Excerpt:
Victims of female genital mutilation in Michigan would have a longer time period to take the issue to court under a six-bill package the House approve Tuesday to outlaw and curb the practice.
The move comes after the Legislature last week approved a separate Senate bill package that makes cutting girls' genitalia a state felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The practice is currently illegal under federal law and could lead to five years in prison.
But House and Senate Republicans and Democrats said the federal law didn't go far enough and opted to increase penalties after news of the nation's first-ever federal genital mutilation charges involving three Metro Detroit people broke last month.