Michigan Senate authorizes lawsuit to force House to send Gov. Gretchen Whitmer bills passed last year

Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News on Jan 22, 2025

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LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate on Wednesday authorized its Democratic leader to pursue legal action against the Republican-led Michigan House for failing to send nine bills from the last session to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk.

The authorization, outlined in a resolution Wednesday, would allow Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, R-Grand Rapids, to file a lawsuit against House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, to compel him to send the bills to the Democratic governor.

Democratic former House Speaker Joe Tate of Detroit, for reasons still unclear, did not present a total of nine bills from the 2023-24 session to the Democratic governor. When Republicans took the majority on Jan. 8, Hall ordered the new clerk, Scott Starr, to pause transfer of the bills as a legal review is conducted over the House's options.

"I hope to make it abundantly clear that we will not tolerate illegal, partisan games that evade our state constitution," Brinks said from the chamber floor Wednesday as Senate adopted the resolution. She urged Hall to send the bills to the governor and avoid costly litigation.

"This can be avoided completely if the speaker does his job and sends these bills to the governor," Brinks said. "I hope he makes the right choice."

Brinks did not outline a deadline for Hall to present the bills in order to avoid Senate litigation.

Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Allen, said the resolution was “ridiculous” and put pressure on the new Republican House speaker for a failing of the previous Democratic majority.

“The Democrats in the last session couldn’t get their job done,” Lindsey said. “They couldn’t do something as simple as take bills that were passed and carry them to the governor to get her signature. Now it’s the problem of the Republicans to try to solve this for the Democrats.”

Democrats have argued Hall has a constitutional duty to present the bills to the governor. Hall has argued the constitution does not set a timeline for presentation of the bills to the governor nor does it contemplate a previous Legislature failing to complete the presentation of its bills.

The disagreement puts the bills in a sort of legal limbo. The legislation that's been withheld include proposals that would increase what public employers pay toward their workers' health care, put corrections officers in the state police pension system and exclude disability, public assistance and worker's compensation from debt garnishments.

Brinks said Wednesday that Hall has had "plenty of time" to conduct a legal review of the situation. She said the Senate, which she described as a party that has been harmed by the House's actions, has retained outside counsel if a lawsuit is necessary.

"I don't know what occurred over in the House, either with the previous speaker or the current speaker," Brinks said. "Either way, I believe there's an obligation. If legislation has been passed properly by both bodies, it should be presented to the governor's desk."

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Staff writer Craig Mauger contributed.