Democratic control over Michigan House to end in disarray

LANSING, MI – Amid infighting and Republican boycotting, Democrats’ final days of control over the state House will end in disarray, with dozens of bills now set to die on the floor.

The Michigan House will convene one last time this year, at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 31, only to adjourn the session. No bills will be taken up, Michigan House Democratic Caucus spokesperson Jess Travers said Thursday, Dec. 19.

Thursday’s House session, which was supposed to be the last one of the year, ended without any votes being taken due to a lack of necessary attendance, or quorum.

Michigan House Democrats order police to retrieve boycotting Republican members

Some bills that were supposed to be taken up this week in the House included opening lawmakers and the governor to Freedom of Information Act requests, creating a program to help low-income households and seniors who struggle to pay their water bills, and more.

Now those bills, and hundreds of others that haven’t yet been approved by the House, will have to be reintroduced next year in a divided government, with Republicans controlling the House.

The state Senate remains in session Thursday evening and is scheduled to return for session Friday and Monday. The Senate can still send bills to the governor that have already been approved by the House, such as an expansion of the state’s hate crime law.

The Senate will push on amid what Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said was the House abandoning major legislation that would have helped Michigan residents.

“I am deeply disappointed that the House of Representatives called it quits while so many great pieces of legislation were ready for the green light,” Brinks said. “Legislators are tasked with the responsibility of using every tool available to advocate for their constituents and communities, and ‘frustrated’ is too light of a word to describe my dismay that the House failed to meet its obligations in this historic moment.

“The Michigan Senate is still in session, and we have the opportunity to do good – a lot of good. In the coming hours, residents can count on us to act on key items that will protect the state’s children, improve on-the-job rights for workers, and more.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office did not return a request for comment.

The House was brought to a halt this week by attendance issues that stopped lawmakers from acting on any bills due to a lack of quorum.

The lack of quorum caused an early adjournment without voting first on Wednesday and then again on Thursday.

House Republicans had boycotted every session since Friday, demanding Democrats take up legislation to stop an impending minimum wage hike to $15 and a removal of the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. The measures weren’t put on either Wednesday’s or Thursday’s agendas.

That left Democrats needing all 56 members to attend session for a quorum. But Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, refused to attend unless certain priorities, like money for Detroit Public Schools, the water affordability program and retaining tipped wages, were taken up.

Party infighting, GOP protest halt Michigan House session as Democrats’ control nears end

In a rare move, House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, on Thursday issued a call of the House, compelling all representatives, specifically the absent Republicans and Whitsett, to attend session or be brought in by police.

“Being a leader means showing up for work & showing up for the people you serve,” Tate wrote on social media around 1:20 p.m. Thursday.

That effort didn’t work, and an hour later Democratic leadership announced the session would adjourn due to a lack of quorum. That’s when the final Dec. 31 session day was scheduled.

Travers confirmed the call of the House has been canceled.

After the House adjourned Thursday, Whitsett appeared in the Capitol Building alongside the Republican leader in the House, House Speaker-elect Matt Hall, for an interview with reporters.

One of Whitsett’s conditions for attending session was that the bill package creating the water affordability program would be taken up by the House. After she skipped Wednesday’s session, the item was added to the agenda Thursday.

However, Hall said Democrats put the bill package on the agenda to “bait” Whitsett into attending session Thursday and never intended to approve it.

Once she was in the Capitol Building, Tate issued the call of the House with the intention of compelling Whitsett to attend session and not being able to leave, he claimed.

“When she told me that she made the decision to come up here to Lansing because she wanted to fight for the people of Detroit and her district and get some specific issues done for Detroit, I told her she was welcome in my office and I would help her get those done, even the ones that I don’t agree with and I’m not going to vote for,” Hall said. “We wanted an honest conversation, a negotiated deal, so all those bills for Detroit would get done.”

Hall said that rather than negotiate a deal, Tate sought to compel Whitsett’s attendance.

Whitsett said one of her largest priorities was getting the House to take up legislation that would’ve provided millions of dollars for Detroit Public Schools. But that was never put on the agenda.

“These are all promises never kept. This is the poorest leadership I have ever seen in my six years,” Whitsett said of Tate. “It’s a doggone shame in order to get help on issues I had to go to the Republican leader. What does that say about (Tate)?”

Hall will lead the Republicans in their House majority next session. The Senate will remain under Democratic control.