Gongwer News
The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered the Court of Appeals to hear the Senate's lawsuit against the House of Representatives over the House's refusal to present nine bills passed last session on an expedited basis, but also prevented the case from reaching its chamber before the appellate panel can rule on the matter.
The Supreme Court said it was not persuaded to hear the questions presented in the case before the Court of Appeals has a chance to rule on the matter. Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) appealed the lawsuit to both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in March (See Gongwer Michigan Report, March 18, 2025).
The order issued last Wednesday denied the attempt to bypass the appellate court, but it did, however, call for the Court of Appeals to hear the matter on an expedited basis to move the case forward.
The appeals came after the Court of Claims ruled that the Senate and Brinks have a constitutional right to have the bills presented by the House. The judge also stated she would not interfere with the Legislature's processes out of respect for the branch and its functions (See Gongwer Michigan Report, February 27, 2025).
That prompted House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and the House to decide that the bills should not be presented, but Hall did note that it would take a clarifying ruling from the Court of Appeals to settle the question.
Brinks followed up on that by filing in the Court of Appeals in February. She argued that the Constitution requires the presentation of passed bills to the governor and that by not doing so would create a situation in which any bill could be held hostage by the leader of one chamber or the other.
In the application to bypass the appellate court, Brink noted the effective date of the nine bills, which was last Wednesday.
Hall wrote a letter to Brinks in response to the filings, in which he renewed his argument that there is nothing in the Michigan Constitution permitting the current House to present bills from the previous session. He also labeled absurd Brinks' alternative proposal in a recent letter to him to deliver the bills to the Senate so the secretary of the Senate could present the bills.
The matter is now before the Court of Appeals, but it will surely rise to the high court before the issue is resolved.
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