The lame duck legislative session in Lansing is nearing its end, and there’s plenty happening in the Michigan House.
State Representative Brad Paquette of Niles tells us with Democrats holding total control for a few more weeks, they’re talking about all kinds of bills.
How about the minimum wage? Restaurants are pushing for lawmakers to dial back a coming wage hike for tipped workers that they say will drive them out of business and cause their servers to earn less than they do now. Paquette says that issue may not be resolved by the end of lame duck.
“I think they want to kind of shove it in our laps when we’re able to take the gavels back as we take majority back here next term,” Paquette said. “So I think they want to just put the issue on our plate and focus on some of their very, left-leaning, progressive agenda right now.”
Republicans will take control of the House in January, while the Democrats will still hold the Senate. With so many issues being discussed in Lansing now, Paquette’s pushing for a reform that would require a two-thirds majority vote to get anything passed during a lame duck.
“We need to limit what happens during this time because there’s a lower standard of accountability with a lot of legislators who are leaving. So this is something that I’m very much in favor of. a whole bunch of structural ethics changes.”
Paquette also wants stricter rules on gift from lobbyists to lawmakers.
Paquette says other matters under discussion are the national popular vote movement, driver’s licenses for undocumented migrants, gender identities allowed on licenses, a gas tax increase, and the exploration of establishing tolls on roads. One thing he does support is legislation seeking to encourage the development of small modular nuclear reactors.
