LANSING — A road funding plan. A ban on ‘ghost guns.’ Improved financial transparency for charter schools.
Those were among the dozens of measures teed up for possible passage during Michigan’s lame-duck session that did not get passed before lawmakers went home for the year. All House and Senate bills that haven’t passed both chambers in identical form by year’s end are dead, though similar bills can be introduced when the new legislative session begins in January.
Some proposals, like road funding, died because lawmakers from both parties and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer never agreed on a package that could pass both chambers. Many other bills, like the ghost gun ban, died when the House abruptly adjourned on Thursday because it lacked a quorum, leaving a large volume of planned lawmakers’ work unfinished.
The Michigan State Capitol sits in Lansing on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Here’s a rundown on some of what didn’t get done:
Sexual assault lawsuit changes
A package of bills, Senate Bills 1187 to 1192, would have extended the statute of limitations for sexual assault survivors to sue, among other changes. The lead bill, SB 1187, passed the Senate with bipartisan support Dec. 13 in a 24-9 vote, but died in the House with the others.
It would have made the statute of limitations for civil action in sexual assault cases seven years after the date the individual discovers the sexual assault took place, 10 years after the victim is assaulted, or until the victim reaches 42 years of age, whichever is latest. Michigan law currently sets the statute of limitations at three years after discovery or until the victim reaches 28. If criminal prosecution takes place, civil action could be brought at any time, under the bill package.
One related bill did pass both chambers and was sent to the governor for her signature. House Bill 4485 eliminates the statute of limitations for indictment for criminal sexual conduct, but does not impact the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits.
Government transparency
Bills to expand Michigan’s FOIA law to the governor and Legislature, SBs 669 and 670, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support and were expected to clear the House, died with the early House adjournment.
Also dying in the House were Senate bills designed to increase transparency and accountability of public charter schools.
Senate Bills 943, 944, 946, and 947 would have required charter school management companies to publicly disclose the same financial information that other public schools must disclose and require annual audited financial statements. The bills would also require that school property leases or purchases align with market rates.
A Free Press series, published in 2014, exposed how little transparency exists in the $1 billion of taxpayer money that at that time was spent by charter schools in Michigan.
One transparency bill related to charter schools did pass both chambers and was sent to the governor. HB 5269 requires charter schools to publish on websites average salaries for new and veteran teachers, and for support staff.
Police conduct
Senate Bills 1091 to 1094, which all passed the Senate but died in the House, would have required police agencies to make and update use of force policies and make them publicly available. They would also have required comprehensive background checks and various training for police officers, including de-escalation techniques and implicit bias training. The bills would have also restricted police use of “no-knock” search warrants
Minimum wage for tipped workers
Under proposals submitted to the Legislature by voters in 2018, Michigan’s minimum wage will increase to $12.48 an hour on Feb. 21, and the minimum wage for tipped workers will gradually increase until it is completely eliminated in 2030. The current tipped minimum wage is $3.93 an hour, 38% of the regular minimum wage. Starting Feb. 21, it will rise to 48% of the standard minimum wage.
Many in Michigan’s hospitality industry, backed by many tipped workers, have pushed for changes to keep the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, arguing hospitality workers will end up losing money because they will receive fewer tips. But bills to enact such changes passed neither chamber.
Polluter pay
A package of bills passed the Senate, but not the House, that would have required polluters to clean up more thoroughly, improved transparency about polluted sites, and made it easier for those harmed by pollution to seek compensation.
Sen, Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said the death in the House of Senate Bills 605, 606, 607, 609, and 611 is “a huge deal” because Michigan residents who care about clean air, clean water, and clean communities have been working on the bills for decades.
\’Ghost guns\’
Legislation passed in the Senate, but not in the House, would have banned the manufacturing, assembling, selling, purchasing, importing and possessing of firearms or firearm parts that don’t have a valid serial number.
Proponents of banning “ghost guns” say the weapons are nearly impossible to track and can be obtained without having to go through the normal background checks in place to purchase a regular firearm. Along with banning firearms, frames and receivers that don’t have serial numbers, Senate Bills 1149 and 1150 would also have banned guns that are 3D-printed.
Water affordability
A package of House bills would have imposed a $2 monthly fee on water bills in order to create a $70 million fund to help make water more affordable for low-income families.
But the bills, HBs 5088 and 5089 and 5090 to 5093, did not pass in either chamber. The House adjourned before taking up the bills, which then could not be voted on in the Senate.
Public safety grants
The Michigan budget set aside just over $100 million to create a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund and HBs 4605 and 4606 were intended to legislate how grants from the fund would be distributed to eligible communities.
Getting the grant bills passed was one of the priorities cited by state Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, as a condition for ending her House boycott that, along with a GOP boycott, brought the House lame-duck session to a premature end on Thursday.
The Senate passed the measures Friday, but by adopting substitutes for both bills, they effectively killed the measure, since the House adjourned Thursday and cannot concur in the substitutes to send them to the governor.
Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, described the Democratic majority’s handling of the bills in the Senate Friday as “political gamesmanship,” suggesting the adoption of substitute bills was thinly disguised payback to Whitsett for the trouble she caused in the House.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Legislature’s lame-duck session: What didn’t get done