Updates About Lower Court Rulings

This week, both the Michigan and U.S. Supreme Courts rejected separate legal challenges that sought to put a proposed constitutional amendment addressing citizenship verification and voter identification on the November election ballot, ending the initiative’s chances this year.

The group behind the initiative, Americans for Citizens Voting Michigan, submitted nearly 710,000 signatures, well above the 446,198 required to be considered. However, upon review of a random sample of the signatures, the Bureau of Elections determined the campaign fell three valid signatures short for validity. The Board of State Canvassers then deadlocked over whether additional voter affidavits should be counted.

The group subsequently asked both courts to intervene and place the proposal on the ballot. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene and did not state why. The Michigan Supreme Court declined to order the Board of State Canvassers to certify the proposal, and suggested that the Legislature review state law governing the timing and process for petition signature reviews.

Former State Representative Pamela Hornberger has been appointed to run as the Republican nominee in the 63rd House District. The incumbent, Jay DeBoyer, vacated the ticket when he was selected as John James’ choice for lieutenant governor.

Hornbeger received six of the ten votes from the Republican Party executive committee members representing Macomb and St. Clair counties. The other four votes went to contractor, and friend of DeBoyer, Mike Grover.

The selection followed a legal dispute over who was eligible to participate in the nomination process. Earlier Wednesday, St. Clair County Circuit Judge Cynthia Lane rejected a request from the Michigan Republican Party to allow the full Macomb and St. Clair county executive committees to vote. The decision limited participation to executive committee members who reside within the 63rd District.

Hornberger previously served in the Michigan House from 2017 through 2022 and was speaker pro tempore during the 2021-2022 legislative session.

A procedural mistake made during Lame Duck when nine passed bills were not presented to the Governor before concluding the 2023-2024 legislative session will finally be put to rest. While the 103rd Legislature was still settling in at the start of 2025, Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) made the strategic decision to refuse presenting to the Governor several bills passed during Lame Duck by the previous Democrat-majority House.

After more than a year of ambiguity, the Supreme Court announced last week that they will not be making a decision on the case, instead deferring to the Court of Appeals’ previous ruling. Under the lower court’s ruling, the Michigan House was required to present all nine bills to the Governor.

In a surprising twist, the Governor vetoed all nine bills on Friday. In her veto letter, Governor Gretchen Whitmer reasoned that the bills would create an administrative burden due to other conflicting laws that have since gone into effect, statutory deadlines that have expired, and fiscal impacts that were not accounted for in the newly passed FY 27 state budget.

The bills would have covered a range of issues, including requiring public employers to make greater contributions toward their employees’ health insurance, permission to seek a property tax millage for Detroit history museums, enter corrections officers into the State Police pension system, and offer protections for various public benefits from the threat of debt garnishment.

Related Articles: HOUSE MUST SEND 9 LEFTOVER BILLS FROM PREVIOUS LEGISLATURE TO THE GOVERNOR • SUPREME COURT: SENATE LAWSUIT OVER HOUSE BILLS WILL GO THROUGH USUAL LEGAL PROCESS • BRINKS SEEKS SUPREME COURT RULING AND MAKES SENATE RULE CHANGE IN ONGOING FIGHT OVER HOUSE BILLS • MICHIGAN HOUSE DECLINES TO SEND NINE BILLS TO GOVERNOR • SENATE DEMOCRATS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST SPEAKER HALL