Michigan’s recently concluded lame-duck session was consequential both in the number of bills the Legislature passed (more than 400) and the number of those bills Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed (60). Here is a quick rundown on some of the key issues where the Mackinac Center provided its expertise:
Voter-Initiated Legislation
The Legislature and governor approved essential revisions to the unworkable and economically damaging legislation on paid sick leave and the state minimum wage.
A-F Accountability
Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation to require the Michigan Department of Education to issue every school in the state an A-F grade on five criteria related to student academic performance.
Environmental Regulation
A bill to prohibit state environmental regulations stricter than those imposed by the federal government was signed into law.
Nonprofit Supporter Protections
A bill that would have prohibited state and local governments from compelling 501(c) nonprofit organizations to produce lists of donors or members passed both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Snyder for specious reasons.
Labor Reform
A bill that would have required public sector unions to conduct regular recertification elections passed out of committee but was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Several term-limited senators who had heretofore been reliable supporters of labor reform were uninterested in additional measures to empower Michigan public sector workers.
Licensure Reform
The Mackinac Center’s licensure reform package, which passed the House 106-1 in October, was gutted in a Senate committee by a term-limited senator at the behest of several Lansing trade associations. It later died without receiving a vote on the Senate floor. We will redouble our efforts on this package in 2019.
Legislature Intervention
Gov. Snyder also vetoed a bill that would have guaranteed the Legislature’s standing to intervene in any lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Michigan law. The veto came back to bite him almost immediately, as one of his successor’s first acts as governor was to request an attorney general’s opinion on the constitutionality of the Line 5 tunnel legislation Gov. Snyder championed. Both our new governor and attorney general campaigned on shutting down that pipeline.
While we are all frustrated that more of these priorities did not become law in 2018, the valuable lessons we learned will influence our legislative engagement and strategy going forward.
