LANSING, MI — Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and repealing taxes on retirees’ pensions might end up being two of the first things tackled in the first six months of 2023, if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has anything to say about it.
Democrats will lead both the Michigan House and Senate for the first time in roughly 40 years after making historic wins in the midterms this November. They’ll take the helm following one of the lamest lame ducks in memory, which saw neither of those priorities – or a long sought-after tax cut – cross the finish line prior to lawmakers adjourning for the year.
Speaking to reporters at a roundtable Wednesday, Dec. 14, Whitmer said she was already crafting an agenda for the first six months of her second term alongside incoming Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, and House Speaker-elect Joe Tate, D-Detroit.
“We are going to have an agenda that, I think, we’re all absolutely dedicated to,” Whitmer said. “And I would imagine, early on, we’ll be able to give the working family tax credit – get that done – as well as the retirement tax repeal. So, that’s just the start. But I do think … the first six months is going to be really important.”
The “retirement tax,” or a tax on pension income for retired Michiganders, has long been a policy priority of the Whitmer administration, with her calling on the legislature to reinstate tax credits for seniors by 2025. It’s believed the move would save an estimated 500,000 people $1,000 per year when the credits are fully implemented.
Other priorities Whitmer floated Wednesday, though she didn’t give the same six-month target for, included amending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to codify equal protections for the LGBTQ community into law, having a “much more productive conversation” on the potential to send Freedom of Information Act requests to the legislature and looking into reforming Michigan’s lobbying laws.
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To the latter, which has become heavily scrutinized as allegations against the conduct of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield continue to emerge, Whitmer did acknowledge that she did believe “we need to take a look at that, update it, and make some improvements to it.”
She said it would make sense for there to be a cooling off period between when lawmakers leave office and when they become a lobbyist, but that she also wanted to “take a look at some of the loopholes that, perhaps, contributed to the alleged Chatfield story.”
Whitmer also indicated that she would be interested in potentially issuing executive reorganization orders for certain state departments and agencies, something she has not had the power to act on given a Republican hold on both legislative chambers during her first term and their ability to reject such a move.
One such area of change could come in the realm of affordable housing, which Whitmer said there was a need to realign the executive branch so as to have “one place that addresses everything.”
Another topic of interest could come with reissuing orders pertaining to the environmental permitting and rules committees, which were rejected by Republicans earlier in her term.
“This is a second term, new opportunity in front of us – new needs, frankly – and so I don’t have anything to announce right now,” Whitmer said. “But we are examining whether or not the early changes that we had hoped to make might still make sense. Or, if there are different organizations.”
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