State Rep. Joseph Fox (R-Fremont) expressed gratitude today in response to the effective end of the 2023-2024 legislative session, which occurred when the House adjourned on Thursday afternoon.

“I did not expect Thursday’s session to end with the Democrat party’s implosion, but I am thankful that it did. Thursday’s agenda alone would have gone after Second Amendment rights and raise water rates on Michigan residents,” said Fox.

Other bills that die with the House’s adjournment included a provision to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and incorporating Michigan into the National Popular Vote compact, among others.

Thursday saw a continuation of the Republican boycott, a short-lived call of the House, in which Democrat leadership directed House Sergeants at Arms to bring back absent legislators to Lansing to establish a quorum, then an abrupt adjournment of the House from Democrat leadership until New Years’ Eve, which leaves no time to pass bills. December 31^st will mark the end to the first Democrat trifecta since 1983.

All fifty-four House Republicans walked off the floor last week in protest of the Democrat leadership’s refusal to vote on bills to retain the tip credit for restaurant workers and preserve existing sick leave time laws for small businesses. This week, a lone Democrat member refused to attend for the same reason, which lowered the number of present Representatives to 55 – one below the fifty-six required to vote on any bills. Without a majority of Representatives in attendance, the House Democrat leadership was forced to adjourn.

Republicans traveled around the state on Thursday to shine light upon an impending disaster for the restaurant industry and all employees who rely on tipped wages. This crisis comes from an earlier Michigan Supreme Court ruling that mandates small businesses to give employees significantly higher paid sick leave and eliminates the tipped wage. Together, these changes promise to impose untenable costs for business when they become effectual in February 2025.

A couple of bills in the House would have worked to fix the short-sighted Supreme Court decision by retaining the tipped wage and making gradual adjustments for inflation, as well as making the paid sick leave requirements clearer and more workable. However, the bills did not receive votes, despite many warnings from workers and small business owners. Restaurant servers in particular have stated that tens of thousands of jobs could be lost with owners forced to pay higher labor costs.

The 2025-2026 legislative term will commence on Wednesday, January 8, with Republicans holding a 58-52 majority in the House.