Conservative groups encourage action on tipping in lame-duck session – 9&10 News

Conservative and right-wing groups are hoping for an uneventful lame-duck session in the state legislature, with a focus on responding to upcoming changes to Michigan’s pay and sick leave policies.

“We are confident that this will be a quick fix and that the focus will really be on addressing earned sick time and minimum wage laws,” said Wendy Block, senior vice president of governance at the Michigan Chamber.

“We believe it is the duty of lawmakers to come together on a bipartisan basis before the end of the year to fix this and ensure that there is not a major mess in early 2025 that really impacts Michigan’s economy,” she said.

Block says postponing the issue until January would make it more difficult to implement any policy changes, since the new requirements would take effect on February 21.

“By the time they are fundamentally ready to vote on it, the law will have taken effect,” she said. “We just believe that it would be extremely disruptive if one law were enacted and the legislature then enacted another law. It just doesn’t make sense for companies or their employees.”

John Sellek of Save MI Tips says lawmakers on both sides should prioritize responding to the upcoming changes, as many workers and business owners say they could lead to lower take-home wages and disruptions at restaurants.

“If we learned anything from this last election, it is that the economy is the driver of many decisions right now,” he said. “This is a question of economic viability and the income of these workers.”

Once Republicans take back control of the House in 2025, advocates hope for bipartisan action on issues such as economic support for working families, improving housing accessibility and increasing funding for road construction.

“Forgoing funding for new roads is simply not an option. This has to be done,” Sellek said. “So I suspect we’ll see something there. I think we will talk a lot about education policy. House Republicans are committed to restoring funding for safety programs in our schools that has been eliminated in recent years.”

Republicans would still have to get all legislation approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“When it comes to progress, divided government doesn’t have to mean stagnation — and voters chose divided government,” Sellek said.

For more information on what liberal groups expect in the coming weeks, click here.