor Whitmer has signed a record 1,512 bipartisan bills into law since taking office.
“As a county prosecutor, I went after people who used their power to prey on others,” said Governor Whitmer. “Now, as governor, I’m proud to sign these bipartisan bills into law, so we can protect Michiganders from this rising form of sexual exploitation. I’ll keep working with anyone to protect Michiganders from blackmail or retribution, because no one should have to live in fear. Together, let’s get it done.”
“Michiganders are facing artificial intelligence-driven sexual exploitation,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “This is unacceptable. These bipartisan bills will institute penalties and protect the public from predators and abusers. Let’s continue Standing Tall to keep Michiganders safe.”
House Bills 4047 and 4048, sponsored by state Representatives Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar) and Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), protect Michiganders from sexual harassment or exploitation and assault by prohibiting deep fakes that include harmful sexual content featuring a specific individual. Deep fakes use AI to create fake media, including videos, pictures, or audio recordings, depicting events that never happened. They have increasingly been used to create fake videos of real individuals in sexual situations. These videos can ruin someone’s reputation, career, and personal life. As such, these bills prohibit the creation of deep fakes that depict individuals in sexual situations and creates sentencing guidelines for the crime. These bills will keep Michiganders safer by protecting them from a rising form of harassment and exploitation.
“I am so excited, proud, and relieved that because of these bills, it is now illegal for individuals to create or disseminate intimate deep fakes of an individual without their consent here in Michigan,” said State Representative Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing). “These bills mark the beginning stages of a long, bumpy journey that our state faces when trying to regulate artificial intelligence, yet my hope is that these bills will serve as another example that progress is possible when it comes to regulating AI.”
“With the governor’s signature, Michigan is making it clear that non-consensual intimate deepfakes have no place in our state. This law protects the dignity and privacy of every citizen and gives victims the tools they need to seek justice,” said State Representative Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar). “Technology should be used to improve lives, not to exploit them — and today we’ve taken an important step to ensure that.”
Senate Bill 70, sponsored by state Senator Joseph Bellino (R-Monroe), designates a portion of M-34 in Hillsdale County as the “Deputy Sheriff William Butler, Jr. Memorial Highway.” This change honors Deputy Sheriff William Butler, Jr., a member of the Hillsdale Sheriff’s Department, who lost his life in the line of duty after being shot during a traffic stop. |
Keep it fun, safe and educational this holiday weekend
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News Digest – Week of Aug. 25, 2025
Don’t forget the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk will temporarily close the bridge Monday, Sept. 1. |
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This holiday weekend, visitors can take advantage of hundreds of free, family-friendly events at the DNR’s 11 visitor centers and dozens of explorer guide program locations throughout the state.
Feeling artistic? Check out our birdhouse/rock painting program at 
Many boaters see Labor Day weekend as a wrap on the summer season: a chance to squeeze in that final voyage before the weather starts to cool and days grow shorter.
One last camping trip, a picnic at the beach or a day visit to your favorite spot – if any of your holiday weekend plans involve swimming, the DNR urges everyone to prioritize water safety and be aware of current conditions before entering the water, even if you’ve been practicing swim skills all summer long.
Off-road vehicles are fun year-round, but activity in Michigan tends to increase around Labor Day weekend as people head to trails and ORV scramble areas to enjoy world-class riding experiences.
Commercial fishing is an active industry in Michigan waters, providing consumers throughout the Great Lakes region with a local, healthy and sustainable food source. That’s why it’s critical that recreational boaters do their part to avoid areas marked by orange flags and buoys, which indicate commercial fishing nets are below the water’s surface.
Horseback riders can explore the unique landscape of Silver Lake State Park in Oceana County during a special shoreline riding season Nov. 1-30 (except Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27).
Michigan is heading into another glorious fall with brilliant leaves, crisp air and pleasant temperatures. Enjoy the outdoors, by all means, but always put fire safety first – especially when working or playing in the northern Lower Peninsula.
