LANSING – State Rep. Tom Hooker says he wants to make sure Michigan prisoners do not have sex change operations on the state's dime.

Though Hooker admitted he's not aware of any state-funded sex change operations, the Byron Center Republican introduced a bill Wednesday that would outlaw the practice.

“It's something that's kind of a common sense thing. I'd much rather be proactive than reactive,” said the Byron Center Republican.“It's definitely something we want to prevent.”

Hooker, whose bill was assigned to the Appropriations Committee, said he did not contact the Michigan Department of Corrections to determine if sex change procedures are included in the medical care for its 50,000 inmates.

He said he introduced the bill in response to an appeal by the American Family Association, a Midland-based anti-gay group headed by Gary Glenn, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

In 2009, the state Department of Corrections announced a policy that forbade discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The policy did not address sex change procedures.

E-mail Jim Harger: jharger@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JHHarger