By Noah Brasseur
Hello everybody! Welcome back to another news corner. This edition let’s take a step back from the national and international scale and focus a little more closely on the pleasant peninsula.
First up, Michigan’s senate passes an LGBTQ protection bill.
The Senate of Michigan recently passed a law to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
The bill was passed 23-15, with Democrats unanimously in support and three Republicans joining their ranks. Those that voted against the bill said it infringed on the rights of religious groups. It was largely only able to pass due to the Democrats’ governmental trifecta that formed in the last elections.
Gov. Whitmer signed legislation to expand anti-discrimination laws to include LGBTQ people on March 16.
The bill itself amends the 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights act. That law outlawed discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, weight, and familial or martial status.
More information can be found in this PBS article.
Next, a tax relief was signed into law.
Gov. Whitmer recently signed a bill that reduced taxes on seniors in Michigan, as well as a stronger tax credit. Additionally, the law reduces the income tax.
Specifically, the retirement tax on seniors has been entirely repealed. The newly-strengthened tax credit will increase the amount of money given back to families on a fixed income with children.
The law effectively reverses a tax code change in 2011 that implemented the retirement tax and reduced the tax credit given to families.
The changes will cost the state. Michigan is currently operating under a budget surplus, so the additional money returning to families is not expected to have an immediate noticeable impact. That said, the Citizens Research Council calculated the change will drain $50 million away from the government in 2023. By 2026, they say the government will lose $515 million.
This is because the change is being rolled out in stages. For example, the retirement tax repeal only affects those who are 65 or older in 2023. In 2024, it will be those who are 62 or older.
For more information regarding the change and who it will affect, please see this website.
Finally… I lied, we’re talking national politics again.
Well, kind of. Michigan might be making some waves in the national landscape soon, if a proposed bill passes.
Said bill is a proposed legislation to have Michigan join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. That’s a pretty lengthy title, but the actual meaning is fairly simple.
In a presidential election, voters technically do not vote for the office of the presidency. Instead, they are voting as to witch way the electors of a state, as part of the Electoral College, cast their vote for the presidency.
This roundabout method is a holdover from the Founding Fathers’ fear of mob tyranny; that is, they were afraid a pure democracy ruled by popular vote would eventually collapse.
So, the Electoral College was created based on language in the Constitution, meaning any attempt to change the process would require an Amendment, which are generally very hard to implement.
There is, however, a loophole.
States are free to let their electors vote as they wish. It’s not federal law that a state’s elector must vote inline with how their state’s population voted. This means (and has happened) that an elector can cast their vote for someone else entirely.
Though the national government cannot, the state itself can mandate how an elector votes, even if it’s against what the population of the state wants.
The end result of that loophole is the Interstate Compact. Should it be passed, it would add Michigan to a list of states that promise to delegate their electors not to whoever won the most voters in that state, but the winner of the national popular vote.
The law wouldn’t take effect immediately. It only triggers if enough states sign on to secure a majority of electors- 270, to be precise. Currently, they need an additional 75 more electors for the law to go into effect.
For more on the subject, check out this article.