AG Seeks to Slash DTE’s Half-Billion-Dollar Rate Hike by Nearly 75%
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Metro Detroit bridges at risk of closure within the decade
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2025
MDOT Metro Detroit bridges at risk of closure within the decade without more funding
Fast facts:
- MDOT is reviewing critical unfunded infrastructure needs across the state, including more than 100 state trunkline bridges at risk of closure by 2035, if policymakers don’t act soon.
- The westbound I-96 bridge over M-39 (Southfield Freeway) is one bridge in Metro Detroit in danger of closing by 2035 if not rebuilt.
- Statewide, these bridge closures will have a daily impact on more than 1.8 million drivers and the roadways they serve.
- Without a comprehensive transportation funding package, MDOT estimates the capital highway program will support about 2,800 fewer construction jobs in 2026 than the current year.
DETROIT, Mich. – As the 2025 construction season moves into the second half of the season, officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) are looking at the big picture regarding the service lives of critical roads and bridges. MDOT is highlighting this need in a video news release about the westbound I-96 bridge over M-39 (Southfield Freeway) in Metro Detroit, ahead of important discussions among policymakers, as the future of road and bridge funding hangs in the balance.
About two-thirds of MDOT’s bridge inventory has far exceeded its original design life. MDOT now faces the possibility of more than 100 trunkline bridges closing to traffic by the year 2035, impacting approximately 1.8 million drivers daily, if a comprehensive transportation funding package isn’t secured. While maintaining quality roads is a priority for MDOT, bridge conditions especially, must meet a minimum rating to remain safe and open to the public.
The I-96/M-39 interchange in Wayne County is no exception to the aging bridge epidemic. There are 19 bridges in this complicated interchange of freeways and local lanes that handles approximately 300,000 drivers a day. The westbound I-96 bridge over M-39, which carries 45,000 vehicles per day, is a bridge within the interchange at risk of closure. City of Detroit Chief of Infrastructure Sam Krassenstein shared concerns for critical investment to ensure it continues to meet the needs of current industry, residents and people visiting or commuting into the city.
“The I-96 Southfield interchange is really at the center for industry, it’s the center for a major public works facility, and for a lot of residents that live adjacent to it,” said Krassenstein. “So, for folks that need to go between 96 and Southfield, keeping those bridges open and in a state of good repair is really critical.”
Within the MDOT Metro Region’s three counties, 180 bridges are anticipated to be in poor condition and 37 of those bridges are at risk of closure by 2035. Nearly 1,000 of Metro Region’s 1,400 bridges are approaching or exceeding 50 years old.
Bridge replacements can take an average of two years to design and another one to two years to reconstruct, closing it to the public. While bridge replacements are expensive initially, they are considered a long-term asset and are now designed with an 80 to 100-year service life.
“At this rate, by decade’s end, nearly 50 percent of state routes, which carry 53 percent of total traffic and 80 percent of commercial traffic, will be in poor condition,” said MDOT Director Bradley C. Wieferich. “Without additional investment, those projections will get worse.”
“If there is no long-term solution to Michigan’s road-funding crisis, considerable progress in recent years will be stalled, meaning contractors will employ fewer workers and road conditions will decline,” said Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin. “The effects would spread across industries and communities, causing job losses, shrinking economic activity and creating long-term challenges for Michigan’s workers and families.”
During a recent Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Rebecca Curtis, MDOT’s director of the Bureau of Bridges and Structures (BOBS) shared the reasoning behind the rapidly declining bridge conditions statewide. Curtis explained that most of the state’s bridge inventory was built in the 1950s and designed with a 50 to 60-year service life. Because most bridges were built in the same decade, the structures have aged in sync.
As MDOT works to continue addressing declining road and bridge conditions, securing a comprehensive road funding package is becoming more critical. Following the conclusion of the Rebuilding Michigan program, MDOT will see a decrease of more than half the annual reconstruction budget, bringing the yearly investment for rebuilding of roads from
$495 million per year to just $222 million per year, and supporting about 2,800 fewer construction jobs in 2026.