By Mary Pollock
Since my June 7 report, legislative gridlock has eased. Of the 91 bills that have become law this year, 74 of them were passed in the last two months! This includes State budget bills for all departments just a few days after the July 1 statutory deadline during a 24-hour legislative session. There is some disagreement over whether the total budget is $75 billion or $78 billion or whatever because certain line items were moved to boilerplate references, but House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and the Governor reached a budget agreement without the temporary shutdown that occurred the last two years. The budget negotiations also unleashed many policy bills.
SILVER ALERT FOR VULNERABLE ADULTS
New Public Act 59 of 2026 (Senate Bill (SB) 456 of 2025) requires the Department of State Police to establish the missing senior or vulnerable adult medical alert system plan. It must rapidly disseminate useful information about a missing senior or vulnerable adult through the existing wireless emergency medical alert system commonly known as AMBER Alerts or severe weather alerts. Currently, 27 states and Washington, D.C. have similar systems that enlist the public in locating missing seniors with a 90 percent success rate. The law took effect July 23, 2026.
Wandering – Seniors or vulnerable adults who have dementia are at a higher risk of going missing. This is because common symptoms of dementia are confusion and disorientation, which can lead to wandering. Today, 203,000 Michigan residents live with Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. According to testimony before the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety, of these residents, about 60 percent will wander at least once. Therefore, about 121,800 Michigan residents will wander at least once. Over half of people who wander and are not found within a day will become seriously injured, seriously ill, or die due to exposure, dehydration, or accidents.
Definition – “Missing senior or vulnerable adult” means a resident of Michigan who is one of the following:
- At least 60 years of age and is believed to be incapable of returning to his or her residence without assistance and is reported missing by a person familiar with that individual.
- An individual age 18 or over who, because of age, developmental disability, mental illness, or physical disability requires supervision or personal care or lacks the personal and social skills required to live independently.
- A person who is missing and suffering from senility or a physical or mental condition that subjects the person or others to personal and immediate danger.
NEW GUARDIAN REGULATIONS
The Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force recommended protections against professional guardians or conservators selling an elderly ward’s home and moving that ward into a permanent residential care facility or group home when it may not be in the ward’s best interest. Two new laws will address the problem and took effect July 23, 2026.
Public Act 68 of 2026 (SB 585 of 2025) amended the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) to require a court, when considering whether to allow a conservator to sell or mortgage a protected individual’s property, must include in its consideration an appraisal of the property’s value conducted within the previous six months.
Public Act 69 of 2026 (SB 586 of 2025) amended EPIC to require guardians and conservators to state on the record reasons for moving a ward from a residence and comply with the following:
- Prohibit a court from granting a guardian the authority to change an incapacitated individual’s residence unless the court finds upon the guardian’s petition that certain conditions are met, including whether the move is to the least restrictive environment suitable to that individual’s unique needs, abilities, and resources, among other things.
- Require a court to appoint a guardian ad litem upon the submission of a petition described above and hold a hearing within 28 days of the filing.
- Allow a guardian to move a ward before filing a petition if prior court authorization was based on a hearing or in an emergency.
- Require a court to appoint legal counsel for an individual that objects to a change in residence if that individual does not already have legal counsel.
- Require a guardian to notify a court within 14 days of a temporary change in residence if the move is made before a petition is filed.
LONG-AWAITED NEW ETHICS LAWS
The “revolving door” of lobbying by former and current public officials of their former colleagues will be much more limited under House Bills (HBs) 4062, 4063, and 4064 of 2025, now Public Acts 74, 75, and 76 of 2026, respectively. The new ethics laws amend Michigan’s Lobbyist Registration Act, 1978 PA 472. Together, they expand the current lobbying restrictions on former State legislators to cover all former legislators for two years after leaving office; apply the same two-year ban to former governors, lieutenant governors, and heads of principal executive branch departments; and prohibit current State legislators from being paid to lobby government officials in Michigan or elsewhere. Penalties involve misdemeanors with fines and jail time; the measures apply to officials starting January 2027.
History – Legislation of this kind to prescribe a waiting period before former legislators or executive branch officials can become lobbyists has been introduced with some regularity since the 1993-94 legislative session, and in every session from 2007-08 on.
NINE HOSTAGE BILL SAGA ENDS
The House and the Senate have been locked in litigation for much of the past year over nine bills passed by both chambers during the last hours of the Democratic trifecta in the 2023-24 legislative session but not presented to the Governor by the new Republican House leadership who took over in early January 2025. Five of them affect State employee benefits.
The Michigan Senate subsequently sued the Michigan House to compel presentment of the nine bills. After appeals were finished, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion holding the House maneuver was unconstitutional and ordered the bills to be presented to the Governor. The House complied.
On July 21, Governor Gretchen Whitmer shocked everyone and vetoed the nine bills, stating in her veto message that retroactive dates and later-enacted legislation made them impossible to untangle and implement, while also creating budget implications for the current and next fiscal years.
