Schuette to Chair House Select Committee to Take on Tipped Wage, Paid Sick Leave
House Republicans established a select committee to hold hearings on HB 4001, which would preserve tipped wage, and HB 4002, which would amend the Earned Sick Time Act.

The committee will be chaired by Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland).

"We look at our small businesses, they’re facing a looming cliff," Schuette said. "The House Republican Caucus is recognizing the seriousness of this issue. That’s why our first two bills were to be addressing this, and that’s why our very first committee action is going to be making sure that … we’re protecting small businesses."

The Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses will be composed of nine Republicans and six Democrats.

Schuette will be joined by Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord), Rep. Pauline Wendzel (R-Watervliet), Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia), Rep. Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson), Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown Township), Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs), Rep. Ron Robinson (R-Utica), Rep. Peter Herzberg (D-Westland), Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), Rep. Angela Witwer (D-Delta Township), Rep. Will Synder (D-Muskegon) and Rep. Matt Longjohn (D-Portage).

"I’m looking forward to robust committee hearings next week," Schuette said. "I want to make sure that we allow time for testimony, allow the committees to be heard and make sure we get it right."

Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), one of the Democratic members of the committee, said she was excited to discuss the issues.

Whitsett was the lone Democrat to leave session at the end of last term. Her absence, combined with the absence of House Republicans who left the chamber over tipped wage and paid sick leave, deprived House Democrats of a quorum to take any action. Whitsett also advocated for the House to take up the policies.

"People who this affects need to be able to come in and tell their story," she said. "I’m not going to play with people’s lives."

Whitsett said she wasn’t coming in with any preconceived notions about the legislation and just wanted the committee process to play out.

"I want to have an open mindset to be able to hear both sides," she said.

Schuette said he expected people from larger metropolitan areas and more rural areas would be represented in the committee proceedings.

"This is an issue that’s not just facing one select part of the state," he said.

Senate Democrats introduced bills last week related to the policies, SB 8 and SB 15.

House Republicans said that although they felt the Senate needed to negotiate with them to get to something closer to the House’s legislation, they were optimistic that a deal could be reached.

"Look where we are," Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland) said during a roundtable discussion with reporters (See separate story). "Their plan a few days about was ‘Pound sand. We’re just going to get things go into effect.’ Now, they have a plan."

The goal is to act quickly on the legislation, while still allowing it to go through the full committee process, Hall said.

"When you have committee hearings, you learn things and you say, ‘Oh, we’ve got to make some adjustments,’ and that’s what’s going to happen," he said. "We’ll get a bill through the House in the next few weeks, hopefully when the committee sends it to us, and we’ll be able to negotiate with the Senate."

The select committee is the only committee created so far by House Republicans. Committee assignments for the term are still being determined.


Nesbitt Outlines Session Priorities, Says Corporate Incentives Should Be Used to Build Infrastructure
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt said Wednesday his top priority as the new session gets underway is amending the minimum wage and paid sick time laws set to take effect next month.

"My number one priority is how do you save the 50,000 restaurant jobs in the state of Michigan, and so I’m willing to work with anybody, anyhow, to find that solution," Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) told reporters following session Wednesday.

Both laws are set to take effect February 21, with Republicans, business owners and some restaurant workers saying they do not support the minimum wage law. Opponents including Nesbitt have said the changes would put many restaurants out of business and result in massive job losses.

Nesbitt pointed to a measure similar to the Michigan minimum wage law set was rejected by more than 64 percent of voters in Massachusetts last November.

"I have to say that if this goes into effect the way it is, prices are going to go up, people are going to be laid off and at the end of the day we’re going to have less employment, higher prices in the state of Michigan," Nesbitt said.

Other top priorities for Nesbitt were cutting taxes, paying down long-term state debt and fixing the state’s roads and infrastructure.

Nesbitt was also asked about the end to automatic monies being placed into the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund, which he pointed out he voted against the creation of in 2021.

"I’m always open to looking at ways of improving our infrastructure, allowing citizens to keep more of what they earn, and making sure that students have a choice in what schools they go to, and so I think this is an opportunity right now to cut taxes, to invest in our infrastructure," Nesbitt said. "And you saw Senate Republicans during both the budgets saying: ‘instead of spending $600 million a year on corporate welfare, why don’t we spend it on infrastructure, why not spend it on fixing our bridges?’"

