By Mary Pollock
The 2025 legislative year ended with just 74 bills being signed into law by Governor Whitmer, the lowest number in the history of the State of Michigan.
Nine Bills in Limbo – And there are the nine bills from the end of 2024 that passed both chambers but which then-new House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) declined to present to the Governor.
Three of those bills would put State corrections officers into the State Police pension system (House Bill (HB) 4665 of 2023, HB 4666 of 2023, and HB 4667 of 2023). The Democrat controlled Michigan Senate is currently litigating the issue; House Republicans filed an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court regarding the Court of Appeals decision that Hall must present the nine remaining bills from last term to the Governor.
GOVERNOR PROPOSES PROPERTY TAX BREAK FOR SENIORS
Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed a $90 million property tax break for Michigan seniors in her February 11 State budget presentation. Under the proposal, Michiganders 65 and over would be eligible for property tax refunds of up to 10 percent. If approved by the Legislature, the plan could provide tax relief to more than 355,000 seniors, saving eligible households an average of $345 a year according to the Governor’s press release.
In the 2012 income tax overhaul under Governor Rick Snyder, those 65 and older lost a Senior Homestead Property Tax Credit of up to $1,200 and the Senior Personal Income Tax Exemption of $2,300 in addition to losing some income tax exemptions for those born after 1945 (dubbed the pension tax). AARP and SERA’s legal challenge of the pension tax as age discrimination was not successful. The “pension tax” was phased out by legislation passed in 2023.
SCRAP THE CAP NEWS
In September 2025, SERA Coordinating Council Chair Cheryl Streberger sent a letter to the State of Michigan Retirement Board c/o Office of Retirement Services (ORS) asking for a resolution of support for our Scrap the Cap effort to improve the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for defined benefit State employee retirees by communicating with the Legislature and Governor about the problem. ORS Director Anthony Estell and Board Executive Secretary Meg Skelley were copied on the letter. Retirement Board addresses are not published, and it was assumed that ORS staff would forward the communication to the Board.
Since we did not receive a reply, I distributed an unsigned copy of the letter to the Board at its November 13, 2025, meeting and spoke about it during the public comment period. There was no response from or discussion by the Board at the meeting after a reminder from Skelley that the Board is not required to respond to public comments.
SERA received a written reply from Board Chair Lauri Schmidt dated January 28, 2026. It appears that my distribution of the letter to the Board on November 13 was the first they had seen it. In the reply letter, the Chair explained while the Board appreciated SERA’s engagement on the matter, the Board cannot issue a resolution asking lawmakers to enact specific changes to the COLA provision. In doing so, the letter pointed out the following as the reason:
“… it is important to clarify the limits of the Retirement Board’s authority. Under Public Act 240 of 1943, the Legislature acts as the grantor of the retirement plan – responsible for creating, amending, or terminating benefit provisions, including COLA structure. In contrast, the Retirement Board’s role is administrative: to implement existing statute, adjudicate matters delegated under law, and provide oversight consistent with fiduciary duties.
This framework is reinforced in our Board orientation materials, which state that although Board members hold fiduciary responsibilities, resolutions must be evaluated for their impact on the system and are not vehicles for policy advocacy. Historically, Board resolutions have been ceremonial only, such as recognizing outgoing members.”
The State Employees Retirement Act, Act 240 of 1943, says the Board is to “provide the administration and management of the retirement system and the responsibility for making effective the provisions of this act.”
The next meeting of the State Retirement Board is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., March 19, 2026, at the Mason Building, first floor conference room, 530 West Allegan St., Lansing. It is an open meeting available to all members of the public.
CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND YOUR LEGISLATORS
Your messages to the Governor and your legislators about Scrap the Cap are important because the budget for the next fiscal year is being developed NOW. We have been working for five years to get attention to this problem and the time is ripe to move it.
Simply say in your message “Please include an improvement in the state employee retiree annual cost-of-living adjustment. It has been capped at only $300 since 1987 and inflation has been 176 percent since then. It affects over 50,000 state employee retirees. An actuarial study was done of the cost to raise the COLA to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly each year – less than $6 million the first year – available by reducing by that amount the annual contribution to our over-funded retiree health care account.”
By U.S. Mail: Governor Gretchen Whitmer, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, Michigan 48909
Phone Message: 517-335-7858 (Constituent Services)
On Governor’s Webpage (which sends an e-mail): https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/ContactGovernor
Find your legislator’s contact information at www.legislature.gov. Attend their community gatherings or virtual meetings and ask if they support improvement in the static pension COLA for State employee retirees.
Thanks for all you have done in the past as a State employee and support for this change.
