LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – State Reps. Donni Steele, Tom Kuhn, and Jamie Thompson had introduced a plan to keep legislators in Lansing doing their jobs until the end of the year – but the unpopular plan didn’t gain any traction, with the House and Senate closing out the year early instead of adjourning in December. Because the Democrats in the House and Senate wanted to make sure the state has an early primary date – and because the House is now deadlocked with a 54-54 party split, they saw no reason to stick around.

Michigan Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Township) said about the legislation, “I drive to Lansing swerving potholes and hearing from local residents tired of blackouts and failing schools. Those are all issues I’ve been trying to fix since I was elected, but the majority has blocked our plans at every turn. Adjourning nearly two months early instead of working through complex issues and oversight is a complete waste of state resources. We need to stay here and do the people’s work.”

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Steele’s plan, House Concurrent Resolution 9, would have kept the Legislature in session until Monday, December 28th. It was referred to the Committee on Government Operations where it sits.

“Less work, less pay. Taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the extended vacation Democrats have decided to award themselves,” said Thompson, R-Brownstown. “People I represent are struggling. They want their life to be more affordable, and they want their representatives to address the high costs of groceries, health care, and electricity. There’s still work to get done. If legislators aren’t willing to work, they shouldn’t get paid.”

Thompson’s proposal would have guaranteed that if the Legislature does adjourn early, elected officials would not be paid a full-time salary for the remainder of the year.

“House Democrats apparently want a part-time legislature with full-time pay,” said Kuhn, R-Troy. “House Democrats want to ignore important issues facing our communities and take an early Christmas holiday. But state lawmakers earn their wages by doing the people’s work, not sitting at home watching Christmas movies. If anyone else stopped showing up to work, they wouldn’t just stop receiving pay, they would be fired.”