Advocacy News – Nov. 10, 2023
This week the Michigan Legislature passed a concurrent resolution to adjourn for the year on Tuesday, Nov. 14, effectively closing out their work for 2023. The early adjournment is a move that hasn’t happened before December in 55 years, as reported by capital insider publication MIRS. It is possible that the governor could call a special session at some point between now and the New Year to tackle legislation she would like to see move before 2024, but that seems unlikely at this point.
With many session days going late into the evening and into the early morning hours multiple times in the past few weeks, numerous, controversial pieces of legislation have been passed through both chambers in anticipation that lawmakers would be going home earlier than previous years.
So why did the Legislature adjourn so early?
Mayoral Elections:
As the Michigan Chamber News covered in detail earlier this year, both chambers of the Michigan Legislature flipped to democratic majorities after the 2022 elections. At the same time, those majorities in both the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate are slim (House 56-54 and Senate 20-18). This past week, two D state representatives – Kevin Coleman and Lori Stone – won mayoral seats in their respective communities of Westland and Warren. Consequently, the House is now split equally at 54-54, meaning the democratic trifecta that Michigan started off with this year is at least temporarily on hold.
The governor will call for a special election after both mayoral candidates are sworn in, which will happen as early as next week. However, it is likely that the primary elections to fill the vacancies would happen in February, for reasons outlined further below, with the general election occurring in May of 2024. Until May, it remains to be seen as to whether or not much legislation will move.
Presidential Primary Bill:
Earlier this year, the Michigan Legislature passed a bill moving up Michigan’s presidential primary, making the Great Lakes State among the top five soonest primaries across the nation (approximately Feb. 27). However, that bill did not receive immediate effect, meaning the policy change would need 90 days after the Legislature adjourns for the year before it could take effect. This became another driving factor in the early adjournment.
For questions or more information, please contact Leah Robinson at lrobinson@michamber.com. For other legislative updates or feedback, please email info@michamber.com and the MI Chamber’s Business Advocacay team will get back with you.