Mid-May 2024 Newsletter

SOME HOUSE DEMS HOPEFUL POLICY BILLS WILL BEGIN TO MOVE
The House will return to policy discussions THIS week after abstaining from committee meetings in favor of moving the budget.

What will move out of committee and be taken up for a vote on the floor remains an open question, with the budget remaining top priority for leadership.

"I’m just not sure what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks," Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Township) said. "That’s anyone’s guess."

House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) has made it clear that his number one priority in the coming weeks is to deliver a balanced budget on time, but House Democrats are hoping there’s more than they can get done before they return to their districts to campaign for the summer. Gongwer News Service spoke to several House Democrats facing potentially competitive reelection campaigns in November against Republican challengers who all said they had significant policy legislation they want to see move.

Paradoxically, Tate has seemed disinclined to move anything that could put vulnerable Democratic incumbents at risk.

Although it’s common for the Legislature to avoid controversial bills in an election year, the House has not moved much since November. The lack of legislative activity for six months is not the norm, but the House was split 54-54 for the first four months of this year’s session, which meant Democrats couldn’t move anything without Republican buy-in.

Still, many Democrats are hopeful there will be time to move policy bills and the budget now that the House is back up to full strength.

Miller said she’d like to see bills on right to repair move and would like to have conversations about landfill tipping fees, but she knows that the House is running out of time before the summer recess.

"We all have our priorities," Miller said. "It’s just – we’re running out the clock here."

Rep. Jenn Hill (D-Marquette) said she’d like to see policy to bring corrections officers back into the pension system move.

"There’s a bill package that Senator Cherry has been leading on (SB 165 , SB 166 , SB 167 ), and I’m going to be the House sponsor on. It is connected to the budget," she said. "You’re going to need a policy change to turn them back into pensions."

Housing is another priority, Hill said.

"Anything to do with housing is going to be my number one concern," she said. "Of great concern in my district is the housing situation. There is literally nowhere to live. There are no apartments. There are no houses. People are accepting jobs, and then having to turn them down."

Other members also mentioned housing as a priority, with one person acknowledging that although there are dollars for housing in the budget, it would be good to move some policy bills to do more to solve the current crisis the state is facing.

Members also thought that legislation on mental health support, polluter pay and short-term rentals could also come into play in the next few weeks. Economic policy legislation would likely be more difficult to move through the House as there are several Democratic caucus members who don’t like the Strategic Outreach Attraction and Reserve (SOAR) fund and would be unlikely to vote on any legislation that didn’t retain the changes made by the Senate. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, however, has signaled she is not supportive of the Senate legislation as it was passed.

Rep. Denise Mentzer (D-Mt. Clemens) said she hoped the Legislature would move some bills focused on environmental issues, including microplastics.

"One of the bills that I just recently got passed from the Senate and I hope the governor is going to sign is a bill on disposable wipes," she said, referring to HB 4596 , which was presented to Whitmer on Thursday.

Mentzer also mentioned HB 4688 , which would allow staffing levels for police and fire to be part of collective bargaining.

"It causes (Mt. Clemens) a lot of difficulty, and I would really like to see some kind of mandatory bargaining on staffing levels," she said.

In the House Education Committee , Chair Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) said he was looking at what could be moved of the school safety package and hoped to advance the Senate’s dyslexia bills, SB 567  and SB 568 .

Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi) said she wanted to prioritize human trafficking legislation in the House Judiciary Committee  before summer recess.

Several members said that there were people within the Democratic caucus who were willing to use their votes on the budget as a bargaining chip to get other priorities across the finish line.

No-fault auto insurance is an issue that several members may be looking to advance, and it might be the stumbling block for House budget proceedings, members speaking on background said.

The Senate passed no-fault auto insurance bills last year prior to sine die, but they have sat inactive in the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee  ever since.

Other House Democrats were confident that even if some members of their caucus weren’t willing to vote on the budget to move their priorities, there was space to work across the aisle on the budget.

Above all, Mentzer said she just wanted to get bills passed.

