LANSING ­– As they had threatened last week to do, Michigan Senate Democrats have filed a lawsuit seeking to force House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) to send nine already-passed bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.

The suit was filed Monday in the Michigan Court of Claims by the Michigan Senate and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and names Hall, along with House Clerk Scott Starr and the Michigan House of Representatives.

Brinks, speaking to reporters Monday at a virtual press conference, said Hall’s refusal to follow the law had left her no other choice.

“Although nine bills have been passed by both chambers of the Michigan Legislature, Speaker Hall is refusing to send them to the governor, and in so doing, he has failed us,” said Brinks. “He has failed his constituents. He has failed Michigan teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and corrections officers. He has failed to fulfill his responsibilities as an elected official. He has failed to abide by our state constitution, and he has failed to act despite our warnings of legal action.”

The legislation in question was passed during a tumultuous — and largely unproductive — lame duck session late last year when Democrats still had majorities in both chambers — before Republicans took control of the House on Jan. 1 following their victory in the November election. However, the bills were sent to Whitmer’s office by outgoing House Democrats, who have yet to articulate why they failed to follow through.

The nine bills cover a variety of issues that include providing additional funding support to museums owned by the city of Detroit, increasing the amount public employers must pay towards employees’ health insurance and extending eligibility for the State Police Retirement System to individuals in jobs related to law enforcement, including corrections officers and conservation officers.

Hall previously told reporters there was no definite timeline for when the bills had to be submitted to the governor, which Brinks said was not true.

“Speaker Hall’s blatant evasion of the state law and his oath are unacceptable and unlawful,” she said. “The [Michigan] Constitution makes it abundantly clear; every bill passed by the Legislature is required to be presented to the governor, and to make myself abundantly clear, no one, especially an elected public servant in legislative leadership, is above the law.”

The dispute centers on the interpretation of Article IV Section 33 of the Michigan Constitution, which states: “Every bill passed by the legislature shall be presented to the governor before it becomes law, and the governor shall have 14 days measured in hours and minutes from the time of presentation in which to consider it.”

The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Brinks and the Senate by longtime election attorney and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer, asserts that while no specific procedure is laid out in the constitution to transmit the bills, that doesn’t mean there aren’t time-sensitive issues at play.

“Unless given immediate effect, laws take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns,” wrote Brewer. “None of the nine bills were given immediate effect, so if signed by the governor, they will take effect on April 2, 2025, which is fast approaching.”

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