Jump to content

Michigan House of Representatives

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 198.109.173.40 (talk) at 20:24, 1 December 2016 (Clerk of the House: Link to Assistant Clerk of the House - Rich Brown - was corrected.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Michigan House of Representatives
Michigan State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
3 terms (6 years)
History
New session started
January 14, 2015
Leadership
Kevin Cotter (R)
since January 14, 2015
Speaker pro Tempore
Tom Leonard (R)
since January 14, 2015
Majority Leader
Aric Nesbitt (R)
since January 14, 2015
Minority Leader
Tim Greimel (D)
since January 1, 2013
Structure
Seats110
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (63)

Minority

Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle IV, Section 3, Michigan Constitution
Salary$71,865/year + expenses
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2016
(110 seats)
Next election
November 6, 2018
(110 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber
Michigan State Capitol
Lansing, Michigan
Website
Michigan House of Representatives

The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U.S. Census. Its composition, powers, and duties are established in Article IV of the Michigan Constitution.

Members are elected in even-numbered years, and take office on the January 1 following the November general election; the House first meets on the second Wednesday in January, according to the state constitution. Each member is limited to serving three, two-year terms. The House meets in the north wing of the Capitol in Lansing.

Title

Members of the House of Representative are commonly referred to as representatives. Because this shadows the terminology used to describe members of Congress, constituents and news media, using the Associated Press guidelines for journalist, often refer to members as state representatives to avoid confusion with their federal counterparts. As elected officials, members of the House of Representatives also receive the courtesy title of the Honorable (abbreviated to Hon. or Hon'ble) for life.

Composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
colspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color" | colspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color" | style="background-color:Template:Independent Party (United States)/meta/color" |
Republican Democratic Ind Vacant
End of Previous Legislature 59 50 1 110 0
Begin 2015 session 63 47 0 110 0
February 3, 2015[1] 46 1
April 16, 2015[2] 62 1
August 3, 2015[3] 45 109 1
September 11, 2015[4] 61 107 3
February 1, 2016[5] 44 106 4
March 8, 2016 [6] 63 45 109 1
June 25, 2016 [7] 44 108 2
September 12, 2016[8] 62 107 3
November 18, 2016[9] 61 106 4
November 22, 2016[10] 45 107 3
Latest voting share 58% 41.1% 0.9%

