Nine approved bills that didn't reach Michigan Gov. Whitmer's desk remain in limbo
Bills that were passed by both the Michigan House and Senate over a year ago are waiting for the Michigan Supreme Court to weigh in after spending months in legal limbo.
"It should have citizens in this state irate, I mean, what's to stop this from happening again? If they figure out that, hey, all we have to do is just conveniently forget to send them to the governor," said Byron Osborn, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization.
Osborn, who has been a correctional officer in Michigan for more than 30 years, said one of those nine bills would have allowed Department of Corrections officers to enroll in a hybrid pension program.
"They've not been able to keep up with hiring because they've diminished the benefit package to get people to come do this dangerous work. I don't want to downplay how dangerous these prisons are," he said.
Osborn said private sector jobs and even the federal corrections system both have better benefits that can be better gigs for officers. He said the officer shortage means more dangerous conditions for officers who stay, the civilian workers inside the prisons, and the prisoners themselves.
"What we're facing right now is our inability to retain staff," he said. "Being in a prison setting is the last place you want to have physically and mentally exhausted staff."
The issue with these bills began at the end of 2024 when Michigan House Republicans and one Democrat walked out during the session and prevented the group of bills from moving forward. The Senate passed the House bills and sent them back to the House to be sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, but then-House Speaker Joe Tate didn't get them enrolled before the clock ran out at the end of the term.
"I don't know what happened behind the scenes in the House, what I do know is there is one person with the power to release those bills right now, and he needs to do that," said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks.
In February 2025, the Senate sued the House over the stalled bills. The lawsuit accused current House Speaker Matt Hall of blocking the bills from being sent to Whitmer when he took office. However, the House claimed that the decision should have fallen on Tate. A Court of Claims judge ruled that the bills should have been sent to Whitmer's desk, but stopped short of forcing the House to present them.
Hall has maintained in the months since that those bills are not his responsibility. But Osborn said there's plenty of blame to go around.
"We believe there are three people involved here. It's the former speaker when the Dems controlled the House, Joe Tate. Matt Hall is obviously withholding the bills now, and the governor is just standing by and watching it all," said Osborn.
CBS News Detroit reached out to Speaker Matt Hall and the Governor's office for comment, but did not hear back on Thursday.
Which bills did not reach Whitmer's desk?
The bills in question were House Bills 4177 and 4665-4667 of 2023 and House Bills 4900, 4901, 5817, 5818 and 6058 of 2024.
HB 4177, 5817, and 5818 are the History Museum Authorities Act. The bills would allow county commissioners to establish a history museum authority. Under the bills, the authority could levy a certain amount on the county's taxable property to support its operation in cities with a population over 500,000 if the authority entered a contract with a museum and it was approved by votes. The authority would also be able to provide grants to local historical museums.
HB 4665-4667 would amend the State Police Retirement Act and the State Employees' Retirement Act. The bills would allow certain employees to drop their membership in a 401K or 401K-type plan and join the State Police Retirement System hybrid pension plan. The bills would also directly enroll employees who were hired after June 7, 2025, in the hybrid plan.
HB 4900 would modify the type and value of wages, money and property exempt from garnishment and execution.
HB 4901 would amend the Revised Judicature Act and modify the value of property and expand the types of property exempt from inclusion in a debtor's estate.
HB 6058 amends the Publicity Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act and would require employers to contribute to certain medical plans and pay no more than the specific amount fo annual costs, rates and reimbursement of copays, deductibles or payments into health savings accounts.