When the legislature heads back to Lansing it will have a full agenda of priorities to accomplish prior to the end of the 2017-2018 legislative term. Additionally, the Republicans will want to check certain items off their lists while there is still a Republican governor. “Known as lame duck, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are historically busy and this year should be no different,” stated Tim Ward, President of MLC.

While it’s not known for certain what legislation the chambers will pass, below is a list of items that have been floated as priorities of House Speaker Tom Leonard (R-DeWitt Twp.), Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) and Governor Rick Snyder.

• Last week, Senator Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell) introduced legislation that would amend the recent changes to the state’s minimum wage laws brought about by a citizen’s initiative.
• Senator Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) introduced legislation last week that would amend the recent changes to the state’s paid sick time leave laws, which was also brought about by a citizen’s initiative.
• Governor Snyder has stated his priorities include trash and water fee increases and changes to landfill dumping fees.
• Reforming Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system has been worked on over many years, but compromise hasn’t yet been reached in order to pass legislation by both chambers. The legislature may take another crack at it in the coming weeks.
• Both Republicans and Democratic members have stated they would like to see various reforms to voting and election laws in the state.
• The chambers are expected to pass a supplemental appropriation and are still working to nail down the specifics of what items will be included in the bill.
• The House and Senate will need to pass implementation legislation for the recently passed Proposal 3, which makes several reforms to the state’s voting laws including allowing for straight ticket voting and no-reason absentee voting.

Currently, the House and Senate are scheduled to hold their typical Tuesday – Thursday session schedule during the weeks of November 26^th, December 3^rd, 10^th and 17^th.

During lame duck, there are always surprises. Throughout those busy weeks check the MLC blog, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook, to receive the most up-to-date information in a timely manner.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.