Carrie Rheingans
Overview
Carrie Rheingans is an American Democratic politician from Michigan. She was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives from the 47th district in the 2022 election.[1] She was reelected in 2024.[2]
Carrie Rheingans | |
|---|---|
 Rheingans at a University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy event, September 2024 | |
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 47th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Bezotte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 2, 1981, age 43 Flint, Michigan U.S. |
| Citizenship | USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (BS, MPH, MSW) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | http://reprheingans.com/ |
Laws Enacted
All five laws enacted that Rep. Rheingans sponsored have been bipartisan. Rep. Rheingans' first bill ever introduced (HB4125 of 2023) was also her first bill enacted into state law (PA 51 of 2023). 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 (HB4852 of 2023) was to designate manoomin, or Great Lakes-area wild rice, as Michigan's state native grain. With this law (PA 247 of 2023), Michigan became the first state in the nation to designate a state native grain[3]. In addition, Rep. Rheingans worked with all twelve federally-recognized tribes sharing borders with Michigan to establish the first-in-the-nation[4] Office of Tribal Legislative Liaison (HB5600 of 2024, PA 208 of 2024).
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 (HB4511 of 2023, PA 21 of 2024).[5] 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.[6]
Rep. Rheingans introduced many bills addressing the opioid epidemic, and the one that has become law (HB5078 of 2023, PA 232 of 2024) clarifies abilities for public entities to distribute naloxone, an overdose reversing medication.
Lawmaking Philosophy
"I believe that anybody who’s going to be affected by a law should be able to have a say in making that law," Rheingans says.[4]
References
- ^ "Rep. Carrie Rheingans". housedems.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ "2024 Michigan Election Results". Michigan Secretary of State. November 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ smcwhirter@mlive.com, Sheri McWhirter | (December 1, 2023). "Do you know what manoomin is? Michigan's state native grain". mlive. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
- ^ a b Parikh, Jane (January 16, 2025). "Tribal Voices Amplified: A new era of representation in Michigan legislative history". Southwest Michigan's Second Wave. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
- ^ Producer, Sara; Powers (March 28, 2024). "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs bills to improve safety standards for car seats, education for foster care children - CBS Detroit". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
- ^ "Kids Health Hero Award". MIAAP. Retrieved July 28, 2025.