Leadership

Majority party

Minority party

Members

Cora B. Anderson House of Representatives Office Building, Downtown Lansing
District Representative Party County(ies) Term
1 Brian Banks Dem Wayne 2nd
2 Alberta Tinsley-Talabi Dem Wayne 3rd
3 Wendell Byrd Dem Wayne 1st
4 Rose Mary Robinson Dem Wayne 2nd
5 Fred Durhal III Dem Wayne 1st
6 Stephanie Chang Dem Wayne 1st
7 LaTanya Garrett Dem Wayne 1st
8 Sherry Gay-Dagnogo Dem Wayne 1st
9 Harvey Santana Dem* Wayne 3rd
10 Leslie Love Dem Wayne 1st
11 Vacant Wayne
12 Erika Geiss Dem Wayne 1st
13 Frank Liberati Dem Wayne 1st
14 Paul Clemente Dem Wayne 3rd
15 George Darany Dem Wayne 3rd
16 Robert Kosowski Dem Wayne 2nd
17 Bill LaVoy Dem Monroe, Wayne 2nd
18 Sarah Roberts Dem Macomb 3rd
19 Laura Cox Rep Wayne 1st
20 Vacant Wayne
21 Kristy Pagan Dem Wayne 1st
22 John Chirkun Dem Macomb 1st
23 Pat Somerville Rep Wayne 3rd
24 Anthony Forlini Rep Macomb 3rd
25 Henry Yanez Dem Macomb 2nd
26 Jim Townsend Dem Oakland 3rd
27 Robert Wittenberg Dem Oakland 1st
28 Patrick Green Dem Macomb 1st (partial)
29 Tim Greimel Dem Oakland 3rd (2nd full)
30 Jeff Farrington Rep Macomb 3rd
31 Marilyn Lane Dem Macomb 3rd
32 Andrea LaFontaine Rep Macomb, St. Clair 3rd
33 Ken Goike Rep Macomb 3rd
34 Sheldon Neeley Dem Genesee 1st
35 Jeremy Moss Dem Oakland 1st
36 Peter Lucido Rep Macomb 1st
37 Christine Greig Dem Oakland 1st
38 Kathy Crawford Rep Oakland 1st
39 Klint Kesto Rep Oakland 2nd
40 Mike McCready Rep Oakland 2nd
41 Martin Howrylak Rep Oakland 2nd
42 Lana Theis Rep Livingston 1st
43 Jim Tedder Rep Oakland 1st
44 Jim Runestad Rep Oakland 1st
45 Michael Webber Rep Oakland 1st
46 Bradford Jacobsen Rep Oakland 3rd
47 Henry Vaupel Rep Livingston 1st
48 Pam Faris Dem Genesee 2nd
49 Phil Phelps Dem Genesee 2nd
50 Charles Smiley Dem Genesee 3rd
51 Joe Graves Rep Genesee 2nd
52 Gretchen Driskell Dem Washtenaw 2nd
53 Jeff Irwin Dem Washtenaw 3rd
54 David Rutledge Dem Washtenaw 3rd
55 Adam Zemke Dem Washtenaw 2nd
56 Jason Sheppard Rep Monroe 1st
57 Nancy Jenkins Rep Lenawee 3rd
58 Eric Leutheuser Rep Branch, Hillsdale 1st
59 Aaron Miller Rep Cass, St. Joseph 1st
60 Jon Hoadley Dem Kalamazoo 1st
61 Brandt Iden Rep Kalamazoo 1st
62 John Bizon Rep Calhoun 1st
63 David Maturen Rep Calhoun, Kalamazoo 1st
64 Earl Poleski Rep Jackson 3rd
65 Brett Roberts Rep Jackson 1st
66 Aric Nesbitt Rep Van Buren, Kalamazoo 3rd
67 Tom Cochran Dem Ingham 2nd
68 Andy Schor Dem Ingham 2nd
69 Sam Singh Dem Ingham 2nd
70 Rick Outman Rep Montcalm, Gratiot 3rd
71 Tom Barrett Rep Eaton 1st
72 Ken Yonker Rep Kent 3rd
73 Chris Afendoulis Rep Kent 1st
74 Rob VerHeulen Rep Kent, Ottawa 2nd
75 David LaGrand Dem Kent 1st
76 Winnie Brinks Dem Kent 2nd
77 Tom Hooker Rep Kent 3rd
78 Dave Pagel Rep Berrien, Cass 2nd
79 Al Pscholka Rep Berrien 3rd
80 Mary Whiteford Rep Allegan 1st
81 Dan Lauwers Rep St. Clair 2nd
82 Gary Howell Rep Lapeer 1st
83 Paul Muxlow Rep Sanilac, St. Clair 3rd
84 Edward Canfield Rep Huron, Tuscola 1st
85 Ben Glardon Rep Clinton, Shiawassee 3rd
86 Lisa Lyons Rep Kent, Ionia 3rd
87 Mike Callton Rep Barry, Ionia 3rd
88 Roger Victory Rep Ottawa 2nd
89 Amanda Price Rep Ottawa 3rd
90 Daniela Garcia Rep Ottawa 1st
91 Holly Hughes Rep Muskegon, Ottawa 2nd
92 Marcia Hovey-Wright Dem Muskegon 3rd
93 Tom Leonard Rep Clinton, Gratiot 2nd
94 Tim Kelly Rep Saginaw 2nd
95 Vanessa Guerra Dem Saginaw 1st
96 Charles Brunner Dem Bay 3rd
97 Joel Johnson Rep Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Osceola 3rd
98 Gary Glenn Rep Midland, Bay 1st
99 Kevin Cotter Rep Isabella, Midland 3rd
100 Jon Bumstead Rep Lake, Newaygo, Oceana 3rd
101 Ray Franz Rep Benzie, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason 3rd
102 Phil Potvin Rep Mecosta, Osceola, Wexford 3rd
103 Bruce Rendon Rep Iosco, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Roscommon 3rd
104 Larry C. Inman Rep Grand Traverse 1st
105 Triston Cole Rep Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Otsego 1st
106 Vacant Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, Presque Isle
107 Lee Chatfield Rep Cheboygan, Chippewa, Emmet, Mackinac 1st
108 Ed McBroom Rep Delta, Dickinson, Menominee 3rd
109 John Kivela Dem Alger, Luce, Marquette, Schoolcraft 2nd
110 Scott Dianda Dem Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, Ontonagon 2nd