He was also asked about the recent move by the Pentagon to blacklist the Chinese company that Ford Motor Company was working with on its Ford Blue Oval electric vehicle battery development in Marshall, which has received SOAR fund monies. Nesbitt was asked if he would want to see incentives clawed back from companies in situations such as the blacklisting that occurred.

"They’ve already clawed back some because it’s been downsized," Nesbitt said, referring to Ford’s previous move to reduce the scope of the project. "I continue to oppose this kind of Whitmer giveaway corporate welfare."

Nesbitt said Democrats have been trying to force electric vehicles on a public that does not want them. He said the state should be targeting revenues to other priorities.

"I’m somebody that continues to oppose writing checks to some of the most profitable corporations in the world," Nesbitt said. "We should be competing on education, on infrastructure, on making sure we have the best, most talented workforce in the nation. … If you’re having to bribe the companies to come here, then that means you’re not competitive in the other areas."

The minority leader was also asked about whether the House should have subpoena power on its own for the planned set of oversight subcommittees it plans to launch.

House Republicans are setting up six Oversight subcommittees to review various elements of state government under the current Democratic governor.

Nesbitt said Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration during the coronavirus pandemic "stonewalled" in providing information on how it was making decisions in its statewide response.

"It’s something where you want people to comply," Nesbitt said. "You see it at the federal level. You don’t want to have to go there, but sometimes you got to have that hammer to be able to get responses."


Hall:  No Committee on Committees
Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland) does not intend to use a traditional Committee on Committees process to assign members to the planned 18 House standing committees.

Hall spoke with reporters about his plans for the new term, including his committee process, during a wide-ranging roundtable discussion last Thursday.

"I have a big organization. I have a lot of staff that work for me, so we can handle that," Hall said. "I can handle that in my organization, to do the committee placements, and that’s what we’re going to do."

It’s highly unusual for a speaker not to name a Committee on Committees.

For many years, the speaker or speaker-elect has named a Committee on Committees to help manage the requests and challenges of determining what can be hundreds of committee assignments. There’s nothing requiring a speaker or speaker-elect to use this mechanism, however, and even when one is used, the speaker still has the final say on all assignments.

Hall said that he sent out a survey to all 110 members asking what committee assignments they’re interested in.

"We need collaborative committees. You need committees with … members that want to work to get things done," he said. "We’re going to place them based on their life experience, their passion, and what they told their district they were going to do. I want everybody – Democrat or Republican – to be able to go back to their district and say, ‘I did what I said I was going to do.’ We want to put them in positions to succeed."

He also said that he’s taking on the responsibility of assignments for House Democrats, saying that he took issue with the recommendations of Minority Leader Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton).

"No leadership should punish you with your committee assignments to instill caucus discipline," he said. "We need to do what’s right for the institution."

Hall also has not announced who will chair the House Appropriations Committee. Historically, the speaker-elect has named the person who will chair the House Appropriations Committee prior to January 1. The last time the speaker announced his appropriations pick after January 1 was the 1997-98 term, according to a Gongwer analysis. During the 1995-96 term, then-House Speaker Paul Hillegonds made his announcement on January 5, 1995.

Hall said he is still looking at the candidates.

"We have a lot of really talented people," he said.

No timeline was provided for when committee assignments are expected, though it will likely take several weeks.

The only committee to be announced is a select committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland), that will take on the issues of tipped wage and paid sick leave.


DCD OUT AND ABOUT:

Senator Mat was happy to host new Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett at Common Ground’s Lansing Resiliency Center prior to the Christmas holidays.
Jake was happy to make the rounds at various client holiday parties this season.  Including with Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley.

Come out this weekend and join DCD staff as they party with the stars at the TWEED MOVIE PREMIERE GALA!! Use QR Code for more information!


***BOI REPORTING REMINDER FOR LLC’s***

Latest Update to BOI:  As of Jan. 2, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has allowed the Dec. 2, 2024 injunction to go into effect, causing the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting to once again be unenforceable.