New Bills – On July 29, the Michigan Senate and House Democrats introduced updated bills. SBs 1133, 1134, and 1135 would allow Department of Corrections officers to join the Department of State Police pension system. SB 1136 would require public employers to pay more toward healthcare costs. SBs 1137 and 1138 would exempt public assistance, disability and worker’s compensation from garnishment to repay debts. SBs 1139, 1140, and 1141 would allow certain Detroit museums to seek a millage for additional funding. The House on the same day also introduced bills for the museum millage (HBs 6227, 6228, and 6229) and on garnishment limitations (HBs 6229 and 6230). The Governor has issued statements saying she isn’t opposed to addressing the policies in the newly introduced bills.
RECORD VOTER TURNOUT FOR PRIMARY ELECTION
Unofficial primary election results indicate 2,366,721 Michigan voters cast ballots by primary Election Day Tuesday, August 4. That’s 32.2 percent of Michigan’s registered voters, a record. There were 1,494,888 Democratic Party voters to 929,453 Republican voters in the gubernatorial races. The most popular voting method was by absentee ballot – 58.3 percent of voters used them; 36 percent voted on Election Day and the remainder voted at early voting sites.
The Canvass – County canvassing boards composed of two Democrats and two Republicans began reviewing each precinct’s election materials beginning August 6 to find any errors or omissions. Once the counties certify the results, they will then be sent to the Secretary of State Bureau of Elections by August 24 for additional review before the Board of State Canvassers composed of two Republicans and two Democrats certifies the election.
Governor’s Races – Republicans had a competitive primary starting out with five candidates, but three (Senate Minority Leaders Aric Nesbitt, former Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, and former Attorney General Mike Cox) withdrew or suspended their campaigns in the face of President Trump’s endorsement of current Congressman John James’ candidacy. Businessman Perry Johnson spent more than $30 million to get about 35 percent of the vote and lose by 15 points to James.
Democrats nominated current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson by 66 points over her competition, Genessee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. On the November general election ballot, voters will also see gubernatorial candidates selected at their respective conventions from the recognized minor parties in Michigan: Libertarian Party Anthony Hudson, U.S. Taxpayers Party Donna Brandenburg, and Green Party Douglas Campbell.
U.S. Senate Races – The marquee race in Michigan that drew national media attention was the Democratic primary featuring former Wayne County health official Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and current four-term U.S. Congresswoman Haley Stevens. Polling in the week or so before election day had El-Sayed up by double digits, but the final unofficial margin was El-Sayed by 0.95 percentage points and fewer than 15,000 votes for a plurality win. According to Gongwer publisher Zach Gorchow, “El-Sayed is the first practicing Muslim nominated for a major statewide office in Michigan. El-Sayed’s win is a triumph for the progressive movement, a humiliating defeat for the Democratic establishment and a remarkable achievement against a $60 million onslaught against him.” Mallory McMorrow who suspended her campaign in July garnered over 61,000 votes.
El-Sayed will face former Congressman Republican Mike Rogers in the general election. This is Rogers’ second U.S. Senate run, the first of which he lost narrowly to now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) in 2024. Also on the ballot will be Libertarian Party nominee Lydia Christensen, U.S. Taxpayer Party candidate Tom Long, and Green Party candidate Douglas Marsh.
Some November Dates – Absentee ballots will be available September 24. Statewide early voting begins October 24 although each municipality can extend early voting. General Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
Michigan Money Out of Politics (MMOP) ADVANCES
The Board of State Canvassers on July 24 approved the proposed voter-initiated statute sponsored by the MMOP Ballot Committee. After a laborious six-hour meeting in which a random sample of 1,000 signatures was examined in minute detail by attorneys from challenger Protect MI Free Speech (PMFS), MMOP had nine more good signatures than the 636 minimum necessary.
What It Does – The measure, if adopted by voters or the Legislature, would prohibit public utilities and contractors with over $250,000 annually in government contracts, and people and organizations with connections to these contractors, from making direct or indirect campaign contributions and expand laws regulating spending on political communications. It will now be forwarded to the State Legislature which has 40 days to consider it.
Legislative Choices – The Legislature has three choices: 1) do nothing and let the measure go to the ballot for voters to decide (preferred by MMOP backers because in the future it would take a 2/3 legislative majority to amend if passed by voters), 2) pass the measure and potentially amend it in the future by a simple legislative majority, or 3) propose an alternative in which case both the proposed voter-initiated law and the proposed legislatively-initiated law would be put on the ballot for voter decision.
Lawsuit Filed – PMFS filed a lawsuit with the Michigan Supreme Court on August 5 challenging the Board’s certification of the proposal. PMFS argues the proposal did not collect enough signatures and should not have been certified. The high court must render a decision by the September 4 deadline for notifying election clerks of ballot language for printing.
The Americans for Citizen Voting proposed constitutional amendment is the next proposed ballot issue being considered by the Board of State Canvassers this month.
Mary Pollock is the Lansing SERA Chapter and SERA Coordinating Council’s Legislative Representative. She may be contacted at michigansera@comcast.net.