• Michigan’s House, Senate and governor’s office are all up for grabs in November as Democrats and Republicans compete
  • Republicans say they’d use majorities to cut taxes and repeal a clean energy mandate, among other things
  • Democrats say they’d prioritize affordability by pursuing policies to address prescription drug prices, price gouging

LANSING — Michigan Democrats and Republicans are already building legislative wishlists should they win full control of state government in November, when the governor’s office and all 148 seats in the Legislature are up for grabs. 

Democrats say they want to control prescription drug costs. Republicans say they want to cut property taxes. And legislative leaders from both parties say they want to crack down on price gouging and rein in high healthcare costs.

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Many of the ideas are holdovers from the current Legislature, in which a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate have been at odds during what is considered one of the least productive two-year sessions in state history. 

While candidates from both parties are pushing affordability proposals on the campaign trail, the midterm election may ultimately come down to how voters feel about Republican President Donald Trump, said Matt Grossmann, director of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.

“That has an almost perfect relationship for who they say they’re going to support in the state legislative race,” said Grossmann, who noted the significant national headwinds Republicans are facing due to Trump’s poor favorability ratings.

“If you believe the national, generic ballot numbers and the statewide polls, then you would expect a very large shift toward the Democrats,” he said.

That could be good news for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, who is up in polls and has spent significant time campaigning with legislative candidates she’d like to join her in Lansing.

But Republican nominee John James is claiming momentum for the GOP in the homestretch and has proposed a slew of conservative proposals he would need a cooperative Legislature to help pass.

Here’s a look at what current and prospective legislative leaders say state government could look like if their party wins full control on Nov. 3.

What Democrats want

Democrats last enjoyed full control of state government in the 2023-24 session, which began with a roar of sweeping new laws — gun reforms, clean energy laws, Right-to-Work repeal, protections for gay rights — but ended with a whimper amid political infighting. 

Should Democrats get another chance, they’d focus on affordability issues from the outset, said Sen. Darrin Camilleri of Trenton, the party’s presumptive leader for the upper chamber next term. 

In doing so, “it’s critical that we look to legislation that we’ve tried to address this year,” he said, referencing Democratic bills to create a prescription drug affordability board that could cap prices and crack down on algorithmically driven dynamic pricing. 

Democrats who helped pass data center tax breaks in late 2024 have more recently proposed additional data center regulations that have not advanced in Lansing but could be revisited next year. 

Under the bills, hyperscale data centers could not use more than 2 million gallons of water a day and would be required to pay laborers and contractors tasked with building these data centers an area’s prevailing wage. Notably, the package does not include a moratorium on building data centers, nor does it provide limits on how loud the facilities can be.

“We have a lot of ideas to pull from, which I do think will help set us up to be very productive starting in 2027,” Camilleri said. 

House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, is keeping potential policy priorities closer to the chest. 

Speaking with Bridge Michigan on Monday, Puri agreed that “affordability is absolutely the need of this moment” but said he did not want to prescribe a policy agenda until he learns the makeup of the new Democratic caucus and the ideas these lawmakers could bring to Lansing. 

But housing and healthcare access are going to continue to be prominent issues, he said, adding it was important Democrats “have a plan for community and economic development, and … ensuring that every kid has access to a great public education.”

What Republicans want

Republicans last had full control of state government from 2011 to 2018, when legislators worked with Gov. Rick Snyder to pass tax code reforms, expand Medicaid and create Right-to-Work and read-or-flunk laws that Democrats later repealed. 

Whether or not Republicans retake control of state government, House Speaker Matt Hall told Bridge he will resume his fight to “dramatically lower property taxes,” which his chamber proposed this term. 

“I’ve proven in the first term – whether it’s a trifecta, whether it’s one chamber (control) – we can pretty much accomplish the same things,” said Hall, R-Richland Township.

A proposal to eliminate the 6-mill state property tax rate passed the Republican-led House in June but did not include a plan to backfill state revenue losses for schools and local governments. Hall floated the possibility of a replacement tax on certain services at the time.

Hall also expressed interest in improving “the regulatory environment” for Michigan businesses, telling Bridge it is important not only to entice new companies to the state but also to keep and grow those already here.

Hall said he’d try again to repeal Michigan’s clean energy standards, a shared goal with James, the GOP gubernatorial nominee. A 2023 law passed by Democrats will require the state’s electric providers to have a 100% clean energy portfolio by 2040.

State Sen. Roger Hauck of Mount Pleasant, the presumptive Senate GOP leader next term, said he’s “open to looking at” the kind of property tax repeal plan Hall is pushing but said he hadn’t dug into the policy and noted that “property tax reform starts at the local level.”

Hauck told Bridge he’d like to see the Senate — and, by extension, its 17 standing committees — meet more regularly with Republicans back at the helm. 

In doing so, Hauck said he’d like there to be a focus on state department accountability, which he defined as requiring agencies to respond to taxpayer inquiries in a more timely manner. 

Hauck also said he was interested in addressing chronic absenteeism in Michigan. Hall said legislators need to “hold the schools accountable and continue to improve them” when it comes to childhood literacy scores.

“We’re bringing back phonics,” Hall said, referencing a newly adopted literacy training requirement for teachers, “but there’s more we have to do.”

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