Bay City Schools Busses 01.JPG

(MLive file photo)

LANSING, MI -- Families could lose welfare cash benefits if a child regularly misses school under a bill approved Tuesday by the Michigan Senate.

The proposal, whose sponsor has dubbed it the "parental responsibility act," would allow the state to cut off Family Independence Program assistance if a child was chronically truant.

If the child is younger than 16, the whole family could lose cash benefits. If the child is 16 or older, they would be removed from the family group, which could continue to receive some assistance.

"The whole goal here is to make sure that children are in school, because they will succeed and they will have the chance to move ahead in their life if they are in school," Sen. Judy Emmons, R-Sheridan, said on the floor.

A handful of Democrats stood to propose amendments and oppose the bill, which passed the Republican-led Senate in a 26-12 vote and now heads back to the House for concurrence.

Sen. Coleman Young II, D-Detroit, proposed an amendment seeking to prevent the state from cutting off cash assistance near the end of the school year because families would not have an opportunity to apply for reinstatement over the summer.

"This is not about helping poor people. This is about kicking people while they're down," Young said as it became clear his amendment would fail. "It's wrong. It's disgusting. It needs to stop."

Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, proposed an amendment that would have ensured other family members stay on cash assistance even if one child was habitually truant.

Emmons, who urged her colleagues to vote against both amendments, said the bill will give the Department of Health and Human Services the ability to close a cash assistance case as a very, very last resort."

"Were giving the department the flexibility to work with the family to make sure they understand their children need to be in school," she said.

DHS has already implemented a similar truancy program. In fiscal year 2014, 189 families or individuals were sanctioned for missing school, according to the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency.

The legislation, which already passed the House in an earlier form, now returns to the lower chamber for a final vote before heading to the desk of Gov. Rick Snyder.

The Michigan League for Public Policy, noting that more than half a million Michigan children currently live in poverty, is already urging the governor to veto the bill.

"The goal of increasing school attendance is laudable; we all want students in school, learning and getting the education needed to end the cycle of poverty," MLPP President Gilda Jacobs said in a statement. "But this bill won't get kids to school. However, it is certain to push more kids deeper into poverty, making it even more difficult to get to school."

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.