Colin Jackson, reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, described the past year in Michigan politics as a “blur.” And it makes sense: A lot did happen. This year we saw Democrats in control of the state Legislature and the governor's office for the first time in 40 years, the passage of abortion-access legislation, and auto no-fault reforms stuck in the waiting room.
Stateside spoke with Colin Jackson and staff reporter at Gongwer News Alyssa McMurtry for a rundown of this year in Michigan politics.
Democrats in the majority
There was a lot that Democrats wanted to accomplish after 40 years in the minority. But a slim 56-54 majority in the House meant that every partisan bill would need unanimous Democratic agreement to pass.
McMurtry said that Democrats quickly learned how difficult it would be to move legislation.
“Just because someone is a Democrat doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to fall in line with you.,” McMurty said. “So I think, you know, throughout the year and especially toward the last two or three months, we saw, you know, just how difficult it is to rally your troops and to be the majority party.”
Abortion access in Michigan
While Democrats struggled to move some legislation forward, they did pass some key abortion-access policies. The Reproductive Health Act rolls back restrictions on abortion care, like the expensive freestanding building requirement that made it difficult to establish new abortion clinics in underserved areas.
Other rollbacks included repealing the requirement to purchase abortion coverage through a separate health insurance rider, and the requirement for doctors to share materials that can be disturbing for patients, like the development stage of the fetus.
But Democrats didn’t pass all the rollbacks they first set out to do.
“What they didn't get through was stuff like repealing the state's 24-hour abortion waiting period or Medicaid reimbursement for abortions. So they definitely had to make some compromises here, but they're proud of what they got done,” Jackson said.
Auto no-fault
If you’ve been to the state Capitol building, you know that advocates for auto no-fault insurance reform are regulars there, demanding that legislators restore the lifesaving care that doctors say survivors of catastrophic car crashes need.
Jackson said that reform to the 2019 auto no-fault legislation that resulted in reduced coverage for care has bipartisan support. So when Senators Mary Cavanagh and Sarah Anthony introduced a new bill, Jackson said there was a lot of hope for reform.
“But so far they haven't gotten a hearing in the House yet. I believe that doesn't necessarily mean they won't get done in the House. It just seems like there's a little bit of a slow momentum now. So that's kind of where things stand,” Jackson said.
A Michigan climate plan
This year – to the dismay of many Michigan Republicans – the Michigan Legislature passed several bills in response to the threat of climate change. These policies aim to expand wind and solar energy, and set an aspirational goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 in Michigan.
“Obviously, it is a pretty lofty goal,” McMurty said. “A lot of climate energy activists are happy about it. I know that they wanted a little more. … They definitely feel like it's at least a starting ground.”
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