Carrie Rheingans
Carrie Rheingans is an American politician serving as a member of the Michigan [House of Representatives] since 2023, representing the Michigan's [47th House of Representatives district|47th district]. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Political career
Rheingans was first elected in the 2022 [Michigan House of Representatives election|2022 election]. She was reelected 2024 Michigan House of [Representatives election|in 2024].Laws enacted
All five laws enacted that Rep. Rheingans sponsored have been bipartisan. Rep. Rheingans' first bill ever introduced was also her first bill enacted into state law. It was a bill to protect students from expulsion for reporting being sexually assaulted.Rep. Rheingans was the lead sponsor on two new state laws affecting Michigan's tribal communities. The first was to designate manoomin, or Great Lakes-area wild rice, as Michigan's state native grain. With this law, Michigan became the first state in the nation to designate a state native grain. In addition, Rep. Rheingans worked with all twelve federally-recognized tribes sharing borders with Michigan to establish the first-in-the-nation Office of Tribal Legislative Liaison.
Rep. Rheingans also led a package of bills to revise Michigan's child safety seat laws to include consideration of weight and height of children, not just ages. Rep. Rheingans and her package co-sponsor, Rep. John Fitzgerald, received the Kids Health Hero Award from the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for this work.
Rep. Rheingans introduced many bills addressing the opioid epidemic, and the one that has become law clarifies abilities for public entities to distribute naloxone, an overdose reversing medication.