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Concerns raised for recreational passport opt out bill

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   Should you have to opt in or opt out of getting a recreational passport when you renew your registration? That’s a question currently up for debate in the state Legislature. 

New legislation would require people to opt out of paying for an annual pass to state parks.

Democratic Representative Tenisha Yancey has concerns. She says it’s easy for people to get into a routine with renewing their registration, and just not realize that they have to opt out of something.

“And I don’t want people paying for things that they’re not aware of that they’re paying for,” she says.

Supporters say that this change – from opting in to opting out – would increase the number of people who get passports. They say it would raise more money for parks.

But Yancey says some people can’t spare those 11 dollars and she doesn’t want them to spend if it they don’t mean to.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R