State lawmakers are already sorting through bills introduced on the first day of their new session. They include ones that would boost funding for roads and make public information requests cheaper.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network's Jake Neher reports, another aims to effectively get rid of so-called “lame duck” sessions.
The resolution seeks to bar lawmakers from meeting on even-numbered years between November elections and the end of the term. They could meet to act on emergency bills, but only after a super-majority vote of the Legislature.
Democrats have criticized Republican lawmakers for pushing through a number of controversial bills during last month’s lame duck. They include the state’s new “right to work” and emergency manager laws.
Democratic state Senator Glenn Anderson introduced the resolution.
“Lame duck has really laid some bad eggs over the last few years, and this year was one of the worst,” he says.
Anderson says lame duck allows out-going lawmakers to act without being accountable to their constituents.
The resolution would change the state’s constitution, and would have to be approved by Michigan voters.