Lansing Update: Lame Duck Legislating Marathon Up and Running This Week
Posted December 13, 2024
Legislature Leaps Into Lame Duck Action With Around-the-Clock Lawmaking
The end-of-the-year legislative push intensified this week, as the state House and Senate took up hundreds of bills through multiple marathon sessions held around the clock.
The House today is conducting a rare Friday session and was still voting at the time of the publication of this newsletter. Ahead of the end-of-session deadline when bills die and a new legislative session begins is the constitutional requirement that any bill that clears one chamber must reside in the other chamber for at least five calendar days before moving forward.
Therefore, both the House and Senate are working to pass all the “first-house bills” they want to see move forward so that the other chamber can take them up next week, when many believe session will end. The House’s last scheduled day is next Thursday, as was the Senate—until it scheduled tentative days on Friday the 20th and Monday the 23rd.
The Senate completed its work this week to advance many first-house bills in a session that began Thursday morning and stretched until early Friday morning around sunrise. The House began session today at 9 a.m. and it’s unclear when it will conclude its business.
The following stories include continued coverage of a significant MCC priority (driver’s licenses for immigrants) as well as a new issue that has drawn MCC opposition (shield laws for abortion providers), followed by a round-up of legislation MCC is involved in that saw movement this week.
Dignity, Driver’s Licenses for Immigrants Continued Focus as Church Reflects on Guadalupe
MCC continued efforts to keep the dignity of immigrants in Michigan in the conversation for legislative action this week by speaking at a press event on the Capitol steps in favor of the Drive SAFE bill package.
Tom Hickson, vice president for public policy and advocacy, was invited to speak alongside key lawmakers and other advocates who are encouraging passage of legislation to allow undocumented Michiganders the opportunity to apply for and receive driver’s licenses so they can more easily conduct their daily lives.
The ongoing efforts to help the 100,000 undocumented Michiganders who cannot legally access the roads comes this week as the Church celebrated two feast days of great importance to the Hispanic Catholic community: The feasts of St. Juan Diego (Dec. 9) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12).
The Blessed Mother’s appearance to St. Juan Diego in the 1500s, and the miraculous image of Our Lady that appeared on his tilma afterward, helped spur the conversion of millions of indigenous people during the early years of missionary activity in Central America, and why Mexico remains such a Catholic-dominated country today.
In the United States, trends have consistently shown that Hispanic Catholics make up at least 40% or more of the total Catholic population in the country, in addition to their growing presence in the country’s overall demographics.
This week, the U.S. bishops, following a previous statement expressing the Church’s solidarity with immigrants, issued a reflection on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe that noted her patronage of the Americas and the unborn, and focused on the dignity of all people, from children in the womb to immigrants.
“Throughout the life of our nation, we have seen at times unacceptable demonstrations of prejudice and hatred, including in recent days mass communications targeting people of color and disparaging comments about immigrant communities,” the bishops said in the statement. “With one clear voice, we reaffirm our unwavering and unqualified recognition of the fact that each and every human life is sacred, that all persons are imbued by God with an inviolable dignity, which no earthly power can deny.
“The sinful ideologies of racism and xenophobia are antithetical to these core teachings of our Christian faith. No person formed by and committed to the Gospel of Life can harbor such views in good conscience.”
Meanwhile, there unfortunately has been no action on the driver’s license bills as session nears its expected conclusion next week or the week afterward, but the possibility for passage remains open as of today.
MCC Opposes Bills That Could Shield Abortion Providers From Consequences
MCC urged lawmakers to oppose legislation that moved quickly this week that seeks to protect abortion providers and could make Michigan a safe haven for bad actor abortionists from other states.
The so-called “shield laws” proposed in Senate Bills 1151, 1152, 1163, 1164, and 1175 were introduced in late November, approved by both a Senate committee and the full chamber this week, and then sent over to the House.
In an email to Michigan senators, MCC noted the legislation would block professional discipline or sanctions for abortion providers who were disciplined in another state—for anything allowed under Michigan’s Constitution and its “right” to reproductive freedom implemented as part of Proposal 3.
MCC drew lawmakers’ attention to a new cause of legal action in the legislation that would subject a person who “interferes” with anything related to “reproductive health” to potential liability in Michigan for punitive damages, costs, and attorney’s fees, even if they are engaged in lawful court action in another state.
The legislation also would prevent an individual’s extradition to another state for legally protected reproductive health activity committed in Michigan, allow abortion providers and their employees to qualify for the state’s address confidentiality program, and other questionable legal protections related to reproductive health.
A Quick Glance at Other Legislation of Interest That Moved This Week
MCC staff are monitoring dozens of bills covering numerous issues and providing advocacy for or against many of them that are of interest to the Church.
Here’s a quick round-up of legislation MCC is involved in that moved in some fashion this week:
Providing for Safer Schools
School safety policy bills that MCC supports cleared the full House this week. The legislation would promote proactive efforts to address mental health and address concerning behaviors among students.
MCC is still seeking more funding for nonpublic schools to pay for school security upgrades and mental health services, however. Catholics are invited to message their lawmaker to make this a funding priority in a potential supplemental spending bill that could appear next week by sending a message here.
Combating Human Trafficking
An extensive package of bills intended to better protect victims of human trafficking from unjust prosecution passed the full House with MCC support. The package allows Michigan courts to recognize that individuals who commit crimes as a result of being trafficked are victims of crime.
Mandated Contraception Coverage
MCC-opposed bills that would force taxpayers and employers with religious objections to contraception to pay for it passed the full Senate and head next to the House. MCC reported on these bills for the first time last week when they were approved in committee.
Help for Impoverished Juvenile Defendants
The Senate this week put the finishing touches on a comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system by passing a bill to set statewide standards for providing public defense for juvenile offenders.
House Bill 4630 had stalled after the rest of the package passed last year, but MCC joined with other organizations that encouraged the Legislature to take up this critical piece of the reform effort. The bill is likely headed to the Governor’s office next for her consideration.
Improving Police-Community Relations
Both the House and Senate this week advanced legislation that MCC supports to improve policing practices.
The reforms include training for police regarding de-escalation tactics and implementation of policies requiring officers to intervene if they see a colleague using excessive force on a subject. The legislation also curbs the use of “no-knock warrants” by requiring officers to announce their presence before executing a search warrant.
A House committee advanced its version of the legislation to the House floor this week, while the full Senate passed three bills and sent them across the Capitol to the House.
Helping Prisoners Re-enter Society
The full Senate signed off on a three-bill package that received MCC support for incentivizing prisoners to participate in rehabilitation by offering productivity credits toward deducting time off their sentences.
Protecting Vulnerable Adults
Legislation creating a new type of personal protective order (PPO) to guard vulnerable older adults from abuse or exploitation received approval from a House committee this week. Senate Bills 922-925 are supported by MCC and await consideration by the full House.
Promoting Safe Storage of Guns
Bills supported by MCC to promote awareness of the state law requiring gun owners to safely secure their guns away from children were reported by a Senate committee to the full chamber. House Bills 5450–5451 require all schools to provide parents notice of Michigan’s safe storage law.