Use the weeks left in session to get real work done
The election is over. In January, Democrats will hold the governor’s office, a 23-15 majority in the Senate and a 63-47 majority in the House, based on unofficial results. Until then, this Legislature still has a job to do, and I want those weeks spent on practical work for people, not picking fights.
Dam safety reform passed the House 100-8 in July and the Senate 34-2 in October, and I voted for it. It would require more frequent inspections of high-hazard dams and proof that owners can afford to maintain them. It still needs the House to agree to the Senate’s version. Two House bills would make EGLE refund permit fees when it misses its own deadlines and speed up its permit reviews. They have sat in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee since July, even after a state audit found the department missed deadlines on 14 of 19 sampled applications. A House-passed cut in the state income tax rate to 4.05 percent has waited in Senate Finance since March 2025.