(AREA) — State Representative Dan Lauwers, Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, was among eleven lawmakers to introduce a legislative package removing laws that have not been enforced in years. Lauwers, of Brockway Township, says many of the outdated statutes include fees that were once collected, but are no longer relevant to 21st century agriculture. The legislation runs the gamut from one authored by Lauwers, House Bill 5058, which removes a 1955 law regulating the sale of liming materials, to an 1889 law regarding tax collections. Representative Lauwers added that there are more than 3,000 criminal statues in Michigan, and even more regulatory laws. Lawmakers have stressed the need to examine these laws and purge those that are no longer relevant.
