Tag: Michigan House

Michigan House Flips Republican, Ending Trifecta of Democratic Control

The Center Square
Michigan Capitol

Republicans have taken back control of the Michigan House, flipping the chamber they lost in 2022 and ending Democrats’ governing trifecta.

Republicans will likely work to change the series of Democrat pieces of legislation implemented over the past two years, such as repealing Michigan’s Right To Work law, passing gun safety restrictions, handing out corporate subsidies in efforts to boost electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption in the state, and allowing state regulators to override local zoning laws and public choice to expand green energy projects across the state.

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Michigan House Deadlocked After Mayoral Wins

The Center Square

The Michigan House will be deadlocked 54-54 after two Democratic House members won local mayoral races.

After Reps. Lori Stone of Warren and Kevin Coleman of Westland won their respective mayoral races, House Democrats will still craft legislative agendas but won’t have the votes required to enact legislation without Republican votes until a special session is called to fill those seats.

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Michigan House Approves Tax Changes for Prepared Foods

The Center Square

The Democrat-dominated Michigan House passed two sales and use tax bills critics say are unnecessary and will confuse business owners.

House Bills 4377 and 4378 passed on votes of 56-53. The bills cover prepared food either sold in a heated state or heated by the seller or that is two or more food ingredients that are mixed or combined by the seller for sale as a single item.

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Michigan House Votes to Repeal Right-to-Work, Reinstate Prevailing Wage, End A-F Grading System

The Center Square

The Michigan House on Tuesday voted to repeal right-to-work, reinstate the prevailing wage, and trash the state’s A-F grading system for public schools.

The Democrat-dominated House approved Senate Bill 34 on a vote of 65-52. The bill aims to allow unions to require workers to pay dues to a labor organization as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment. The Senate approved the bill last week to repeal the policy enacted in 2012 by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. 

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Michigan House OKs Dem Tax Plan, Could Block Income Tax Break

The Center Square

Michigan House lawmakers voted 56-53 on House Bill 4001, which aims to provide some tax relief, but also block an automatic, permanent tax break for all Michiganders triggered by an influx of money in state coffers.

The package would increase the earned income tax credit from 6% to 30%, reduce taxes on public and private pensions, and possibly provide a $180 check to Michigan tax filers.

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Michigan House Passes Bipartisan Budget, Including Historic Increases in Education Spending

The Center Square
Jason Wentworth

Although she thinks it’s only a “start,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer applauded the bipartisan budget passed Thursday night by the Michigan House of Representatives.

The House voted to pass the budget before the July 1 deadline, and includes the governor’s proposal to implement the largest increase in K-12 public school spending in the state’s history. Whitmer’s office claims the $16.7 billion in school expenditures will “close the gap between the lowest- and highest-funded school districts for the first time since the goal was introduced in 1994.”

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Michigan House Unanimously Expands FOIA to Include Governor and Legislature

The Center Square

The Michigan House unanimously passed a flurry of bipartisan bills seeking to reform the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by including the governor and legislature under the new Legislative Open Records Act (LORA).

The House passed the package during “Sunshine Week,” which celebrates government transparency, and after reporters used FOIA to expose Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration gifting $253,000 in secret, taxpayer-funded  severance packages.

The bill package is virtually identical to bills introduced in the 2015-16, 2017-8, and the 2019-20 legislative session other than technical changes and effective dates.

Those packages all failed.

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Michigan Legislative Oversight Committees Assume Subpoena Authority in Election Investigations

The Center Square

The Michigan House and Senate Oversight Committees are assuming authority to issue subpoenas, administer oaths and examine books and records related to the 2020 election.

The committees immediately proceeded to issue subpoenas to election clerks in Detroit and Livonia. Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey and Livonia Clerk Susan Nash have until the end of business on Jan. 12 to turn over documents pertaining to their respective elections.

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Michigan Bill to Make Public All Executive Branch Salaries Clears First Hurdle

Anthony Gockowski

  A Michigan bill that would require every executive branch department and division to post the salary and benefit information of their employees unanimously cleared its first hurdle Thursday. House Bill 5015 easily cleared the House Oversight Committee and is now on its way to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration. Under the bill, the Department of Technology, Management and Budget would be required to make public on the state’s website the “function, contact, and employee salary information for each executive branch department and each major division or sub-unit within the department.” “This information must be accessible to the public at no cost,” the bill adds. According to Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Township), sponsor of the bill, residents seeking to obtain salary information “must go through a burdensome Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process in order to receive it.” “Having this information readily available up front removes the response time and effort needed to fulfill these individual requests and will free up government departments to serve people more efficiently,” he said in a statement. Berman believes that his bill would “make state government more accountable to the taxpayers who fund it,” pointing out that the Michigan House already…

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