Bill > HB6306

This bill amends the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, a state law that protects buyers from unfair and deceptive business practices, by expanding definitions, increasing enforcement powers, and introducing new penalties and funds. Specifically, the legislation updates definitions related to trade and commerce to explicitly include goods, property, and services used by nonprofit organizations (entities organized for lawful purposes without financial gain for their members) and small businesses (independently owned businesses with fewer than 250 full-time employees or less than $6,000,000 in gross annual sales). Furthermore, the bill creates stricter penalties for scams targeting elder persons (individuals aged 80 or older) or vulnerable adults (such as adults requiring supervision or personal care due to age, developmental disability, or physical or mental illness), subjecting violators to increased civil fines of up to $25,000 or $50,000 for persistent and knowing violations. The bill also authorizes the attorney general to recover minimum damages of $250 per class member in class action lawsuits, outlines how advertising violations are counted separately for each solicitation, misrepresentation, and distribution, and establishes a new state treasury account called the consumer protection and antitrust revolving enforcement and education fund to hold certain recovered attorney fees, costs, and unidentifiable restitution money, which will then be used by the attorney general's office to fund future enforcement actions and public consumer education.