Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND OTHER OPTIONAL
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
EDUCATION REPAYMENT AGREEMENTS
Analysis available at
House Bill 4176 as enacted http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Public Act 43 of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Tyrone Carter
House Committee: Judiciary
Senate Committee: Committee of the Whole
Senate Bill 32 as enacted
Public Act 44 of 2023
Sponsor: Sen. Sylvia Santana
House Committee: Judiciary
Senate Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
Complete to 7-26-23
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4176 and Senate Bill 32 together amend 1978 PA 390, which regulates the payment
of wages and fringe benefits to employees and prescribes rights and responsibilities of
employers and employees. Generally speaking, the act prohibits employers and their agents or
representatives from requiring or receiving from an employee—whether directly or
indirectly—a fee, gift, tip, gratuity, or other remuneration or consideration as a condition of
employment or continuation of employment. 1
The bills provide that a law enforcement agency may enter into an agreement with an employee
that allows the agency to collect reimbursement from the employee for all or part of the cost
of the employee’s law enforcement training, based on length of service, if the employee
voluntarily leaves employment with the agency within four years after the training ended.
The bills also allow any employer to collect remuneration or consideration from an employee
under an optional education repayment agreement under certain conditions.
Law enforcement training academy cost agreements
Under the bills, a law enforcement agency may collect remuneration or consideration from an
employee under a signed agreement entered into on or after the bills’ effective date for the cost
of the employee’s law enforcement training academy if the employee voluntarily leaves
employment, as follows:
• 100% of the cost of the law enforcement training, up to and not exceeding the
employee’s salary for the first year of employment, if the employee leaves employment
up to one year after the date the employee’s law enforcement training academy ended.
1
A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days or a fine of up to $500, or both, and
may subject an employer to restitution, penalties, damages, or costs under section 18 of the act. Note that section 351
of the Michigan Penal Code also contains the same prohibition and makes a violation a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment for up to 90 days or a fine of up to $500, or both.
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 4
 • 75% of the cost of the law enforcement training, up to and not exceeding the
employee’s salary for the first year of employment, if the employee leaves employment
more than one year but less than two years after the date the employee’s law
enforcement training academy ended.
• 50% of the cost of the law enforcement training, up to and not exceeding the
employee’s salary for the first year of employment, if the employee leaves employment
two years or more but less than three years after the date the employee’s law
enforcement training academy ended.
• 25% of the cost of the law enforcement training, up to and not exceeding the
employee’s salary for the first year of employment, if the employee leaves employment
three years or more but less than four years after the date the employee’s law
enforcement training academy ended.
Law enforcement agency means an entity that is established and maintained in
accordance with Michigan law and is authorized by Michigan law to appoint or employ
law enforcement officers as defined in the MCOLES Act.
Law enforcement training academy means any of the following: 2
• An agency basic law enforcement training academy (a law enforcement agency
that is approved by MCOLES to provide a course of study for qualified recruits
employed by that law enforcement agency).
• A preservice college basic law enforcement training academy (an MCOLES-
approved training and education program offered by an accredited community
college, college, or university that incorporates the MCOLES-mandated
curriculum in the academic course of study).
• A regional basic law enforcement training academy (a city, county, township,
village, corporation, community college, college, university, or state agency
that is approved by MCOLES to offer a basic law enforcement training
program to preservice and employed recruits).
An agreement described above must contain the following terms:
• That the law enforcement agency will pay the cost of a law enforcement training
academy required for the employee to obtain a license under the Michigan Commission
on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) Act.
• The conditions under which the above payment will be provided and under which
repayment to the law enforcement agency by the employee or another person may be
required.
• That remuneration or consideration from the employee will be waived by the law
enforcement agency if the employee is not required to be licensed as a law enforcement
officer under the MCOLES Act within any of the following:
o One year after leaving employment with the employer, if the employee
voluntarily left employment with the agency not more than one year after the
date the employee’s law enforcement training academy ended.
2
The definitions of law enforcement training academy and law enforcement agency are those found in the MCOLES
Act. The descriptions of the different training academies are from R 28.14301 of the Michigan Administrative Code,
promulgated by MCOLES under authority of that act. For a list of specific training academies and programs, see
https://www.michigan.gov/mcoles/standard-training/law-enforcement-training-academies-and-programs
House Fiscal Agency HB 4176 and SB 32 as enacted Page 2 of 4
 o Two years after leaving employment with the employer, if the employee
voluntarily left employment more than one year and less than four years after
the date the employee’s law enforcement training academy ended.