*: Indicates Representatives removed from their parties' caucuses.

Officials

Speaker of the House

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House and the leader of the majority party. The 72nd and current Speaker is Kevin Cotter, a third-term Republican from Mt. Pleasant.

The Speaker calls the House to order at the hour to which the House last adjourned, preserves order and decorum in the chamber, recognizes Members to speak, and puts all questions. The Speaker is the chief administrator of the House and is technically the employer of all legislative staff. There is also a Speaker pro tempore and two associate Speakers pro tempore who preside in the absence of the Speaker. The full duties of the Speaker are described in Chapter II of the Rules of the House.[11]

Clerk of the House

Clerk of the Michigan House of Representatives
since January 12, 2011
StyleMister Clerk
AppointerElected by the House
Term lengthPleasure of the House (nominally a two-year Legislature)
Inaugural holderGeorge R. Griswold

The Clerk of the House of Representatives is elected by Members of the House at the beginning of each two-year term. The 33rd and current clerk is Gary L. Randall.[12] Randall also served as clerk from 1999 to 2006. The assistant clerk is Richard J. Brown, who served as clerk from 2007 to 2010. Both Randall and Brown are former Members of the House.

Under the rules of the House, the clerk is the parliamentarian of the House, presides in the absence of the Speaker or any Speaker pro tempore, takes roll at the beginning of each session day and announces whether or not a quorum is present, prepares the official calendar and journal of the House, is responsible for the care and preservation of all bills introduced in the House, and for bills sent from the Senate until they are returned to the Senate.[11][13]

Sergeant at Arms

The sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives is the chief police officer of the House, appointed by the Speaker. The current chief sergeant at arms is David D. Dickson, Jr.

The chief sergeant and the assistant sergeants are empowered as law enforcement officers by statute.[14] The sergeants at arms have authority to serve subpoenas and warrants issued by the House or any duly authorized officer or committee, see that all visitors are seated and at no time are standing on the floor or balconies of the House, ensure that reasonable decorum is maintained in the lobby immediately in front of the entrance to the chamber to ensure access for Members and to ensure equal treatment for all citizens.[11]

Committees

Article IV of the Michigan Constitution authorizes each house of the Legislature to "establish the committees necessary for the conduct of its business."[15] The House does much of its work in committees, including the review of bills, executive oversight, and the budget and appropriations process. Members of committees and their chairmen are appointed by the Speaker.[11][16] Bills are referred to a committee by the Speaker, and the chairman of a committee sets its agenda, including whether or not a bill will be reported to the full House. The Committee on Appropriations divides its work among subcommittees ordinarily structured by the state department or major budget area.

There are also four statutory standing committees: Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; House Fiscal Agency Governing Committee; Legislative Council; Michigan Capitol Committee.

Unlike the Senate, the House does not utilize the committee of the whole.

