The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 U.S. census. Its composition, powers and duties are established in Article IV of the Michigan Constitution.

Members are elected in even-numbered years and take office at 12 p.m. (EST) on January 1[1] following the November general election. Concurrently with the Michigan Senate, the House first convenes on the second Wednesday in January, according to the state constitution.[2] Each member is limited to serving at most six terms of two years, but may not serve more than twelve years combined across the Michigan House and Michigan Senate.[3][4] The House meets in the north wing of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing. The Democratic Party currently has a majority in the chamber.

In recent years, the Republican majority in the House has been widely attributed to Republican gerrymandering, implemented by the legislature after the 2010 census.[5] In many legislative elections since then, the Democratic Party has won the popular vote, but nonetheless failed to attain a majority. However, after the passage of Proposal 2, a 2018 ballot initiative, redistricting in the state was instead delegated to a nonpartisan commission, which drew new maps after the 2020 census. Aided by the redrawn district lines, in 2022, Democrats won a majority in the House for the first time since 2008.

Qualifications

According to the constitution of Michigan, to be eligible for the office of State Representative a person must be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, and a registered and qualified elector of the district he or she wishes to represent by the filing deadline.[6]

Title

Members of the Michigan House of Representatives are commonly referred to as representatives. Because this mirrors the terminology used to describe members of Congress, constituents and news media, abiding by the Associated Press guidelines for journalists, often refer to members as state representatives to avoid confusion with their federal counterparts. As elected officials, members of the Michigan House of Representatives also receive the courtesy title of the Honorable (abbreviated to Hon. or Hon'ble) for life.

Composition

AffiliationParty
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
RepublicanDemocraticVacant
End of the previous legislature561[7]531100
Begin 2023 Session54561100
Nov 13, 2023[8]551091
Nov 20, 2023[9]541082
Latest voting share50%50%

