As It’s Just Politics newsletter readers know, we are well into lame duck. And, over the past 72 hours, things have started cooking at the state Capitol. It appears Dems finally got the memo that they are losing their Democratic trifecta in 2025 and are now sprinting to the finish line of the 102nd Legislative session.
These end-of-year sessions are a slow-rolling tsunami of legislating with flashes of activity between long periods of hanging out, checking social media, gossiping about what may get done and when and, maybe, watching Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Wauceda Twp.) play Christmas carols on a piano in the Capitol rotunda. (It’s now become an annual holiday tradition).
So, people complain that lame duck (the period of time after the November election but before new lawmakers are sworn in in the new year) is a big jam session where a whole lot happens in a short period of time. But it sure doesn’t feel like that when you’re sitting through it.
Lawmakers and top staff spend hours in-closed door party caucus meetings getting filled in on the details of deals and proposals, stacking the order of bills, amendments and talking points with everyone else waiting outside.
During these long breaks, people just mill about wondering what’s going to happen.
Once something is ready to go and legislators step out of closed-door caucuses, word filters out to the assembled activist groups, lobbyists and journalists.
“Things that aren’t on the agenda will show up,” one lobbyist cooling his heels told Rick in the rotunda Thursday afternoon. “Things that are on the agenda will be ignored.”
One of the topics high on the speculation list is road funding.
Rick was at the Capitol for nearly 16 hours straight Thursday into early Friday morning and a fair amount of time was spent with other reporters speculating on the possible contours of an elusive roads deal. The consensus: it remains very unlikely.
But, in lame duck, nothing is entirely off the table.
Incoming House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) was busy pitching his plan to divert $1.2 billion of Michigan Corporate Income Tax revenue to roads, hinting Democrats might want to make a deal before they lose majority next year. There’s murmurs of a “grand bargain” that would wrap together a roads plan with business-sought amendments to an initiative that increases the Michigan minimum wage and includes workers who earn tips with their hourly paychecks and to bank earned sick leave hours.
As we write this, the Senate is holding a rare Friday session to leave a pile of work for the House to tackle before it wraps up next week. And, because this is the It’s Just Politics newsletter, we thought it on brand to spend just a little time on an issue that’s produced some blazing hot scandals before sizzling down to embers awaiting the next election cycle.
In Michigan, professional firms hire out petition circulators who are paid per-signature. The real pros typically work crowded events and popular pedestrian strips and may be simultaneously collecting signatures for half a dozen or more campaigns. There’s an almost jazz dance artistry to a true pro whirling their body to present multiple clipboards slung from their neck to one person, preferably a registered voter, whose signature can be worth as much as $20 on each petition.
So, there’s a big financial incentive to lie and cheat.
In 2022, three professional circulators were charged with crimes over forged signatures that tanked the prospects of five Republicans who had otherwise hoped to run for governor. (The fact that paying big bank to petition circulators is practically a requirement to get a “citizen-initiated” question on the statewide ballot is a worthwhile discussion we’ll save for another time.) And it is not a crime to misrepresent the contents of a petition to get people to sign.
“Every cycle, we hear the same problems over and over again: petitioners lying to people and using deceptive tactics to lure people in and get them to sign their petitions," Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) told Rick. “Over the last several years, it’s been increasing with both frequency and severity. It’s getting worse and worse.” Moss has been working on this issue for years and thinks this year is the best chance yet to get a package of bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.
The legislation would outlaw per-signature compensation for circulators. He says circulators could, instead, be paid an hourly wage and, thus, would not have the financial incentive to pad their petitions with fake names. Circulators would also have to read out loud or direct prospective signers to a summary of what the petition would do.
Moss acknowledges the state cannot police conversations between private citizens, but says it is not a First Amendment violation to direct people to accurate resources. If it does get signed into law, it could be challenged in court, but Moss says this method has been upheld in other states. These bills have been approved by the Senate and their fate is now with the House, which would have to vote on the bills next week – one of literally hundreds of questions to be approved, rejected or ignored before legislators call it a year and head home for the holidays.
Happy lame duck to all who celebrate!
Have questions about lame duck? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
What we’re talking about at the dinner table
Every vote matters: 79 votes. That’s the margin of victory incoming Republican Steve Frisbie won in the race to represent Calhoun County in Michigan’s 44th state House District last month. Democratic incumbent state Representative Jim Haadmsa requested a recount after the November election originally showed a race within just 61 votes. The recount wrapped up this week. Frisbie’s win helped Republicans switch party control of the state House. Just goes to show every single vote matters.
KMR goes national: Incoming Congresswoman-elect Kristen McDonald Rivet’s win in November was a big deal for House Democrats as the only incoming freshman member of her party from Michigan in 2025. McDonald Rivet won the hugely competitive 8th Congressional District seat left open by the retirement of Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee. In a district that went President-elect Donald Trump’s way, the current state Senator was able to outperform Democrats at the top of the ballot. We originally spoke to McDonald Rivet about the win (and just how she did it) last month and, now, she’s getting national attention. The New York Times interviewed the Congresswoman-elect this week and asked her about her campaign, her message, and what she thinks about possible candidates in Michigan’s 2026 gubernatorial race.
Year-in-review: To quote 1A host Jenn White, “It can be a challenge to remember what happened last week - let alone what made headlines months ago.” But, Jenn and Zoe took up the challenge on Thursday during the show’s first ever 1A Quiz of the Year. Going back a full twelve months, it’s an hour for you to test your knowledge of the events that made up 2024. Go ahead and let us know how you do!
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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IJP on the road
We had a blast this week at Founders Brewery for our last It’s Just Politics Issues & Ale of the year. Colin Jackson, Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, and Clara Hendrickson, political reporter at the Detroit Free Press, joined us for a panel discussion on lame duck and what to expect in the coming year in Michigan politics; plus we took your questions! Thanks for having us, Grand Rapids!
