LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Roger Hauck expressed his disdain with the unvetted proposals being considered by the Legislature in the final days of the 2024 legislative session.
“The current majority has taken everything bad about lame duck and made it tenfold worse,” said Hauck R-Mount Pleasant. “People made their voices clear: The number one priority for most Michigan families is rising costs and the unaffordability of everyday life — and on their way out the door, the Democrat majority doubled down and attempted to raise taxes and fees and make even more aspects of people’s lives unaffordable.”
The Democrat agenda during the 2024 lame duck session has included many bills that would raise taxes and fees and expand the size of state government at taxpayer expense.
“The current majority blew through over $9 billion and now they can’t afford to maintain this level of spending, so they once again have gone back to people with their hands out at a time when people can least afford it,” Hauck said. “Republicans in the House and Senate fought back against these tone-deaf tax hikes, and thankfully, many of them are now dead in the water.”
Among other items that grow the size of state government, the Democrat majority has proposed tax hikes that would:
- Raise water rates, costing taxpayers $90 million in the first 18 months.
- Allow local units of government to charge a fee for stormwater systems.
- Expand bottle deposits to bottled water and juices.
- Create an entertainment tax on attending concerts, sporting events, zoos, amusement parks, and more.
- Increase hunting and fishing license fees.
- Raise boat registration fees across the board.
- Allow for the creation of toll roads and lanes in Michigan.
- Increase vehicle registration by $100 per vehicle.
- Increase the fuel tax on both gasoline and diesel by 19 cents per gallon.
The Democrat majority, however, has passed legislation that would increase burdens on small businesses and create more bureaucratic red tape. This includes legislation to increase government control over certain septic systems, including new levels of bureaucracy, large fines for those who do not comply and mandating homeowner-paid inspections for certain septic systems every 10 years; create a patchwork of local wage laws that leave small businesses behind and create new levels of bureaucracy; and pass overreaching regulations that violate the Second Amendment rights of Michiganders.
“What hasn’t gotten the attention it needed was revisiting the critical tipped wage credit that could cost people their jobs and significantly disrupt one of Michigan’s largest industries,” Hauck said. “The Democrat majority is doing a significant disservice to the state by jamming all these partisan bills through without giving even their own members time to adequately review them, while subsequently ignoring issues that could have a very real impact on people’s lives.”
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