A budget bill advancing in Michigan would cut universities' funding by 10 percent if they don't comply with new proposed requirements prompted by the Larry Nassar sexual assault case at Michigan State University.
A state House panel unanimously approved the spending measure Thursday, a day after a Senate committee voted to require that the governing board of each university receive notice of any possible campus sexual misconduct.
Differences between the bills will be resolved by summer.
The House legislation would cut universities' aid if they use in-house medical experts in Title IX investigations, which critics say let Nassar escape detection in 2014.
Nassar, a former doctor at Michigan State, was fired in 2016 after a victim went public. He was later sentenced for molesting girls during treatments.
Daniel Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities, gave this statement in response to the House sexual assault package:
"While we are still reviewing this wide-ranging package of bills, Michigan’s public universities applaud the direction of this legislation, which is focused on preventing sexual assaults in a variety of settings through additional punishment of offenders, encouraging the continuous improvement of campus sexual assault prevention and response policies and programs, and other measures aimed at eliminating sexual assault.
Michigan’s 15 public universities remain committed to ensuring that their campuses are safe places to learn, live, and work.
We look forward to discussing with lawmakers the specifics of the bills, to ensure that the package achieves its goals without creating undue unintended consequences."
