Michigan lame-duck Legislature: No votes amid drama, but Dems to try again

Democrat says she won’t show up, leaving House short on votes

Tuesday, Dec. 18

Democratic state Rep. Karen Whitsett is not planning to attend the Michigan House session on Wednesday, she told multiple media outlets Tuesday night. 

Whitsett’s absence would leave Democrats without the ability to pass any bills without support from Republicans, who staged a walkout last week and are not planning an immediate return during what is likely the final week of Democratic control of the state House. 

Whitsett, a Detroit Democrat who has sided with Republicans on some issues in the past, told Gongwer News Service she wanted the House to act on pending changes to minimum wage and sick leave laws, echoing demands from House GOP Leader Matt Hall.

“House Republicans will not be back until they agree to address the most pressing issues facing our state,” Hall said Tuesday evening.

House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, has said he plans to hold session Wednesday. A tentative agenda includes more than 60 bills. 

But without Whisett or Republicans, House Democrats will not be able to approve any mreasures.

That could effectively kill several significant proposals already approved by the Senate, including polluter pay legislation, corporate incentive reforms and a long-discussed government transparency proposal to subject the governor’s office and Legislature to public records requests. — Jonathan Oosting

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What to watch in likely last week of voting

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Michigan House and Senate lawmakers are due back in session Wednesday for what is likely to be their last voting week of the year. 

There’s no shortage of agenda items to tackle: Potentially altering pending sick leave and minimum wage changes, a major government transparency reform proposal and road funding, to name a few.

The House is scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday, and Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, has not signaled willingness to add any further voting days to the calendar. 

But whether the House will be able to pass any bills is not yet known. Republicans walked out last week, citing stalled wage and sick leave talks, and one House Democrat has said she won’t show up Wednesday unless there is voting on a supplemental spending bill to benefit lawmakers’ districts.

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The Senate, meanwhile, is tentatively scheduled to hold final votes next Monday, but it’s more likely the upper chamber finishes work this week.

With several Democrats openly questioning Tate’s leadership, it’s not immediately clear how much lawmakers can realistically get done in what could be the final days of the Democratic trifecta in Lansing, where Republicans will take over the state House next year. 

Should the stars align, here are some of the bigger items to watch out for:

Government transparency

After sitting in the House for months without action, efforts to open the Legislature and governor’s office to public records requests picked up this month with committee approval. A vote by the full House – should Tate allow one — could send the plan toward Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.

Michigan is currently one of two states to not allow its residents to request public documents from either lawmakers or the governor. If passed as written, citizens could request emails and other records from the governor and lawmakers — which they can already do with local and other state government officials — beginning Jan. 1, 2027. 

Tipped wage and sick leave

Michigan’s wage and sick leave laws will change in February if lawmakers take no further action. That’s due to a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that requires the state to raise its $10.33/hour minimum wage to nearly $15 while phasing out its $3.93/hour tipped wage by 2028.

Businesses oppose the pending changes, and bipartisan legislation could retain the tipped credit while relaxing some sick leave rules. But the UAW and progressive groups are urging Democrats to let the changes take effect. After last week’s impasse, major changes seem unlikely this week. 

Business incentives

Roughly $50 million in taxpayer subsidies could be heading to a proposed copper mine just outside the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. All that’s needed is a final vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is set to meet Wednesday but doesn’t currently have the project on its agenda.

The controversial subsidy is among nearly $300 million in new incentives approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee.

The money would come from the Strategic Outreach and Reserve (SOAR) fund, which would expire next year unless lawmakers agree to additional funding — perhaps as early as this week.

Police reforms 

Efforts to enact sweeping police reform in Michigan partially passed the Senate last week, including bills that would require departments to formalize use of force policies, require mental health and law enforcement response training for officers (including the use of de-escallation and crisis intervention techniques) and reform the use of no-knock warrants.

Those bills would each need final approval by the House. 

More cash for out-of-state trash

Whitmer has long pushed to raise Michigan’s out-of-state trash dumping fee, but that effort was scuttled last week when House Democratic Rep. Karen Whitsett abruptly left the rare Friday voting day. 

She and Rep. Nate Shannon, D-Sterling Heights, were holdouts on the change, which could have seen the state increase outstate dumping fees from $0.36/ton to $0.72/ton. The Whitmer administration initially called for the fee to be increased to $5/ton to curb out of state waste being dumped in Michigan.

Shannon changed his vote. But citing health issues, Whitsett’s departure caused the vote to fail Friday. It’s unclear if the Legislature will try bringing the issue back before the full House for a vote

Housing and zoning efforts

Also a victim of Friday’s sudden workstop were efforts to simplify the construction of more housing units amid a shortage. A bill that would have removed minimum parking requirements for new construction was put up for a vote but pulled when it became clear it would not get 56 House votes.

Polluter pay

The Senate last week approved most parts of a package that aims to hold industrial polluters more accountable for cleaning up contamination.

It’s a priority for environmental groups but would still need approval by the House to reach the governor’s desk. 

Prisoner productivity credits, juvenile ‘lifers’

Major overhauls to the state’s penal system could also come this week, including reforms to Michigan’s cash bail system, allowing prisoners to petition for a “second look” at their sentencing length and putting an end to juvenile life without parole sentences.

It could be a major lift for these policies to cross the finish line, however, as state prosecutors openly advocate against repealing life sentences for juveniles and doing away with mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Driver’s licenses for undocumented residents

A longsought push, primarily by progressive Democrats but backed by the Michigan Catholic Conference, would allow undocumented Michiganders the ability to get a noncommercial driver’s license or state ID. 

The bills have not received hearings in either the House or Senate, meaning final passage could be unlikely given the tight timeline.

Michigan Voting Rights Act

While Michigan clerks have voiced some concerns with the plan, legislation that broadly aims to prevent voter suppression could reach the governor’s desk with a vote in the full House. 

Among other things, the Senate-approved bills aim to expand ballot access by providing ballots in more languages, create a voting data clearinghouse and codify protections for voters who may need help casting a ballot. — Jordyn Hermani