LANSING, Mich. (Feb. 3, 2025) — Today, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) hosted a press conference where she announced that the Michigan Senate has filed a lawsuit against Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall for evading the state constitution and refusing to send nine bills passed by both legislative chambers to the governor.
“The Michigan Constitution makes it abundantly clear: every bill passed by the legislature is required to be presented to the governor — and no one — especially an elected public servant in legislative leadership — is above the law,” said Leader Brinks. “Republican Speaker Matt Hall’s gamesmanship is not just disrespectful to the sanctity of our constitution — it’s an outright disservice to the residents of Michigan, the very people he was elected to represent. We will not let the constitution go ignored, and I want hardworking Michiganders to know that we’re in their corner.”
House Bills 4177 and 4665–4667 of 2023 and House Bills 4900–4901, 5817–5818, and 6058 of 2024 were passed by the Senate and returned to the House for presentation to the governor on Dec. 20, 2024. The Republican House of Representatives has taken illegal action to block these nine bills — which lower health care costs for teachers and first responders and improve retirement benefits for corrections officers — from being presented to the governor.
“From corrections officers to firefighters to bus drivers and teachers, our public workers are the lifeblood of this state. Day in and day out, we count on them. And, as elected officials, they count on us to solve the challenges they face,” said Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint), Chair of the Senate Labor Committee. “For the sake of our workers and their families, Matt Hall and House Republicans need to stop playing political games with peoples’ livelihoods and do what they were elected by the people of Michigan to do — deliver solutions. Let’s get these bills where they should have been in the first place: on the governor’s desk for her signature.”
“The decisions we make as legislators have a real impact on families across our state,” said Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores). “At the end of the day, we were sent to Lansing to represent the interests of the communities we serve — to ensure that folks who work hard have a fair shot and opportunities to thrive. And at a time when too many Michiganders are struggling to make ends meet, legislators should be focused on lowering costs, not scoring political points at their expense. It’s time for Speaker Hall and House Republicans to stop the political games, do their job, and put the needs of Michiganders first.”
“Hardworking Michiganders — like those we heard from last week — are being hurt by Matt Hall’s decision to play political games with their livelihood and safety,” said Sen. Sue Shink (D-Northfield Twp.). “These public servants risk their lives daily to keep our communities safe, and they deserve respect, not to be treated as pawns in the Republicans’ partisan fight. My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to delivering the solutions they need and upholding our constitutional duty to serve the people of Michigan.”
Last week, the Senate Labor Committee heard testimony from Michigan residents impacted by Speaker Hall’s illegal obstruction of this critical legislation. Firefighters, teachers, corrections officers, and other public sector professionals shared personal stories that highlight the urgent need for this legislation to be rightfully sent to the governor.
“Speaker Matt Hall’s inaction to send this, and other bills, to the governor’s desk is inexcusable. Playing party politics with people’s health care and income is deplorable,” Kim Sandefur, a public school teacher and constituent of Speaker Hall’s, wrote in testimony submitted to the Senate committee. “We are struggling to recruit and retain highly-qualified teachers as it is. They should not have to choose between health care and the job that they so love doing.”
The full video of last week’s Senate Labor Committee hearing can be viewed here, and below is a list of the people who testified and corresponding timestamps for the video:
05:20: Katie Kerstetter, widow of fallen Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter (virtual)
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Ray Sholtz, Executive Director of the Michigan Corrections Organization
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Cary Johnson, a corrections officer at the Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson
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Caryn Leonard, ELD Teacher, Troy School District
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Todd Simon, Social Studies Teacher, Waverly School District
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Kim Sandefur, Elementary School Teacher, Comstock School District
1:25:56: Ken Schroeder, Wyandotte Municipal Services