There will be two fewer ballot proposals before voters in November.
The Michigan House and Senate have approved the ballot questions that would raise the minimum wage and require employers to provide paid sick time. However, majority Republicans are planning to gut the two proposals during the lame duck session, with Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof saying government shouldn’t mandate businesses provide paid sick time. There is also a good possibility tipped employees will be removed from the minimum wage increase, as that proposal would have required them to be paid at least minimum wage but eliminate their tips, which would be a pay cut for many.
In response, state Rep. Sara Cambensy (D-Marquette) issued the following statement:
“Any time we have a ballot initiative in Michigan, we owe it to the people of our state to allow them to vote it up or down. Today, we saw yet another example of Legislative overreach when the citizens of Michigan gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to get these issues on the ballot, and we took that vote away from them.
“When we as legislators decide to pull initiatives off the ballot like this, even the governor is prohibited by our state constitution to veto them. In order to protect democracy and the people’s right to petition their government, legislators in Lansing must always use extreme caution when deciding whether or not to interfere. Otherwise, we risk weakening our state institution and the checks and balances put in place, and ultimately, the public’s trust.”
