Michigan bills approved bringing harsher punishments in attacks against houses of worship

METRO DETROIT — A pair of bills were approved by the Michigan legislature and signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer that increase vandalism done to houses of worship as more serious crimes than other acts of destruction of property.

The two House Bills, known as House Bill 4476 and House Bill 4477, were signed into law on Dec. 11. They were introduced by state Reps. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield) and Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton), respectively, and are collectively known as the Institutional Desecration Act.

“Current law conflates attacks on houses of worship, cultural and community centers, minority-owned businesses, and other institutions with petty acts of vandalism – failing to recognize that attacks on our most sacred spaces terrorize and victimize entire communities,” Arbit said in a press release. “I introduced the Institutional Desecration Act to strengthen efforts to prevent and prosecute hate crimes targeting these communal institutions. This legislation is deeply personal to me, both as a Jewish Michigander and as state representative for my religiously diverse community in Greater West Bloomfield. The passage of the Institutional Desecration Act marks a historic, long-overdue stride in Michigan’s battle against hate crimes, and I could not be prouder to see this bipartisan legislation become law.”

Arbit said that HB 4476 was developed by marrying the structure of current hate crime law while preserving the existing sentencing regime of malicious destruction of property, and adding a restorative alternative sentencing option. Its proponents said that this approach takes advantage of best practices developed in 35 other states with such a statute, as well as workable existing elements of Michigan law. HB 4477 updates relevant sentencing guidelines.

“People of faith must feel safe practicing their beliefs. It was time to strengthen Michigan's response to rising hate crimes and protect houses of worship,” Puri said in a press release. “I’m proud these bills, now public acts, will provide law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to seek justice and accountability for heinous acts of violence.”

Arbit cited that there has been a rise in acts of institutional vandalism, including attacks on Temple Emanuel in Grand Rapids in 2019, the Ahavas Israel Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Grand Rapids, in 2020, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center in Rochester Hills in 2021, and the Woodward Avenue Shul in Royal Oak in 2023.