LANSING, MI — Four House Democrats voted with the Republicans majority to require that state environmental and conservation officers get a warrant or property-owner consent before entering private land.

House Bills 4073 and 4421 each passed 63–37 on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with unified Republican support. The bills would overturn the long-standing “open fields” doctrine that allows officers to check for violations on property outside a home’s immediate area.

The doctrine legally undergirds the ability of state conservation officers to widely patrol across private land.

Republicans advanced the bills from committee in September without Democratic support, arguing that the change is needed to strengthen private property rights.

A substitute adopted Tuesday removed probable cause and emerge

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