House Fiscal Agency

House Fiscal Agency
Agency overview
HeadquartersCora B. Anderson House Office Building
Employees23
Annual budget$3,105,200
Agency executives
  • Mary Ann Cleary, Director
  • Kyle I. Jen, Deputy Director
Parent departmentHouse Fiscal Agency Governing Board (Michigan House of Representatives)
Websitehouse.mi.gov/hfa/

The House Fiscal Agency is a nonpartisan agency within the House of Representatives which provides nonpartisan expertise to members of the House Appropriations Committee, as well as all other Members of the House. Fiscal analysts review the governor's budget recommendation, review and prepare budget bills, supplemental appropriations, and certain transfer requests, provide fiscal impact statements on legislative proposals, monitor state and national situations that may have budgetary implications, research and analyze fiscal issues, prepare reports and documents to assist legislative deliberations, and prepare special reports at the request of Representatives. The economist analyzes legislation related to tax and lottery issues, respond to Representatives' inquiries regarding state tax revenue, revenue sharing, and other economic issues, monitors state revenue, tracks state, and national economic conditions, and prepares reports on revenue and other economic issues. Legislative analysts prepare concise, nonpartisan summaries and analyses of bills. Summaries, completed prior to committee deliberations, describe how a bill would change current law, including any fiscal impact. Analyses are prepared for bills reported to the full House from committee and include, with the summary information, a description of the problem being addressed, arguments for and against the bill, and positions of interested organizations.[17]

The agency is governed by a six-member board consisting of the chairman and minority vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the Speaker of the House and the minority leader, and the majority and minority floor leaders. The governing committee is responsible for HFA oversight, an establishment of operating procedures, and appointment of the HFA director. The director is one of three state officials charged with annually forecasting the state's revenues at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conferences, which are held at least twice each year.[18]

In January 1993, a front-page story in The Detroit News detailed a massive scandal in the House Fiscal Agency. For six years, the agency's imprest account was used to finance credit card payments, vacations, and property tax payments as well as payments to HFA employees and contract workers for non-existent workers. The scandal threatened to collapse the joint leadership agreement between the Democrats and Republicans brought about by a 55-55 partisan split in the House from the 1992 election. It resulted in Representative Dominic J. Jacobetti of Negaunee in the Upper Peninsula, the longest-serving Member in history, losing his position as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Democrat Harvey Santana (District 9) removed from Democratic caucus
  2. ^ Republican Cindy Gamrat (District 80) removed from Republican caucus
  3. ^ Democrat Brandon Dillon (District 75) resigned to become Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. [1]
  4. ^ Republican Todd Courser (District 82) resigned and Republican Cindy Gamrat (District 80) was expelled from the House as a result of an affair and sex scandal. [2]
  5. ^ Democrat Derek E. Miller (District 28) resigned to become Macomb County treasurer. [3]
  6. ^ Three special elections occurred to fill vacant seats
  7. ^ Democrat Julie Plawecki (District 11) died. [4]
  8. ^ Republican Peter Pettalia (District 106) died. [5]
  9. ^ Rep. Kurt Heise resigned to become Plymouth Twp. supervisor.
  10. ^ Patrick Green sworn to fill vacancy in 28th District.
  11. ^ a b c d Rules of the Michigan House of Representatives
  12. ^ House Resolution 3: A resolution to provide for the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the Ninety-seventh Legislature
  13. ^ 2011-2012 Michigan Manual: Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (p. 302)
  14. ^ Legislative Sergeant at Arms Police Powers Act, 185 PA 2001, MCL 4.381-4.382
  15. ^ Michigan Constitution: Article IV, § 17 Committees; record of votes, public inspection, notice of hearings.
  16. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives: 97th Legislature—Regular Session of 2013, No. 5 (pg. 77-78)
  17. ^ About Us :: House Fiscal Agency
  18. ^ Michigan Legislature: Management and Budget Act: MCL 18.1367b Revenue estimating conference; principals; forecasts.
  19. ^ Gongwer News Service Blog: The Scandal, 20 Years Later