Leadership

Majority party

Minority party

Members

Composition of the Michigan State House after the 2022 elections
  Democratic Party
  Republican Party
DistrictState RepresentativePartyCounty(ies)Term
1Tyrone CarterDemWayne3rd
2Tullio LiberatiDemWayne2nd
3Alabas FarhatDemWayne1st
4Karen WhitsettDemWayne3rd
5Natalie PriceDemOakland, Wayne1st
6Regina WeissDemOakland, Wayne2nd
7Helena ScottDemOakland, Wayne2nd
8Mike McFallDemOakland, Wayne1st
9Abraham AiyashDemWayne2nd
10Joe TateDemMacomb, Wayne3rd
11Veronica PaizDemMacomb, Wayne1st
12Kimberly EdwardsDemMacomb, Wayne2nd
13Vacant[10]Macomb, Wayne
14Donavan McKinneyDemMacomb, Wayne1st
15Erin ByrnesDemWayne1st
16Stephanie YoungDemWayne2nd
17Laurie PohutskyDemWayne3rd
18Jason HoskinsDemOakland1st
19Samantha SteckloffDemOakland2nd
20Noah ArbitDemOakland1st
21Kelly BreenDemOakland2nd
22Matt KoleszarDemWayne3rd
23Jason MorganDemOakland, Washtenaw, Wayne1st
24Ranjeev PuriDemWayne2nd
25Vacant[11]Wayne
26Dylan WegelaDemWayne1st
27Jaime ChurchesDemWayne1st
28Jamie ThompsonRepMonroe, Wayne1st
29James DeSanaRepMonroe, Wayne2nd
30William BruckRepLenawee, Monroe1st
31Reggie MillerDemLenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw, Wayne1st
32Jimmie Wilson Jr.DemWashtenaw1st
33Felicia BrabecDemWashtenaw2nd
34Dale ZornRepLenawee3rd
35Andrew FinkRepBranch, Hillsdale, Lenawee2nd
36Steve CarraRepCass, St. Joseph2nd
37Brad PaquetteRepBerrien, Cass3rd
38Joey AndrewsDemAllegan, Berrien, Van Buren1st
39Pauline WendzelRepAllegan, Berrien, Van Buren3rd
40Christine MorseDemKalamazoo2nd
41Julie RogersDemKalamazoo2nd
42Matt HallRepAllegan, Kalamazoo3rd
43Rachelle SmitRepAllegan, Barry, Eaton, Ottawa1st
44Jim HaadsmaDemCalhoun3rd
45Sarah LightnerRepCalhoun, Kalamazoo, Jackson3rd
46Kathy SchmaltzRepJackson, Washtenaw1st
47Carrie RheingansDemJackson, Washtenaw1st
48Jennifer ConlinDemJackson, Livingston, Washtenaw1st
49Ann BollinRepLivingston, Oakland3rd
50Bob BezotteRepLivingston2nd
51Matt MaddockRepOakland3rd
52Mike HarrisRepOakland2nd (1st full)
53Brenda CarterDemOakland3rd
54Donni SteeleRepOakland1st
55Mark TisdelRepOakland2nd
56Sharon MacDonellDemOakland1st
57Thomas KuhnRepMacomb, Oakland1st
58Nate ShannonDemMacomb3rd
59Doug WozniakRepMacomb3rd
60Joseph AragonaRepMacomb1st
61Denise MentzerDemMacomb1st
62Alicia St. GermaineRepMacomb1st
63Jay DeBoyerRepMacomb, St. Clair1st
64Andrew BeelerRepSanilac, St. Clair2nd
65Jaime GreeneRepLapeer, Macomb, St. Clair1st
66Josh SchriverRepMacomb, Oakland1st
67Phil GreenRepGenesee, Lapeer, Tuscola3rd
68David MartinRepGenesee, Oakland2nd
69Jasper MartusDemGenesee1st
70Cynthia NeeleyDemGenesee3rd (2nd full)
71Brian BeGoleRepGensee, Saginaw, Shiawassee1st
72Mike MuellerRepGenesee, Livingston, Oakland3rd
73Julie BrixieDemIngham3rd
74Kara HopeDemIngham3rd
75Penelope TsernoglouDemClinton, Ingham, Shiawassee1st
76Angela WitwerDemEaton3rd
77Emily DievendorfDemClinton, Eaton, Ingham1st
78Gina JohnsenRepBarry, Eaton, Ionia, Kent1st
79Angela RigasRepAllegan, Barry, Kent1st
80Phil SkaggsDemKent1st
81Rachel HoodDemKent3rd
82Kristian GrantDemKent1st
83John FitzgeraldDemKent1st
84Carol GlanvilleDemKent2nd (1st full)
85Bradley SlaghRepOttawa3rd
86Nancy De BoerRepAllegan, Ottawa1st
87Will SnyderDemMuskegon1st
88Greg VanWoerkomRepMuskegon, Ottawa3rd
89Luke MeermanRepKent, Muskegon, Ottawa3rd
90Bryan PosthumusRepKent2nd
91Pat OutmanRepIonia, Kent, Montcalm2nd
92Jerry NeyerRepGratiot, Isabella1st
93Graham FillerRepClinton, Gratiot, Ionia, Montcalm, Saginaw3rd
94Amos O'NealDemSaginaw2nd
95Bill G. SchuetteRepGladwin, Midland1st
96Timothy BesonRepBay2nd
97Matthew BierleinRepBay, Genesee, Saginaw, Tuscola1st
98Gregory AlexanderRepHuron, Lapeer, Sanilac, Tuscola1st
99Mike HoadleyRepArenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Iosco, Ogemaw1st
100Tom KunseRepClare, Lake, Mecosta, Osceola1st
101Joseph FoxRepLake, Mason, Newaygo, Oceana, Wexford1st
102Curt VanderWallRepManistee, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana3rd
103Betsy CoffiaDemBenzie, Grand Traverse, Leelenau1st
104John RothRepAntrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee, Wexford2nd
105Ken BortonRepAntrim, Crawford, Kalkaska, Missaukee, Oscoda, Otsego, Roscommon2nd
106Cam CavittRepAlcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Montmorency, Oscoda, Presque Isle1st
107Neil FriskeRepCharlevoix, Chippewa, Emmet, Mackinac1st
108David PrestinRepChippewa, Delta, Luce, Mackinac, Menominee, Schoolcraft1st
109Jenn HillDemAlger, Baraga, Dickinson, Marquette1st
110Gregory MarkkanenRepDickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Ontonagon3rd

Officials

Speaker of the House

The 76th and current Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House and the leader of the majority party. The current Speaker is Joe Tate, a Democrat from Detroit.

The Speaker calls the House to order at the hour to which the House last adjourned, preserves order and decorum in the chamber, recognizes Members to speak, and puts all questions. The Speaker is the chief administrator of the House and is technically the employer of all legislative staff. There is also a Speaker pro tempore and two associate Speakers pro tempore who preside in the absence of the Speaker. The full duties of the Speaker are described in Chapter II of the Rules of the House.[12]

Clerk of the House

The Clerk of the House of Representatives is elected by Members of the House at the beginning of each two-year term. The 33rd and current clerk is Gary L. Randall.[13] Randall also served as clerk from 1999 to 2006. The assistant clerk is Richard J. Brown, who served as clerk from 2007 to 2010. Both Randall and Brown are former Members of the House.

Under the rules of the House, the clerk is the parliamentarian of the House, presides in the absence of the Speaker or any Speaker pro tempore, takes roll at the beginning of each session day and announces whether or not a quorum is present, prepares the official calendar and journal of the House, is responsible for the care and preservation of all bills introduced in the House, and for bills sent from the Senate until they are returned to the Senate.[12][14]

Sergeant at Arms

The sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives is the chief police officer of the House, appointed by the Speaker. The current chief sergeant at arms is David D. Dickson Jr.

