Lame duck scheming leaves Michiganders behind

A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance.

I’ve worked in and around Lansing politics long enough to know how hard our policymakers work on behalf of their constituents. I’ve watched as bills got introduced, amendments offered, speeches made and coffee hours held. We know lawmakers in Lansing care about the people they represent, and many worked furiously up until the last minute of the lame duck session to get important legislation passed.

Unfortunately, as this legislative cycle drew to a close, millions of Michiganders were left out of the story we are telling about lame duck, and ultimately our most vulnerable residents will feel the harshest impact. While the Michigan Senate did what they could–including a marathon session–to get bills to the governor’s desk, the House failed to show up at all, leaving critical work unfinished. To say we at the League are disappointed is an understatement.  While there were some glimmers of hope, such as the expansion of unemployment benefits and the removal of Medicaid work requirements, a lot of legislation that would benefit Michiganders didn’t make it across the finish line.  

A bill that would have expanded competent defense to justice-involved youth was one roll call vote away from making it to the Governor’s desk. Currently, youth who are mired in the legal system are not afforded the same constitutional protections for quality defense as justice-involved adults. This often results in children of color and children who come from low-income families lacking competent defense, resulting in harsher repercussions. Legislation that would have expanded the authority of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission to allow them to set and implement minimum standards for legal defense of youths was a key recommendation of the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform. Our children deserve to have these constitutional rights protected.

Policymakers play a big role in removing the barriers to access that continue to plague our state’s maternal and perinatal health systems. However, the data we see every day continues to show us that pregnant people do not have equal or equitable access to maternal healthcare. This results in deep racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes. The Momnibus–a package of bills that aimed to address systemic racism and other social determinants of health within Michigan’s maternal and perinatal health systems–could have gone a long way to help reduce these disparities. They were common-sense, long-overdue solutions to some of the most critical issues within Michigan’s maternal and perinatal health systems, and we knew it would drastically improve health outcomes for our moms and babies.

Access to safe drinking water should be a basic human right, but for too many families, water bills have become far too expensive. The resulting water shutoffs mean that these families cannot wash their laundry or dishes, bathe or even get a glass of water from the tap. A water affordability package would have placed an affordable monthly surcharge on water and sewer bills to help lower the water bills for Michigan families falling below 200% of the federal poverty level (or about $62,400 for a family of four). Had this bill passed, families would not have to make the tough decision to keep their water on or pay for other vital necessities like food, healthcare. Not passing this legislation was a lost opportunity to ensure Michigan families had continued access to a vital resource.

Paid leave for all, a plan that is supported by over 80% of Michigan voters, was left out. Bills to support tenants’ rights, bills to permit undocumented Michiganders to become licensed drivers and bills to protect youth from accessing tobacco were also abandoned by lawmakers. 

These common-sense bills–as well as a host of others that would create more economic justice and protect access to basic needs like housing and healthcare–would have had significant, long-lasting impacts on the lives of Michigan residents in all counties of our state and in each and every legislative district. It’s a shame that we let the opportunity pass and allowed time to run out. Michiganders deserve better, and we at the League will continue to work to further these policies in the future.