The Michigan Senate resurrected nine bills Thursday that Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed earlier this summer.
The Senate had passed each of the policies at least once before, over a year and a half ago, during the last legislative term. The House approved the legislation at that time too. Both were under Democratic control, but they failed to transmit the bills to the Democratic governor before the end of the term.
Then, when Republicans took control of the House the following term, the House continued to sit on the bills rather than deliver them to the governor, sparking a drawn-out legal fight that the Democratic-controlled Senate ultimately won.
Whitmer vetoed the bills the same day as the Senate’s state Supreme Court victory. She cited concerns about timing and logistics, including date references that had already passed.
Now, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said it’s time to try getting the bills to the governor once more.
“She’s clearly called to have these bills to be returned to her desk once again. We’re taking her at her word on that, and we, of course, have felt that this was an important policy priority to get done,” Brinks told reporters after the votes Thursday.
Brinks said she believed the governor should have signed the bills instead of vetoing them.
While many of the bills passed Thursday along party lines, some Republicans did support a package that would give corrections and conservation workers access to the state police pension system.
Supporters argued it would be a way of fixing dire staffing shortages at the state’s prisons.
State Senator Thomas Albert (R-Lowell), however, was skeptical.
“To think that an employee is going to gut out 20 years or more at a job that mandates overtime and does not pay well relative to jobs with significantly less risk for a pension alone is an oversimplification,” Albert said from the Senate floor.
Other policies would lower healthcare premiums for state employees, allow new funding mechanisms for some Detroit museums, and strengthen wage garnishment protections for people in debt.
State Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) sponsored the wage garnishment bill. He said Michigan’s current laws let debt collectors take too much.
“We allow debt collector to even seize, not just tax returns but also the Earned Income Tax Credit, unlike most other states,” Irwin said during a floor speech.
State Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) opposed the bill, saying it would “arbitrarily” shield people from paying debts.
“It’s going to hurt our small businesses. It’s going to hurt the people that would be the recipients of collecting that money,” Lindsey said.
The bills are likely to stall out in the Michigan House, where Speaker Matt Hall is already casting doubt about their future.
“Democrats have had two years to bring these bills back and negotiate with me after they blew it, but they chose to wait and pull a campaign stunt,” Hall said in a written statement.
“I’m the best dealmaker in Lansing, and they could have come to me anytime," Hall said. "If Democrats actually want these bills to move, they need to be ready to make a real deal on our plans to eliminate state property taxes, lower electric rates, and create the health care cost review board. Democrats want to play politics with these bills, but I’m more interested in passing major reforms that actually lower people’s costs.”
