When lawmakers show up for this year’s lame-duck session, it will be the last chance for the Michigan Democratic trifecta to enact policy before the new Legislature takes power in January.

​​November 12-14 and the eight session days in December are called a lame-duck session because many lawmakers have voluntarily chosen not to serve again, were termed out of office or were defeated at the polls and will be leaving office next month. This can be a frantic period of legislative activity as lawmakers and special interest groups make a last-ditch effort to enact priorities before the newly elected Legislature comes into office. 

Lawmakers will take a break after this week for deer hunting season and Thanksgiving before resuming business in December. The House and the Senate have set eight session days between the December 3 and the December 19 to finish business for the term. The outgoing Democratic House majority is expected to take rapid action on a variety of bills before party control of the chamber switches in January.

Several high-profile bills — including a bid to join the so-called National Popular Vote interstate compact that the House will vote on this week — are expected to come up during the lame-duck session. Senate Bills 170 and 171 would repeal the Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act and the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act, replacing the state’s uniform standard on wage and benefit regulations with a patchwork of rules. House Bills 4907 and 4908 would authorize more than $2 billion in tax credits over the next decade for film production in Michigan. House Bills 5104 through 5107, along with Senate Bills 559, 560, 562 and 569, would rename the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund to the Make it in Michigan Fund. The renamed program would continue to give out subsidies to favored businesses.

Other pending legislation would deal with regulation of mandated employee benefits, re-litigation of settled pollution cases, and “price gouging.”

There are also bills in the Senate that would increase transparency in the state. Senate Bills 669 and 670 would expand the Freedom of Information Act to include the legislative and executive branches of government.

Lawmakers often jam through controversial policy items while Michiganders are celebrating holidays — frequently with no notice or in the middle of the night.

The legislative session is finished only after lawmakers vote to adjourn sine die, which is Latin for “without day.” When the Legislature adjourns sine die in even-numbered years, any bill that has not been sent to the governor’s desk dies. Legislators must restart the process next year.

The lame-duck session allows lawmakers to complete final business and departing legislators to give farewell speeches thanking staffers, colleagues, and constituents.

Any bill that has been introduced and been active for five days is eligible for a floor vote in either chamber.

Bills that have laid dormant in committees for more than a year can suddenly be set for a last-minute committee hearing and vote, or even discharged from committee straight to the floor with an instant procedural motion. Legislators may not know what bills will move until it’s on the floor, meaning bills can pass without meaningful debate.

CapCon will watch bills passed during the lame-duck session.

If Michigan pursues a proposed clean fuel standard, gasoline costs for the typical Michigan household will increase by $350 per year, according to a new study.

Researchers Isaac Orr, Ewan Hayes and Mitch Rolling wrote the Mackinac Center for Public Policy report Low Carbon, High Costs.

In 2023, Sen. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, introduced Senate Bill 275 to create a statewide standard for fuels. If passed and enacted into law, this would require the carbon intensity of fuel to be reduced by at least 25% by 2035.

“It is past due that we take action to address climate change and invest in the resources needed to make Michigan a leader in environmental resiliency and sustainability,” Singh said in a 2023 news release. “Creating energy efficiency standards and working to reduce carbon emissions and utility costs for residents will make a significant economic impact.”

The group Always On Energy Research calculated that the clean fuel proposal would increase gasoline and diesel prices by about 10%. The proposed standard would increase gasoline prices by $0.34 per gallon and diesel prices by $0.39 per gallon by 2035, according to the model.

U.S. Energy Information Administration data show Michiganders consumed nearly 4.3 billion gallons of gasoline in 2022, or about 1,048 gallons per household. Increasing the cost of gasoline by $0.34 per gallon would cost the typical household an additional $356 per year.

The extra costs Michigan drivers would pay at the pump would not help fix the state's roads and bridges. The proposal would reduce revenue for road maintenance because drivers would purchase less fuel at higher prices. The biggest winners from this proposal would be the companies that produce and sell so-called clean fuels.

The clean fuel proposal would also increase the state budget to fund government fuel costs and administrative costs associated with creating the fuel mandate. Lawmakers would need either to raise taxes or to redirect current spending priorities toward the program.

The legislation requires the standard to become increasingly more stringent. The most common ethanol fuels like E-10 and E-15 would quickly be considered no longer “clean.”

Environmental benefits would be negligible. If the standard works to reduce carbon emissions, it might reduce future global temperatures by an estimated 0.0003° C in 2100, the study said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate plan calls for enacting a clean fuel standard to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.