Other optional education repayment agreements
The bills also allow any employer (not just law enforcement agencies) to collect remuneration
or consideration under an optional education repayment agreement in which the employer
offers to fund an employee’s education with the understanding that the employee will repay
the costs incurred unless the employee remains with the employer for a specific period. 3
MCL 408.478
The bills took effect June 13, 2023.
BACKGROUND:
The bills are similar to the House-passed version of HB 5130 of the 2021-22 legislative session.
BRIEF DISCUSSION:
Many police departments in the state face a declining pool of qualified applicants to replace
officers leaving the force due to retirement, career changes, or other reasons. Generally
speaking, a person seeking a career as a law enforcement officer either attends a program
offered by the Michigan Department of State Police, a college- or university-based academic
program, or a training program offered by a municipality. Completion of a training program is
a necessary step for licensure under the MCOLES Act. However, such training is not cheap.
Often, a law enforcement agency sponsors a candidate to attend a training program only to
have the individual, shortly after graduation, leave employment with the law enforcement
agency that paid for the training to accept a position with a different agency or decide against
a career in law enforcement. For some law enforcement agencies, the number of candidates
they have sponsored who have left their employment shortly after graduation from a training
academy is significant and reduces resources that could be focused on increasing public safety.
The bills address the situation by creating an explicit exception to a prohibition in law meant
to prevent a potential employer from demanding a fee, gift, or other consideration of an
applicant for employment in order to be hired. The bills allow a law enforcement agency and
a candidate for employment with that agency to enter into a contract that creates clear
parameters as to how much of the cost of attending a training academy a new recruit would
have to reimburse the sponsoring law enforcement agency if the recruit left before the recruit
completed four years of employment. It is hoped that the bills will both grow interest in a career
in law enforcement by encouraging more law enforcement agencies to pay for a candidate’s
training and also create a fairer system where some municipalities are not carrying more of the
training costs of new recruits than others.
3
This provision appears to be based on a portion of a Michigan Supreme Court opinion in which the court noted that
an employer-sponsored program to fund an employee’s education “with the understanding that the employees will
repay, unless they remain with the employer for a specific period” does not violate the prohibition in subsection 8(1)
of 1978 PA 390 (or section 351 of the Michigan Penal Code). See Sands Appliance Services v Wilson, 463 Mich 231,
248 (2000). https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13190577159852212125
House Fiscal Agency HB 4176 and SB 32 as enacted Page 3 of 4
 The bills also expressly allow agreements under which an employer covers an employee’s
education costs with the understanding that the employee will repay those costs if they do not
remain with the employer for a specific period. (As described above, the Michigan Supreme
Court had already held that these sorts of agreements are not prohibited by the act.) However,
unlike the provision related to law enforcement agencies, which is triggered if an employee
voluntarily leaves employment during a specified period, this new provision is not specifically
restricted only to situations where an employee voluntarily leaves employment. As written, an
employee can be made responsible for repaying education costs “unless the employee remains
with the employer for a specific period.” While the word “remains” appears to carry a hint of
employee volition, it seems unclear whether this new provision would, for example, allow an
employer to claim repayment from an employee who did not voluntarily leave before the end
of the time period specified in the agreement, but was downsized or fired.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills would provide an additional revenue source for law enforcement agencies, by
allowing the agencies to receive remuneration from employees voluntarily leaving prior to
completing four years of service, compensating the agencies for a tiered portion of the cost of
the employee’s participation in a law enforcement training academy. This revenue would only
be realized in the event that an employee separates from a law enforcement agency during the
time parameters established under the bills, and if the employee has a signed agreement with
the law enforcement agency.
Legislative Analyst: Susan Stutzky
Fiscal Analyst: Marcus Coffin
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency HB 4176 and SB 32 as enacted Page 4 of 4


Statutes affected:
Substitute (S-2): 408.478
Substitute (H-1): 408.478
Substitute (H-2): 408.478
Senate Introduced Bill: 408.478
As Passed by the Senate: 408.478
As Passed by the House: 408.478
Senate Concurred Bill: 408.478
Public Act: 408.478
Senate Enrolled Bill: 408.478