The final gavel was pounded around 4:30AM
Friday, December 14, 2013 and, with it, the session of the 96th Michigan
Legislature has concluded.
Both the House and Senate adjourned session
shortly prior to midnight on Thursday and called the respective chambers back
to order shortly after midnight for what would turn out to be the last “day” of
session.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the lame
duck session came in the form of Senate Bill 810, the U.S. citizenship ballot
question legislation previously vetoed by the Governor. The measure, sponsored
by Senator Geoff Hansen (R-Hart), differs from the original attempt in that it
includes an affirmative statement of citizenship in the signature line rather
than a checkbox on the form.
Some initiatives died with the early morning
adjournment such as efforts to circumvent the Certificate of Need process
enabling McLaren to build a new hospital in Clarkston and the effort to cap
catastrophic claims benefits in auto accidents.