As you read this, I’ll probably be camped out in the Michigan Capitol building on the black and whites (the tiles just outside the House and Senate chambers) for the legislature’s lame duck session. Fast and furious lame duck sessions are especially dangerous occasions for bad policy to slip through the cracks. While there aren’t as many true “lame ducks” this year (only 14 of the 110 state reps won’t return in January 2025) this lame duck session feels far less predictable.
Legislative leaders are well aware that the session days in December are the last hurrah for the current Democratic trifecta – a trifecta that hasn’t happened since 1984. To give you some perspective, as of Nov. 25, there are 2,690 bills pending before the legislature that could be given consideration before the end of the year.
In the first true week of lame duck in November, several alarming “zombie” issues were given new life. These are issues that were previously assumed dead, but have returned to life as lawmakers attempt to negotiate movement on their policy priorities before it’s too late. Zombie policies this year include bills to overhaul and over-complicate the appeals process for real property, expand the bottle deposit to nearly all beverage containers via a 2026 ballot question, and a state-run paid family leave system. Additionally, road funding proposals have reappeared out of seemingly thin air.
The legislative process is meant to be slow and deliberative with the hope of reaching good policy results. Late nights and haphazardly drafted changes often result in legislative mistakes creating both unintended consequences and fix-it bills next term.
MRA, and many other trade groups, will play a lot of games of whack-a-mole in the final few weeks of the 2023-2024 legislative session. Our hope is that lawmakers will focus on the issues that matter: like making much-needed fixes for the Earned Sick Time Act changes coming in February – and send the zombie issues back to the land of the dead.
Amy Drumm
MRA Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
📢 Tell MI lawmakers to pass HB 6057 to fix paid leave this winter before it’s too late. Let your voice be heard!
