1. Online dating background checks

In 2004, the Michigan House introduced House Bill No. 6234 to require that online dating websites conduct criminal background checks on users, or provide a statement on their site to tell users they have not conducted background checks.

Legislators wanted the phrase, “Warning: (Name of provider) has not conducted felony or sexual background checks on its members” no more than three inches from the top of the website.

If the website did not conduct background checks, legislators wanted the phrase, “Warning: Based solely on the name provided by the member, (name of provider) has conducted a criminal background check through the criminal history record systems maintained by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.”

The bill stalled in the House.

2. No conflicts of interest

House representatives introduced House Bill No. 6012, or the legislative ethics act, in 2006 to set rules for legislators and their dating habits. Sec. 221 mandates lawmakers refrain from engaging in a relationship that creates a conflict of interest. This means the legislator can’t make decisions that would directly benefit the person they are in a relationship with.

For example, a lawmaker can’t be dating the president of a school board, then allocate $5,000 of government money to the board for a vacation because it is considered a conflict of interest. The lawmaker would seem to favor the school board instead of other organizations because he or she is dating its president.

If the bill is passed, any legislator dating the school board president would be required to publicly disclose their relationship and refrain from making decisions that would directly impact the school board.

3. The Valentine’s Day hook

Many lawmakers have used Valentine’s Day as a peg to call for action.

A handful of House representatives introduced a resolution to designate February 2005 as National Cherry Month because “consumers are eager to buy cherry products in February to help celebrate a variety of special days during the month, including Valentine’s Day.”

The Senate passed a resolution in 2004 to call on the president and other elected officials at every level to recognize Valentine’s Day and think about ways to work on their own marriages, as well as support marriages in Michigan.