LANSING — A package of bills intended to keep pets away from known animal abusers was signed into law Wednesday by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley.

The bills passed the Legislature with strong bipartisan support in December.

The bills allow Michigan animal shelters to conduct a criminal background check using the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT) and determine whether someone has a criminal history of animal abuse before allowing adoption of an animal.

Earlier versions of the bills would have required a criminal background check, but the legislation was watered down during the recent lame duck session.

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"An animal control shelter or animal protection shelter may consider an individual's criminal history when deciding whether to allow that individual to adopt an animal," says House Bill 4353, sponsored by Rep. Harvey Santana, D-Detroit.

They "may choose not to allow an individual who has been convicted of an animal abuse offense to adopt an animal unless a period of at least five years has elapsed since the date of his or her conviction."

The other bill in the package, HB 4355, was sponsored by Rep. Paul Muxlow, R-Brown City.

The package was dubbed Logan's Law after a March 2012 incident in which a Wales Township husky named Logan was blinded by an acid burn. The dog died a few months later.

Logan’s owner, Matt Falk, believed someone intentionally splashed the battery acid. Logan’s story spurred Falk to ask for legislative action.

Unlike earlier revisions of Logan’s Law that included an animal abuse registry, using the ICHAT system for criminal background check would come at little to no cost to the state.

The bills also establish a regulatory program for large-scale dog breeder kennels

Calley signed the bills because Gov. Rick Snyder is out of the state with his family.

Calley also signed into law bills that:

Prohibits local governments from enacting ordinances that regulate, prohibit or impose a fee on the use of plastic bags.

Allow life-saving drugs that reverse the effects of opioid overdoses to be available without prescriptions.

Prohibit abortion providers from receiving financial compensation for the transfer of fetal tissue resulting from elective abortions.

Beth LeBlanc of Michigan.com contributed to this report.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.