Timeline of Beneficial Ownership Reporting

  • Jan. 1, 2021 – Corporate Transparency Act enacted
  • Jan. 1, 2024 – Beneficial Ownership Reporting requirement of CTA goes into effect for all newly formed entities with previously formed entities to have delayed reporting until Jan. 1, 2025
  • Dec. 2, 2024 – Nationwide Injunction by Texas Federal Judge to prevent BOI to be enacted
  • Dec. 18, 2024 – Extension for BOI reporting deadline removed from Congress’ Budget Reconciliation Bill
  • Dec. 23, 2024 – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issues stay of injunction, once again allowing BOI to be enforced. FinCEN delays due date for most filers to Jan. 13, 2025
  • Dec. 26, 2024 – Merits Panel of the Fifth Circuit vacated the previous stay, allowing the original nationwide injunction to move forward
  • Dec. 31, 2024 – Government requests U.S. Supreme Court to unblock enforcement of the Beneficial Ownership Reporting
  • March 25, 2025 – Scheduled arguments with the Fifth Circuit to discuss merits of government’s appeal

As multiple other Courts of Appeals have ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act is constitutional, it remains to be seen whether the reporting may still go into effect prior to the next scheduled hearing in March of 2025. It may also be possible the Supreme Court steps in to unblock the enforcement of CTA before that time.

Next Steps

Due to the uncertainty involved of if and when the Beneficial Ownership Reporting will go into effect, small businesses are faced with determining how best to proceed.

  1. File BOI Reporting Voluntarily – Entities with simple reporting structures and no expectation of significant changes may be best suited to file the Beneficial Ownership Information voluntarily. This may be ideal to allow these entities to avoid on-going surveillance of the status of the BOI enactment.
  2. Collect BOI Information – Entities with more significant reporting structures may want to continue to collect the necessary information and be prepared to file in the case that enforcement of the new reporting goes into effect in the near future.
  3. Wait and See – Some companies may choose to monitor the status of the BOI Reporting through the courts before moving forward with collecting or filing their Beneficial Ownership Information. Dunaskiss Consulting & Development urges these companies to have a plan that allows for a quick response to this reporting requirement, including any necessary outsourced providers.

Ready to File Your BOI?
For more information and to file your BOI report using the BOI e-filing system, visit https://www.fincen.gov/boi 


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ARTICLES OF POLITICAL INTEREST:

Michigan's Tax Revenue Is Up, But Economic Uncertainty Looms

Michigan Democrats Pension, Retirment Bills in Limbo Amid GOP 'Legal Review'

Speaker Hall on FOIA Reform:  'Don't Get Your Hopes Up"

Is Michigan Ready for an Independent Run for Governor?  Experts Think So.

Here's Who's New in the Capitol in 2025


Marijuana News, Updates, & Articles of Interest

THE DCD MARIJUANA TEAM:  YOUR COMPETITIVE EDGE!

DCD continues to exist as the premier resource helping municipalities navigate the waters of cannabis policy. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding medical or recreational cannabis policy, procedure, and more. DCD is available for presentations to municipal boards, for one-on-one meetings, and for consultations.

We are here to help you with: municipal lobbying, license application writing and assistance, business plans, state required operations manuals and compliance, facility design, corporate structure, and design and branding. 

We are experts in both medical and recreational cannabis policy and have been in the space for over ten years.  We welcome any opportunity to work with you in the future!


ARTICLES OF CANNABIS INTEREST:

Michigan Marijuana Sales Outpace California's, But Ohio is Sparking Up
Michigan marijuana sales outpace California's but Ohio is sparking up

NO STATE LAB: State legislation that had sought to create a new, statewide marijuana reference testing laboratory was also shelved at the end of last month’s legislative session.

POT FOR PTSD: The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial to study the potential benefits that smoking marijuana may have for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. The study will reportedly involve 320 veterans, including Michiganders. 

MERGED MARKET: With medical marijuana sales declining, legislators and cannabis leaders are reportedly eying plans to combine the medical and adult-use markets—even though legislation that sought to do so failed to advance to a vote in last year’s legislative session.


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DCD is rebranding, and our bottom line is your bottom line. We are striving to create and foster strong relationships with clients and lawmakers, deliver results with strong ethics and class, but above all else, out-hustle and out-smart our competition every day to be the very best. We’re making chess moves while others are playing checkers. Everything we do is with you in mind, we’re doing things we’ve never done before and aggressively pursuing opportunities. The time is now. DCD has taken our firm to the next level and your involvement and investment paired with our knowledge and expertise is going to launch the great state of Michigan forward.

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