LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Local governments in Michigan would be prohibited from setting local minimum wages or other requirements for employers under a bill approved Wednesday in the Republican-controlled House.
The bill is a broader version of one that died in the House during last year’s lame duck session. The new version strips the provision that would have prohibited community benefits agreements, but it was otherwise expanded to prohibit local governments from passing ordinances that would regulate wages, unpaid leave, scheduling, benefits, apprenticeships or training programs and more.
Minority Democrats and other opponents, including local government associations, say the bill is too broad and could have unintended consequences.
Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments that failed without a vote. The amendments would have made changes such as removing the prohibition on requiring training programs, removing language that would prevent setting local minimum wages and striking a section of the bill that prevents any local government regulation of “the relationship between an employer and its employees or potential employees if the regulation contains requirements exceeding those imposed by state or federal law.”
Democratic Rep. Jeremy Moss from Southfield said that provision is too broad and will create lawsuits that would be “a trial lawyer’s dream come true.”
Bill sponsor Rep. Earl Poleski, a Republican from Jackson, said the bill is needed to create consistency and better promote economic development in the state. He pointed to the recent adoption of a $15 minimum wage in Los Angeles as an example of a movement that could impact Michigan’s business climate.
“Employment ordinances could sprout like dandelions in the spring,” he said.
Democrats speaking in opposition to the bill countered that locally-elected officials are the best ones to determine the needs of their community and how to attract business.
“Local government is closest to the people and most accountable to the people,” said Rep. Jim Townsend, a Democrat from Royal Oak, in his floor speech opposing the bill.
Townsend said local governments are supposed to be the laboratories of democracy, trying new approaches to issues such as attracting businesses.
Poleski countered, “If we’re going to have a laboratory of democracy, far better for this House and the Senate down the hall to determine who should be tossed into the petri dish and how.”
Groups supporting the bill echoed the need for statewide consistency in their testimony during committee hearings. Supporters include the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Restaurant Association, Michigan Retailers Association, Small Business Association of Michigan, and Michigan Manufacturers Association.
Groups opposing the bill include the Michigan Township Association and Michigan Municipal League, representing local governments, labor groups including the Michigan branches of UAW and AFL-CIO, and groups such as Michigan League for Public Policy and the ACLU of Michigan.
A committee hearing on the bill Tuesday was interrupted several times by groups of protesters chanting phrases such as “Democracy yes, corporate greed no.”
The bill passed the House 57-52, with several Republicans joining minority Democrats in voting against the bill.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, said Meekhof is “supportive of the general concept” of the bill and noted there is similar legislation in the Senate.
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