Michigan House reports several committee actions, introduces a slate of bills; lack of quorum prompts adjournment

The Michigan House met for a brief floor session in which committee chairs reported recommendations on existing measures and members introduced a series of new bills; a quorum was not present and the House adjourned until Wednesday, March 26 at 1:30 p.m., the clerk announced.

Committee reports from the House Committee on Energy led the floor’s substantive business. Rep. Wenzel, chair of the committee, reported on House Bills 4124–4129. The committee recommended that Substitute H-1 for House Bill 4124 be adopted and that the bill be reported as passed by the committee and placed on the order of second reading. House Bill 4125 was reported with a recommendation that it be referred to the Committee on Rules. House Bills 4126 and 4127 were reported without amendment with a recommendation that each be treated as passed by the committee and placed on the order of second reading. House Bill 4128 was reported with a recommendation that Substitute H-2 be adopted and the bill then passed; it was referred to the order of second reading. House Bill 4129 was reported with a recommendation that it be referred to the Committee on Rules.

Following committee reports, members offered a set of newly introduced bills. Sponsors read the titles on the floor and each measure was referred to the committee named by the presiding officer. Among the introduced measures were: House Bill 4285, offered by Representative Vanderwall, to amend the Revised School Code (referred to Natural Resources and Tourism); House Bill 4286, offered by Representative Johnson, to amend the Revised School Code (referred to Education and Workforce); House Bill 4287 (sponsor listed in transcript as "Russette Bone Act") to amend the Income Tax Act of 1967 (referred to Finance); House Bill 4288, offered by Representative Burns, to restrict certain hiring practices by state agencies (referred to Government Operations); House Bill 4289 (transcript: "Officer Kofia") to amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bills 4290–4291, offered by Representatives Price and Conlin respectively, to amend statutes regulating time and manner of payment of wages and fringe benefits to employees (both referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4292 (Wilson Grant) and House Bill 4293 (Myers Phillips) to amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and wage-payment statutes, respectively (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4294 (Pies) to amend the Management and Budget Act (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4295 (Scott) to allow certain employers to obtain a fair-paycheck workplace certificate (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4296 (Young) to amend the Michigan Penal Code (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4297 (Miller) also concerning wage-payment statutes (referred to Economic Competitiveness); House Bill 4298 (Veil) to amend the Public Health Code (referred to Health Policy); House Bill 4299 (Foreman) to repeal or preempt certain local ordinances on single-use containers (referred to Regulatory Reform); House Bill 4300 (Young) to amend the Michigan Penal Code (referred to Judiciary); House Bill 4301 (transcript: "Sev. Magoul") to amend the Michigan Vehicle Code (referred to Transportation and Infrastructure); House Bill 4302 (McFall) to amend the Michigan Vehicle Code (referred to Transportation and Infrastructure); and House Bill 4303 (sponsor not clearly transcribed) to designate May as Caldian American Month (referred to Government Operations). The clerk read bill titles and the presiding officer announced committee referrals as recorded on the floor.

The clerk also read notices of upcoming committee meetings: the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity and the House Committee on Education and Workforce were scheduled to meet Wednesday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m.; the House Committee on Insurance and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism were scheduled to meet Wednesday, March 26 at noon; and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections and Judiciary was scheduled for Thursday, March 27 at 10:30 a.m., all in rooms of the House Office Building as announced on the floor.

The clerk reported receipt of notices from the Michigan Strategic Fund about amendments to awards and programs, including an amendment to a Critical Industry Program grant for General Motors, an amendment for a Critical Industry Program grant for lithium cell manufacturing, and an amendment to the Strategic Site Readiness Program grant for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership.

Because a quorum was not present, the speaker declared the House adjourned until Wednesday, March 26 at 1:30 p.m. No floor votes on the introduced bills or committee-reported measures were recorded during this session; the measures were referred as noted for committee consideration or placed on the order of second reading.

What happens next: referred bills will go to the committees announced by the presiding officer for hearings or further action; committee-reported bills placed on second reading may return to the floor for debate and votes at a later date.