Advocacy News – Dec. 20, 2024
On Thursday, the House closed out its highly charged, intensive Lame Duck session and the Senate expected to follow suit Friday. With the Michigan Legislature actively considering numerous anti-business, anti-jobs policy changes, the MI Chamber was sounding the alarm bells and working hard on members’ behalf in the Capitol around the clock.
What happened?: The sheer number of policy proposals in play in the Capitol these last two weeks was staggering and concerning. Here’s a rundown of what made it across the finish line versus what died on the cutting room floor:
Employment Law –
- Fixing Earned Sick Time Act and minimum wage. Status: Dead. Legislation to fix the minimum wage and earned sick time laws to make them more workable for employees and businesses alike was a high priority for the Chamber this Lame Duck session. These issues have been caught up in politics from the start, with the United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain urging lawmakers to reject the fixes, saying: “We strongly oppose these bills that seek to undermine the Mothering Justice v. Attorney General Michigan State Supreme Court ruling that raises the minimum wage, eliminates a subminimum wage for tipped workers and provides earned sick time for all workers.” Unfortunately, this ‘do nothing’ mentality ruled the day, with leaders in the House and Senate refusing to allow on a legislative fix — despite the fact that there were ample votes in the House and Senate to get a deal across the finish line.
- Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit increase. Status: On Governor’s desk. Legislation passed both chambers to substantially increase UI benefits – and costs to employers, who fund 100% of the cost of the UI system. SB 40 and HB 5827, if signed by the Governor, will expand the number of weeks claimants can collect benefits from 20 to 26 weeks. It will also increase the weekly maximum benefit rate from $362 per week to $614 per week and increase the dependent allowance from $6 to $26. Both the weekly benefit rate as well as the dependent allowance will be increase over a three-year period, then the rate would increase annually based on the rate of inflation. The MI Chamber voiced opposition to this proposal because it is nearly impossible to enact a benefit payout of this size without creating the need for a corresponding increase in UI taxes on employers. This is because there was so much fraud and mismanagement of the fund during COVID, and the fund is still rebuilding.
- Costly Workers’ compensation overhaul. Status: Dead. Senate Bills 1179-80 would have made aggressive and costly changes to the workers’ comp system. As a result of these changes, workers’ compensation losses — and premiums — are expected to increase significantly. The MI Chamber has organized a broad coalition in opposition to this legislation and we are actively meeting with lawmakers to educate them on the cost implications of the proposal.
- Patchwork local labor laws. Status: Dead. SBs 171, 1173 would have given Michigan’s 1,800 local units of government the individual right to enact their own local employment laws (e.g., local minimum wage, paid leave laws, etc.). We oppose local authority on these issues because it would create a patchwork scheme and create high-cost islands across Michigan.
- Restrictions on noncompete agreements, criminalize wage and fringe benefit violations and subjecting employers to wage transparency requirements. Status: Dead. HBs 4537, 4399 and 4402-6 would have added new wage and hour regulations and penalties on employers.
Legal Climate –
- New avenues for litigation against regulated entities and professions. Status: Dead. SB 1022 would have allowed over 80 different regulated entities and professions to be sued under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act – layering these lawsuits on top of what remedies might already be available to consumers under the business or entity’s regulatory statute.
- Medical malpractice. Status: Dead. HBs 6085-86 and SBs 1158-59 would have expanded both noneconomic damage awards and wrongful death damages. We oppose these bills because they are an attack on medical providers across Michigan and, frankly, a give-away to plaintiff attorneys. Based on other states’ experiences with similar legislation, we know the bills will incentivize litigation, exacerbate defensive medicine, reduce physician availability, and raise malpractice insurance premiums — which will ultimately be passed along to employers and health insurers in the form of higher healthcare costs.
- Data privacy. Status: Dead. SB 659 would have put in place a “Personal Data Privacy Act” (Act), creating a patchwork approach and limiting the ability of Michigan businesses to responsibly utilize data-driven approaches, such as email marketing, targeted advertising and customer retention efforts including loyalty programs.
- State of Emergency Price Gouging Laws. Status: Dead. As substituted, House Bills 5895-5897 prohibit price increases of more than 20% during a State of Emergency. The bills pertain to certain goods, energy services, as well as hotels and other lodging options.
Tax Policy –
- Property Tax. Status: Dead. House Bills 5865-68 aimed to create what sponsors argue is a fairer process for property tax disputes that are before the Michigan Tax Tribunal (MTT). Instead, these bills would have made it almost impossible for businesses to take a dispute to the tribunal and, even further, are likely unconstitutional and create an immense amount of hurdles for the MTT when determining a decision in these cases. Although many believe this issue, often referred to as the “dark stores” theory, only applies to large retailers and big box stores, these bills would have affected all businesses that own a larger building or warehouse.
Energy and Environment –
- So-called polluter pay. Status: Dead. SBs 605-611 would have created new barriers to the clean up of contaminated sites in the state, and financially burden certain companies if they handle regulated chemicals.
- Waste disposal: TENORM and trash tax. Status: Dead. SBs 938 and 1052 would have banned the disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive waste or TENORM, as well as the future permitting and expansion of Class I and IV deep injection wells for disposal facility leachate. These restrictions would have disproportionately impacted the ability for some industries to safely dispose this material in the state, forcing it to be transported west of the Mississippi river. The limiting of deep injection wells would have resulted in leachate having to be disposed of via wastewater infrastructure, burdening communities’ wastewater treatment facilities and creating unnecessary risk. There was also a push to significantly increase the cost of all waste disposal. Proposals ranged from doubling the current rate of 36 cents per ton, to increase over 100% to 5 dollars per ton.
- Bottle deposit expansion. Status: Dead. SBs 1112 and 1113 would have significantly expanded the number of containers added to the 10-cent deposit system. If passed by a simple legislative majority, signed by Governor, and approved by voters at the Nov. 3, 2026 General Election, the bills would have expanded the 10-cent deposit to all beverages, excluding milk or fruit and vegetable juices greater than a half-gallon or freezable containers. They also would have required universal redemption.
- Advancing carbon capture. Status: Dead. SBs 1131, 1132 and 1133 would have created a permitting process within the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) regulating the construction, operation and closure of carbon sequestration projects.