"I’d like to go out in July with a clean conscience that we’ve done as much work as possible and passed as many good bills for Michiganders as we can," she said. "I’d like to get some stuff done."

SBAM:  90% OF BUSINESS OWNERS EXPERIENCING HIGHER COSTS
Ninety percent of businesses owners are dealing with high costs compared to last year, a recent survey from the Small Business Association of Michigan found.

In its spring member survey, SBAM heard small businesses are concerned about hiring and retaining workers, inflation and potential expansions in unemployment insurance system.

"SBAM’s membership has enjoyed a relatively stable economy in the past several years and been able to staff up and plan ahead for a rainy day," SBAM President Brian Calley said in a statement. "The results of our latest survey show that rainy day could be coming sooner rather than later, as inflationary pressures and a lack of available labor continue to impair small business owners."

The survey showed members opposed three-to-one proposed expansions of unemployment insurance from 20 weeks to 26 weeks and increasing the cash maximum from $362 a week to $602 per week.

Legislation has been introduced to expand unemployment benefits but hasn’t been seriously taken up.

Additionally, 62 percent of respondents said they are having a hard time finding talent and keeping their business fully staffed. Sixty-six percent said they’ve offered increased wages to attract and retain employees.

The survey of small business owners, administered in April of 2024, was completed by over 450 SBAM members.

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REMAIN INCREASINGLY OPEN TO EV POLICY, DESPITE CHALLENGES
A new study from the University of Michigan indicates an increasing willingness among local government leaders to plan for and accommodate electric vehicles in their communities, but persistent challenges keep the number of communities implementing new policies low

Main challenges to expanding electric vehicle infrastructure is cost and lack of interest among residents, a report from the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy released this week found.

A survey of government leaders from fall 2023 within the Michigan Public Policy Survey revealed that while percentages of leaders who’ve considered or adopted EV policies for their communities are still low, around 13 percent, that figure is double the amount who considered EV policies in 2019.

The report also noted that although only around 33,000 EVs were registered in Michigan as of 2022, that is an 89 percent increase year-over-year, and electric and hybrid vehicles are expected to comprise fully 51 percent of all sales by 2030.

"Michigan has been preparing for the increase in future EV use, with millions in state and federal funds being devoted to bolstering the state’s EV infrastructure," the report said. "In addition to government investment, private companies have made significant investments regarding EVs in Michigan, while also acknowledging rising uncertainty around consumer demand, foreign competition, and federal emissions standards."

Statewide, 39 percent of local leaders said planning for electric vehicles is somewhat relevant or very relevant. Twenty-eight percent said it wasn’t at all relevant, which was a nearly 40 percent decrease from surveys conducted in 2019.

The pitfalls of EV accommodation perceived by local leaders are also outlined in their responses: 53 percent cited costs associated with adding new EV charging stations and 51 percent cited a lack of interest among residents as being among the barriers to EV expansion in Michigan communities.

Nearly a third of the leaders said their communities have too few publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations.

The most common type of EV policy being considered by the communities surveyed was adding electric vehicles to a municipal vehicle fleet, followed by adding EV policies to community master plans and disseminating information about EV charging locations in the community to the public.

Overall, communities classified as suburban or urban were more likely to be considering electric vehicle policies, compared to their rural counterparts, only 16 percent of whom said they were actively considering or had previously considered EV policies for their communities.

ARTICLES OF POLITICAL INTEREST:

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A Mileage Tax For Michigan Motorists? Lawmakers Want $5M For Pilot Program

Financial Disclosures Paint A Cloudy Picture of Accountability in Michigan Politics

Young Michigan Voters Reveal Deepening Political Problems For Biden

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.

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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:

Marijuana Edibles, Vape Pens In Michigan Schools Prompt Calls For Reform

Marijuana Reclassification: MSU Experts Anticipate Side Effects

New Documentary "Cannabusiness" Goes Behind The Green Curtain in Michigan

Marijuana Money Funding 50 Acre Park, Swim Area In Jackson County Township

Teamsters Unionize Another Cresco Marijuana Store In Illinois

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