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.

If you’re planning to have a glass of wine, a mixed drink or beer on Christmas, you should plan to stock up ahead of time.

Michigan cuts off alcohol sales at bars, restaurants and stores early on Christmas Eve, and prohibits sales on Christmas until mid-day.

Here’s what you need to know:

When can I buy alcohol on Christmas?

Michigan closes alcohol sales at midnight on Christmas Eve and prohibits sales until noon on Christmas Day. The restriction applies to all licensees that sell alcoholic liquor for consumption on or off the licensed premises.

Who can buy alcohol in Michigan during the holidays?

State law restricts alcohol purchases to people who are 21 and older. On Christmas, the most recent legal birth date will be Dec. 25, 2004.

However, cashiers, clerks, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, and others are prohibited from selling to any visibly intoxicated patron regardless of age.

Does eggnog contain alcohol?

The holiday drink can be made alcohol-free or include a spirit.

Spirited versions often include bourbon, rum or brandy.

What are alcohol sales hours on New Year’s?

While Christmas hours are generally shorter, locations that sell alcohol for on-premises consumption are allowed to remain in operation New Year’s Eve until 4 a.m. on Jan. 1. Patrons may consume alcohol until 4:30 a.m.

Can I buy alcohol in another state and bring it home for the holiday?

A person of legal age may bring up to 312 ounces of alcoholic liquor that contains less than 21% alcohol by volume — about 24 12-ounce containers of beer or 12 750-milliliter containers of wine — from another state without prior approval.

Can I purchase alcohol online and have it shipped to me?

Yes, in some cases. Michigan requires a special direct license for out-of-state shippers.

Bell’s Brewery notes that shipping beer directly to consumers is illegal in Michigan, but that some third-party companies can handle the transaction via retailers. UberEats lists alcohol delivery from retailers as a service on its website.

The U.S. Postal Service prohibits most shipments of alcohol.

If you purchase from a business, FedEx will ship alcohol.

UPS lists alcohol as a restricted item, which it ships under specific criteria.

If you want to say Michigan Tech is in the middle of nowhere, we’ll allow it. The men’s basketball team traveled four hours by bus to Green Bay for a game Wednesday, and then four hours back to campus in Houghton, in the ear of the Upper Peninsula, and that’s the shortest road trip it will have all season.

Just don’t called Michigan Tech “Nobody U,” not anymore, not after the Division II program made national headlines Wednesday with its 72-70 win over Division I Green Bay.

The win came after Green Bay’s new head coach, sports-media personality Doug Gottlieb, made the “Nobody U” comment ahead of the Michigan Tech game ― though Gottlieb has insisted he wasn’t speaking specifically of Michigan Tech, and Michigan Tech head coach Josh Buettner didn’t take it personally, either.

Of course, that didn’t stop Buettner from using the clip of Gottlieb as motivation for his players in practice this week.

“I listened to his press conference. I’m not trying to squash (Gottlieb’s comments), but if you read the whole thing, I don’t think it’s a direct shot at us,” Buettner told The News after arriving back on campus Wednesday night. “(But) we had showed the guys (the clip). Any form of motivation you can get, you’re gonna do it.

“We were somewhat prepared that it would be a pretty big story (after Tech won) … and it’s even more than what I thought it would be. I’m happy for the guys. I’m happy for Michigan Tech.”

Gottlieb, 48, has been a lightning rod this season, his first as a Division I had basketball coach, in large part because he continues to host his daily talk show on Fox Sports Radio.

The double-dipping was embraced locally in Green Bay, because Gottlieb was certain to bring visibility to the program in an era where visibility ― and donor dollars ― are so paramount. Of course, visibility doesn’t seem like such a good thing anymore, as Green Bay is off to a 2-11 start after the loss to Michigan Tech (the game was an exhibition for Tech, but not for Green Bay), including eighth straight losses.

Green Bay’s struggles are so bad that it even led to an X (formerly Twitter) war of words between ESPN’s Adam Scheffter and Gottlieb on Tuesday, when Gottlieb questioned Schefter’s sources on a story, and Schefter responded by telling Gottlieb to spend less time on social media and more time coaching his team, as the losses are piling up.

“Obviously, everybody knows Coach Gottlieb’s gonna have a little bit of a target … hosting that radio show, he’s putting himself out there,” Buettner said. “He’s kind of in a no-win situation when the world’s looking at and listening to everything you have to say.”

Following Michigan Tech’s win Wednesday, before a crowd of more than 5,000 (including many Michigan Tech alums and fans) at Resch Center in Green Bay, many X users took a dig at Gottlieb over losing to “Nobody U.” Gottlieb took exception, saying he was “done with this crap” and that he never disrespected any opponent.

Buettner backs up Gottlieb’s comments, and even pointed out that Gottlieb was complimentary of Michigan Tech on a podcast leading up Wednesday’s game.

Gottlieb’s point with “Nobody U,” he said, was that he was going to have to rethink how he scheduled in the future. He scheduled tough this season, with games against Oklahoma State, Providence and Ohio State, and that it hasn’t looked pretty. And next up is a game at Drake, which is teetering on the brink of the Associated Press Top 25, on Saturday, It’s a fine line, Gottlieb said; he made the argument you can learn more your team losing to a power program that beating a low-level program, and that’s where he threw out the “Nobody U” line.

“We just happened to be the DII team that was coming up right after he said it,” Buettner said.

Michigan Tech, with the win Wednesday, sent a statement to the rest of a very good Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that it means business. Michigan Tech is 7-3 on the season, including 2-0 in the GLIAC.

The Huskies won behind a 30-point game from junior guard Marcus Tomashek, who just happens to be a Green Bay native, but wasn’t recruited by the program in the years preceding Gottlieb’s stunning hiring in May. Tomashek is averaging 24.1 points on the season, not including the Green Bay exhibition. He’s scored 30 in a game three other times, and 40 once. It was fun to see, Buettner said, though he knows Wednesday’s performance almost certainly should put Tomashek on the Division I radar should be want to transfer up after the season.

Tomashek is one of 10 Wisconsin natives on Michigan Tech’s roster; the other six are Michigan natives. The school is academics first, known for its engineering. So Buettner, a former Michigan Tech standout, has played the long game since he was hired in April 2021, developing players out of high school. Many of those players are juniors and seniors now, and the fruits of his labor are shining through.

That’s the story Buettner wants to talk about, not the Gottlieb criticism. For the record, the two didn’t say much in the handshake line Wednesday. Gottlieb congratulated Buettner, and then walked away, to face a firestorm on X. Buettner, meanwhile, got in the bus, for the four-hour ride home ― a drive that, suddenly, didn’t seem so bad.

“It didn’t, and that’s short for us. The Chick-fil-A tasted great,” Buettner, whose team got paid a few thousand bucks to play Green Bay, said with a chuckle. “It was a great opportunity for us going into the Christmas break. … And people are talking about Michigan Tech, and Michigan Tech is a great university and a great place.

“It’s awesome for Michigan Tech. It’s a really good school in a unique part of the country.”

In the middle of nowhere, perhaps.

Nobody U, not so much.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984