Legislative leftovers: What Michigan lawmakers haven’t done in 2024

• Policy priorities are stacking up as Michigan Democrats near what could be the end of their governing trifecta in Lansing
• That includes cracking down on polluters in Michigan, opening up the Legislature and governor to public records requests and more.
• While the Senate has convened twice already in September, House lawmakers have not held a vote or reconvened since June.

LANSING — Hundreds of restaurant servers and bartenders are expected at the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to take action on the pending elimination of the state's tipped wage system.

It's among a series of legislative issues outside groups and citizens are urging the Legislature to take in what has so far been an unusually slow year with fewer session days than years passed.

Here are some of the big issues that remain unresolved nine months into the year, which could be Democrats' last with a governing trifecta if they lose the state House in November.

Minimum wage and sick time changes

Massive changes to the state’s minimum wage and paid-time-off laws will likely take effect in early 2025 following a July Michigan Supreme Court ruling.

That is, unless lawmakers step in to mitigate the change — which business, restaurateurs and some employees are begging for.

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Should the law take effect as interpreted by the state, Michigan could have a near $15/hour minimum wage as soon as 2028 and eventually do away with a lower minimum wage for tipped workers. 

The law would also implement sick leave policies that require businesses with 10 or more employees to provide up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year and allow workers to accumulate unused benefits into new years. Smaller firms have to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time. 

Senate Republicans have introduced legislation to try and scale back those pending changes, but Democrats have largely remained tight-lipped on when — or if — any additional changes are coming.

Public records from governor, legislature

Just before lawmakers adjourned for the summer in June, the Senate passed legislation that would open up the governor’s office and Legislature to public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act. 

Under the bills, legislative offices would not have to disclose communications between lawmakers and their constituents, internal investigation records, caucus counsel records, personal cell phone numbers and records related to ongoing civil actions until those matters are settled. 

Communications between a lawmaker and a constituent would only be made public if that constituent was a registered lobbyist – but not if the constituent was part of a special interest group or a powerful business leader. 

The proposal now awaits action in the House, which has not held any votes on any legislation since June 27.

Transparency reforms

In the same vein as the public records package, House lawmakers have proposed further transparency and ethics reforms, including implementing a one-year cooling period preventing elected officials from immediately taking jobs as lobbyists.

The package, known as the BRITE Act, was publicly supported by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, earlier this year in committee testimony. 

The bills have not yet advanced out of committee, however, let alone received a vote in the full House. There has been no action on the legislation since an April hearing. 

School safety efforts 

Following a 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in which four students were killed, lawmakers leaped at the chance to focus on improved school safety. 

Among other things, a dozen-bill package they introduced would outline safety and security training requirements for all security personnel, require tips sent to the OK2Say student safety program be forwarded to authorities within 24 hours, require each intermediate district to employ at least one emergency and safety manager as well as at least one mental health coordinator.

Reintroduced in February 2023 — after failing to gain traction in 2022 — only five of the 12 bills have since received a hearing, and the legislation continues to languish in the House Education Committee.

State-based health exchange 

Senate Democrats approved along partisan lines in late June bills that would establish a state-based health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. 

The legislation would shift the state away from the federal health insurance marketplace to a state-based exchange, which supporters called a “logical next step” for offering more flexibility on health care coverage. 

The proposal was referred to a House committee in June, where it still needs a final vote in the chamber prior to passage. If signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the exchange would go live in 2026.

A pause on polluter pay

A seven-bill package aimed at cracking down on companies that pollute in Michigan has also seen little movement since first introduced in the Senate in October 2023.

Democratic leaders have long promised to tackle the subject. The package as introduced would strengthen cleanup standards, require pollution-prone companies to carry insurance to cover cleanup costs, and make it easier for Michiganders to sue polluters who may have compromised their health.

Nearly a year since introduction, the bills have not moved out of the Senate’s Energy and Environment Committee.