The WØRD – “Results”

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The do-nothing U.S. House GOP

Video: “One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing – one – that I can go campaign on and say we did. One.”

From the chair –

Michigan Democratic Party chair Lavora Barnes

Results.

There’s no other word to describe the work of our Democratic state legislature and Governor Whitmer in 2023. With the end of the 2023 session, Democrats can take pride in the most productive legislative session in memory. It’s a stunning contrast with the U.S. House of Representatives, where Texas Congressman Chip Roy went to the House floor to angrily concede that they have accomplished just about nothing in 2023.

In Michigan, it’s a different story. The list of highlights is a long one:

  • Reproductive rights with repeal of the law making abortion a crime, and eliminating bureaucratic red-tape enacted to make legal abortions difficult
  • Protecting your rights under the Affordable Care Act in case Republicans in Congress succeed in gutting the law
  • Expanding Michigan’s pioneering Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act to recognize the rights of LGBTQ+ people
  • Outlawing conversion therapy
  • Repealing anti-worker laws including the deceptively named Right to Work law
  • Repealing the Snyder-initiated retirement tax
  • Expanding the Earned Income tax credit for lower income working families
  • Voter rights legislation that runs counter to nationwide Republican efforts to suppress voting
  • Record investments in education from pre-K right through higher education
  • Record investments in repairing our long-neglected state highways and water systems
  • Enactment of common-sense gun safety laws including a red flag law and requiring safe gun storage in homes
  • A package of laws promoting clean energy, bills which help protect the planet from climate change and (at the same time) will create thousands of new jobs for Michigan.
  • Enactment of financial disclosure requirements for elected state officials and candidates for those offices

There’s still work to be done. Legislative Democrats and the Governor will continue their efforts in 2024 working on issues ranging from Artificial Intelligence to further improving public education and taking steps to expand Michigan’s economy. 

Thanks to some local electoral successes – and a do-nothing mentality amongst legislative Republicans – we may be delayed a little. Democrats have temporarily fallen into a 54-54 tie with Republicans in the state House due to the election of Representatives Kevin Stone and Lori Stone as mayors of Westland and Warren. Without Republican support, no bill can pass until those two vacancies are filled. Sadly, Republicans have shown little interest in serious bipartisan discussions on major legislation.

While we await the restoration of our majority, our members will be working individually and in committees on multiple issues. It is their goal to make 2024 as productive as 2023 in moving Michigan forward.

Some of the issues that are part of next year’s agenda:

  • Making prescription drugs more affordable
  • Paid family and medical leave
  • Police accountability
  • Rights for victims of sexual abuse
  • Regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence to deceive voters 
  • Expanding open meetings and open records laws to the Legislature and Governor’s office
  • Improving Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance laws

Democrats in Lansing are laser-focused on making 2024 as productive as 2023 in moving Michigan forward.

To update us on the prospects for 2024 we’re joined by East Lansing Senator Sam Singh.

Senator Singh is the first Indian American elected to the Michigan Senate, where he serves as Majority Floor Leader in his first term in office.

No stranger to Lansing, Singh served three terms as State Representative, from 2013-2018, where he was a passionate champion for K-12 education, environmental protection, and economic development. In his last term, his colleagues selected him to serve as the Democratic Leader.

Over the past 25 years, Singh has made a career of supporting the mid-Michigan area through his work with philanthropy, public service and nonprofit board service. In 1995, at the age of 24, he was elected to the East Lansing City Council where he served three terms, one as Mayor. He has also served as president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, senior consultant for the New Economy Initiative, and CEO of Public Policy Associates.

Singh is a graduate of Michigan State University and lives in East Lansing with his wife, Kerry, and their son, Remy.



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