The chief sergeant and the assistant sergeants are empowered as law enforcement officers by statute.[15] The sergeants at arms have authority to serve subpoenas and warrants issued by the House or any duly authorized officer or committee, see that all visitors are seated and at no time are standing on the floor or balconies of the House, ensure that reasonable decorum is maintained in the lobby immediately in front of the entrance to the chamber to ensure access for Members and to ensure equal treatment for all citizens.[12]

Committees

Article IV of the Michigan Constitution authorizes each house of the Legislature to "establish the committees necessary for the conduct of its business."[16] The House does much of its work in committees, including the review of bills, executive oversight, and the budget and appropriations process. Members of committees and their chairmen are appointed by the Speaker.[12][17] Bills are referred to a committee by the Speaker, and the chairman of a committee sets its agenda, including whether or not a bill will be reported to the full House. The Committee on Appropriations divides its work among subcommittees ordinarily structured by state department or major budget area.

There are also four statutory standing committees: Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; House Fiscal Agency Governing Committee; Legislative Council; Michigan Capitol Committee. Currently, it would appear, the House committees meet on a 'year by year' basis. A full list may be accessed here.[18]

Unlike the Senate, the House does not utilize the committee of the whole.

House Fiscal Agency

The House Fiscal Agency is a nonpartisan agency within the House of Representatives which provides nonpartisan expertise to members of the House Appropriations Committee, as well as all other Members of the House. Fiscal analysts review the governor's budget recommendation, review and prepare budget bills, supplemental appropriations, and certain transfer requests, provide fiscal impact statements on legislative proposals, monitor state and national situations that may have budgetary implications, research and analyze fiscal issues, prepare reports and documents to assist legislative deliberations, and prepare special reports at the request of Representatives. The economist analyzes legislation related to tax and lottery issues, respond to Representatives' inquiries regarding state tax revenue, revenue sharing, and other economic issues, monitors state revenue, tracks state, and national economic conditions, and prepares reports on revenue and other economic issues. Legislative analysts prepare concise, nonpartisan summaries and analyses of bills. Summaries, completed prior to committee deliberations, describe how a bill would change current law, including any fiscal impact. Analyses are prepared for bills reported to the full House from committee and include, with the summary information, a description of the problem being addressed, arguments for and against the bill, and positions of interested organizations.[19]

The agency is governed by a six-member board consisting of the chairman and minority vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the Speaker of the House and the minority leader, and the majority and minority floor leaders. The governing committee is responsible for HFA oversight, establishment of operating procedures, and appointment of the HFA director. The director is one of three state officials charged with annually forecasting the state's revenues at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conferences, which are held at least twice each year.[20]

In January 1993, a front-page story in The Detroit News detailed a massive scandal in the House Fiscal Agency. For six years, the agency's imprest account was used to finance credit card payments, vacations, and property tax payments as well as payments to HFA employees and contract workers for non-existent workers. The scandal threatened to collapse the joint leadership agreement between the Democrats and Republicans brought about by a 55-55 partisan split in the House from the 1992 election. It resulted in Representative Dominic J. Jacobetti of Negaunee in the Upper Peninsula, the longest-serving Member in history, losing his position as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee; the conviction and imprisonment of HFA Director John Morberg; and the resignation of state representative Stephen Shepich as part of a plea bargain.[21]

Past composition of the House of Representatives

See also

External links

References

Notes
References
  1. ^ "Michigan Legislature - Article XI § 2". legislature.mi.gov. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Michigan Legislature - Article IV § 13". legislature.mi.gov. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Hendrickson, Clara (November 9, 2022). "Michigan voters approve Proposal 1 to modify term limits, require disclosures". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  4. ^ "Michigan Legislature - Article IV § 54". legislature.mi.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "In Michigan, an effort to take politics out of redistricting". PBS NewsHour. September 25, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "Michigan Legislature - Article IV § 7". legislature.mi.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Republican Matt Maddock (District 44) expelled from GOP caucus in Apr 2022
  8. ^ Rep. Kevin Coleman sworn in as Mayor of Westland
  9. ^ Rep. Lori Stone sworn in as Mayor of Warren
  10. ^ Lange, Amy. "City of Warren swears in new Mayor Lori Stone". WJBK. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  11. ^ Tankersley, Shelby. "Westland's new mayor says new business, recreation are among his top priorities". Hometown Life. Gannett. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d Rules of the Michigan House of Representatives
  13. ^ House Resolution 3: A resolution to provide for the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the Ninety-seventh Legislature
  14. ^ 2011-2012 Michigan Manual: Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (p. 302)
  15. ^ Legislative Sergeant at Arms Police Powers Act, 185 PA 2001, MCL 4.381-4.382
  16. ^ Michigan Constitution: Article IV, § 17 Committees; record of votes, public inspection, notice of hearings.
  17. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives: 97th Legislature—Regular Session of 2013, No. 5 (pg. 77-78)
  18. ^ Standing Committees, retrieved November 27, 2020
  19. ^ About Us :: House Fiscal Agency
  20. ^ Michigan Legislature: Management and Budget Act: MCL 18.1367b Revenue estimating conference; principals; forecasts.
  21. ^ Gongwer News Service Blog: The Scandal, 20 Years Later

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