Lawmakers prepare to vote on ballot proposals
September 6, 2018
While the legislature has been in recess for most of the summer, NFIB in Michigan has been busy traveling the state and on the phones to urge state lawmakers to keep both a minimum wage hike and a paid leave mandate off the November 2018 statewide ballot. Since the Board of Canvassers has certified the petition signatures (despite our challenge against many fraudulent and duplicate signatures) these bad proposals are headed to the ballot. The only option left is for the legislature to adopt them within the 40-day window allowed by the Constitution. This would keep them off the ballot and allow changes to be made to them by a simple majority vote of both chambers.
Our 2018 Michigan State Member Ballot asked members if the legislature should stop mandated Minimum Wage and Paid Leave Proposals from going to a statewide ballot, 79 percent of our members that responded said YES and another 88 percent agreed that the legislature should make changes to these proposals to lessen their impact on small business.
This week the legislature will come back for a short session and then recess again until after the general election. This is our only window of opportunity to keep these proposals off the ballot, by having the House and Senate adopt them. Specifically, this window is Wednesday of this week, September 5th. NFIB will be over at the Capitol for as long as it takes to pursue the votes needed, but it could go either way at this point.
We will let immediately let you know the outcome of our efforts on your behalf. Thank you for your support and we hope it has been a great summer for you and your family!
