(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/21/2022) House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Twp.) said she believes the incoming Democratic majority will take a much more hands-on approach to session than the Republican majority in 2022, though it may take a few months to get their legs underneath them.
Considering that the most recent House Democratic majority was more than a decade ago, Lasinski said onlookers should expect committee chair trainings in January and February while Dems learn the ropes.
“I think once you start heading into March and April, you will see regular important legislation being discussed,” she said.
She said she expects a far different approach to the number of days the House meets after the record low 54 days of attendance in the House in 2022, which was the lowest number since the part-time legislature in 1950.
Lasinski attributed the lack of action to a mindset that started during the pandemic. During that time, everything became an effort to criticize Gov. Gretchen WHITMER, she said, “but if we look at the actual work of the legislature, we went over five, six months at the height of the pandemic and never called a Health Policy committee.”
“There was never a bill brought to her desk that reflected anything different or a new idea,” she said. “We saw that continue in this term at an accelerated rate.”
The mindset of the majority that continued into 2022 helped Dems win majority across the board, Lasinski said.
It was also Proposal 3 and the issue of abortion rights that put Democrats in seats, she added, with Prop 3 receiving more votes than even Whitmer.
“That was not a political strategy,” Lasinski said. “That is a value that we have had as women and as members of the Democratic caucus and as the people in Michigan.”
Upon winning majority, Lasinski said she accomplished her main goal of moving the needle, but as for the Democrats remaining, likely issues to be taken up in 2023 include cleaning up other outdated abortion laws and providing funding to properly implement all components of Proposal 3.
She added that there are a whole list of other outdated laws that should be repealed, including one making it illegal for women to cohabitate after the dissolution of their marriage.
Other priorities include pairing education investment with policy to improve literacy rates, putting gun safety legislation on the books and additional election protections, along with using remaining balance sheet dollars to attract new businesses and develop infrastructure, like statewide broadband.
When talking about large appropriations and investment projects, Lasinski said her caucus often didn’t see the details until right before the public did.
“We've spent, as you know, many long nights with 100 page bills that we quite literally can't get through,” she said. “We'll have the highlights. We'll know the generals, but we won't know exactly what's in there.”
She said more accountability is necessary, and likened Speaker-elect Joe Tate (D-Detroit)’s likely approach to his “open collaborative style” during their shared time as Minority Chair and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