SERA SUPPORTS/OPPOSES SOME BILLS
Guardian Regulation – On December 11, 2025, SERA urged the Senate Committee on House and Human Services to report out Senate Bills (SBs) 585 and 586 which would require guardians to have an appraisal before selling the real estate of their wards and require guardians to state on the record the reasons for moving a ward from a residence. Relatives and friends of those with guardians have reported abuse and neglect by guardians in these matters. The Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force has documented the problem and suggested legislative solutions in past legislative sessions. The Michigan Guardianship Association supported SB 585 but opposed SB 586. Both bills passed the Senate unanimously on December 18 and are now awaiting consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.
Crypto Investment – In December, SERA urged the House Committee on Economic Competitiveness to oppose HBs 4510 and 4511 which would amend the Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act to allow investment of pension funds in cryptocurrency and prohibit the State or its political subdivisions from banning, limiting, requiring a permit or license for, or imposing an additional tax on digital assets, in addition to other provisions. The bills were reported out by vote of the Republican majority on the Committee with State Rep. Julie Brixie (D-Okemos) voting no and the other Democrats passing. The bills are ready for full Michigan House consideration.
The Director of the Bureau of Investments reported to Lansing SERA at a general membership meeting last year that it has already invested a small amount of our pension funds in cryptocurrency so HB 4510 is not really needed.
Patient Surrogate for Health Care Decisions – According the Seante Fiscal Agency’s Analysis, under current law, when a patient becomes incapacitated, an individual with a properly executed durable power of attorney or the patient’s legal guardian can make medical decisions on behalf of that patient. When a person becomes incapacitated without these legal documents in place, families must petition the court for guardianship before making health care decisions for the incapacitated person. This legal process often creates confusion and potential delays in care regarding the patient’s wishes, and families are often forced into legal proceedings to establish the decision-making power during already stressful times. HBs 4418, 4419, and 4734 would establish a process to allow a patient to designate a health surrogate in specific instances and create a next of kin process that would allow family members or trusted individuals to make health care decisions on a patient’s behalf. Other states have similar laws already in place.
Michigan SERA supported the bills when considered by the House, which passed the bills 98-0 in September 2025. We again supported the bills in a hearing in the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety on January 29, 2026. The Senate Committee reported the HB 4418 with a substitute S-3 and the other two bills without amendment. The bills are now ready for full Senate consideration.
SERA URGES SENATE TO PASS DEATH RECORD BILLS
HBs 4077 and 4078 to speed up the death record process passed the House nearly unanimously in April 2025 and were reported out of the Senate Health Policy Committee without amendment for full Senate consideration in November 2025. SERA supported these bills in committee hearings and recently urged Senate leadership to schedule the bills for passage.
A death certificate is needed before a burial or cremation can be authorized, life insurance collected, or a will or estate plan settled. The requirement that physicians and funeral directors use the Department of Health and Human Services’ electronic system for death certification as required in the bills rather than the analog “wet signature” process would allow loved ones of deceased individuals to receive a death certificate much quicker.
OTHER NEWS
State of the State Address – Governor Whitmer will deliver her 2026 State of the State (SOS) Address on Wednesday, February 25, at 7 p.m. from the Michigan House Chambers. The address will be broadcast statewide, as well as on Facebook and YouTube, where replays can be found if you miss the live event. The SOS Address often sets the agenda for public policy for the year. The Executive Budget was delivered earlier, on February 11.
Senate Special Election – The special election on February 3 for the vacant 35th Senate District seat representing Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland areas advanced Democrat Chedrick Greene and Republican Jason Tunney to a May 5 special general election to fill a seat vacant since January 2025, when the incumbent State Senator became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Greene, a Saginaw fire captain and former aide to the previous senator, won the Democratic primary, while Tunney, a Saginaw attorney, won the Republican contest. The election will determine control of the closely divided Michigan Senate. A Democratic win would restore a 20–18 majority, while a Republican win would result in a 19–19 tie. In the Michigan Senate, the Lieutenant Governor can vote to break ties.
Endorsement Conventions – The two major political parties in Michigan, Republican and Democratic Parties, have set March 28 and April 19 for their respective endorsement conventions for the following statewide offices: Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Supreme Court, State Board of Education, University of Michigan Board, Michigan State University Board, and Wayne State University Board. The endorsed candidates are essentially the nominated candidates, although they are not formally nominated until after the August primary. The early convention allows the races that are decided by party delegates and not statewide voters to be wrapped up earlier in the election year to enable fundraising and voter support. One must be a party member, a precinct delegate, and/or convention delegate from the county party to participate in the endorsement convention, depending on the party.
Republicans will hold their endorsement convention on March 28, and Democrats will meet in Detroit on April 19. Nominees for other statewide offices – Governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives – will be chosen by voters through the primary process on August 4, 2026.
Minor parties (Libertarian, Constitution, Green, Natural Law, U.S. Taxpayers, and Working Class) select their candidates at conventions in the spring and summer for placement on the November general election ballot.
(Editor’s Note: Mary Pollock is the Lansing SERA Chapter and SERA Coordinating Council’s Legislative Representative. She may be contacted at michigansera@comcast.net.)