LANSING (AP) — Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist had made state history by becoming the first black lieutenant governor to sign a bill into law.

Gilchrist, who is Michigan’s first African American lieutenant governor, enacted legislation Thursday to end a lifetime ban on felons becoming licensed insurance agents. His signature came during a bill-signing event in the rotunda of the Capitol building.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is on a trade trip in Israel.

Gilchrist says the bill signing symbolizes the opportunity that exists when diversity is embraced. Then-Secretary of State Richard Austin was the first black statewide officeholder to sign a bill in 1988. Starting in six months, the state will be able to issue licenses to certain people who have not been convicted of a felony in the previous 10 years.