Legislative Report October 2024

Lansing has been a virtual ghost town since the August 6 primary as House members have used the summer recess to campaign for reelection.  The House held session on September 25 where they did take action on several bills, but it is likely that this will be the only House session day until after the election.  The Senate could possibly meet for one or more days between now and November, but both chambers seem to be waiting for the Lame Duck session before they act on further legislation.
 
The intensity of a Lame Duck session will depend a great deal on the outcome of the Michigan House races.  Presently, Democrats hold majorities in both the State Senate and the State House, which along with Democratic Governor Whitmer give them the “trifecta” in terms of being able to pass partisan legislation.  The Governor and Senate are not on the ballot this year, but if the House majority changes, Democrats will only have until the end of this year to implement their legislative goals.  If that is the case, we expect Democratic leaders to plan for a frantic session schedule between the election and the close of session in late December. 
 
On the other hand, if Democrats keep the majority in the House after the election results are tallied, we expect a much lighter “Lame Duck” session schedule since there will be a strong sentiment among Democratic lawmakers to push some of the work off until next session.  If Democrats manage to add to their current one-seat majority in the House, the likelihood of waiting until next year to tackle controversial issues goes up even more.
 
 
Rep. Koleszar Preparing Drafts for MSERS Changes
 
Representative Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) has been working on legislation that would allow state employees to have a similar pension system as is currently offered to public school employees.  Public school workers in Michigan currently have the option of a hybrid retirement plan that combines elements of a traditional pension (also known as Defined Benefit or “DB plan”) and a 401(k)-style system (also known as Defined Contribution or “DC plan”).  State employees hired before 1997 were part of a traditional defined benefit pension plan.  However, since 1997, state workers have only been offered a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan which places a substantial amount of risk on individual employees. 
 
Defined benefit plans are typically seen by retirement experts as a safer and more substantial retirement benefit than a defined contribution system.  A traditional DB pension factors in years of service and final average compensation to provide a retiree with a defined percentage of their former income that will be paid out until their death.  A DC plan, however, is based upon a retirement savings account that is filled up over the course of an employee’s working years by a combination of contributions from their own earnings and contributions from their employer.  While a personal investment retirement plan is a good idea for most workers, a traditional pension is far more secure and stable and there is no risk of outliving your retirement savings.
In addition, the ability to obtain a stable defined benefit pension after working a minimum number of years (usually 10) is a draw that attracts potential employees and incentivizes them to continue their employment in the same place.  The State of Michigan is dealing with a severe staffing shortage across most state departments, and it is particularly severe in Michigan’s correctional facilities, state hospitals and regulatory agencies.  Representative Koleszar’s efforts not only seek to provide a more stable retirement benefit for state employees, but to help stop the bleeding in state staffing levels. 
 
The bill would offer a choice for newly hired state workers to either choose the current DC plan, or opt into a newly created Hybrid plan that blends concepts of both defined benefit and defined contribution pensions.  The new Hybrid would be based on the plan currently offered to public school workers.  State workers who are currently in the DC plan would also have a one-time choice to switch to the new Hybrid plan and the opportunity to purchase service credits in the Hybrid plan.  The bills have not yet been introduced but we are hoping that they are something the Michigan Legislature could address in the Lame Duck session after the election.
 
 
Election Update
 
With Labor Day passed, campaign season is heating up, and folks are keeping an even closer eye on critical seats.  Since the news broke that Vice President Harris would replace President Biden at the top of the ticket, there has been a shift in several races across the state that has mostly benefitted Democratic candidates.  However, polls still show over a dozen state House seats as being within the margin of error, and therefore it is hard to make predictions.  Moreover, polling has been less and less reliable over the past few cycles as voters are harder to reach and less likely to answer questions related to their voting preferences.   
 
The five most competitive State House seats are ones that could be one by just a handful of votes.  These seats are currently held by State Rep Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester Hills), State Rep Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights), State Rep Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek), State Rep Donni Steele (R-Orion), and State Rep Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson). If all other battleground races go as expected, Democrats must win two of these five seats to maintain their current majority. If they win one, the House will be split 55-55 for only the second time (the first being the 1993-1994 Session). If Republicans win all five of those seats they will re-gain majority.
 
There are a few updates on the Federal Elections level as well. The Supreme Court ruled that former Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy – who has now endorsed Donald Trump and attempted to remove himself from the Michigan ballot - must be kept on the ballot. He decided to take the ballot removal lawsuit to Federal Court, which recently decided that he must remain on Michigan’s ballot as a candidate for the Natural Law party.  How this will impact the Presidential Race in Michigan is uncertain, but the Trump team must have felt RFK, Jr. could pull more votes from Trump than Harris if he stayed on the ballot.  Only time will tell.