In 2011 Governor Snyder signed a massive tax overhaul which eliminated tax credits across the board including the stillborn tax credit.  The elimination of the tax credits became effective January 1, 2012.  The stillborn tax credit was not singled out, but was one of more than a dozen tax credits that were eliminated in order to restructure the business tax code.

Description
This bill will enable families that experience a stillbirth after 20 weeks to claim a one time tax credit, in the year of the stillbirth. This is intended to help families cover the costs of prenatal care or the funeral arrangements incurred. This cannot take away the grief for the loss of a child, however it can help ease the financial burdens of the stillbirth.

History
S.B. 1176 was introduced by Sen. Tony Stamas on 3/21/06 and was reported out of the Senate Finance Committee on 3/29/06 with a vote of 5-0. It was unanimously passed in the Senate on 4/20/06 with a vote of 37-0. The House Tax Policy Committee reported it out of committee with a vote of 17-0 on 5/3/06. S.B. 1176 was passed in the House after adopting an amendment to index the tax credit to the rate of inflation, with a vote of 106-0. The Senate concurred on 6/28/06, 37-0. (This bill replaces S.B. 78 because of possible technical issues.)

S.B. 78 was introduced by Sen. Tony Stamas on 1/25/05 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. A hearing was held on 3/1/06, for testimony only. On 2/8/01 Rep. Tony Stamas introduced an identical bill, H.B. 4165. On 11/28/01 the House Tax Policy Committee held a hearing and passed H.B. 4165. The House never took the bill up for a vote due to the budget crisis.

Sen. Leon Stille introduced S.B.1254, a bill identical to H.B. 4165, on 4/30/02 to attempt to move the tax exemption through the Senate since the House was unable to pass the bill. It was referred to the Finance Committee where it never received a hearing. Fiscal shortages resulting from the economic downturn killed the bill.