Great Lakes Wire

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) stated Wednesday that the legislative impasse with Senate Democrats has been resolved after the Senate passed five House bills. Hall indicated that further progress will depend on continued movement of House bills by the Senate.

However, Hall clarified that this development does not mean the Republican-controlled House will begin advancing Senate bills. “We’re not moving their bills. They’re moving our bills and that makes a lot of sense. I mean, they’re caving. They’re backing down to pressure,” Hall said.

Hall explained that the House is sending over legislation he considers ready for passage, while the Senate is returning bills he views as unprepared. The exception was a negotiated cell phone policy bill sponsored by Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia), which would have required local schools to ban student cell phone use during instruction time. According to Hall, House Democrats blocked the companion bill in that package, so the agreement is now off.

The recent passage of five House-introduced bills by the Senate marks a change; until now, only three such bills had passed in 2025. The House has also passed three Senate-originated measures this session, none sponsored by Republicans.

“Senate Democrats are moving bills that have broad bipartisan support. I appreciate their efforts,” said Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare).

The legislation advanced includes measures related to deep fakes and highway renaming but does not include Speaker Hall’s shutdown prevention plan—a continuation budget intended to keep funding for local governments, jails, state police, and other core services until a full-year budget is approved.

“We passed that bill to . . . ensure that our local prisons stay open, local governments have the funding they need. We wanted to ensure that kids weren’t pawns in the Democrats’ shutdown game,” Hall said.

When asked if she would rule out passing the continuation budget from the House, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks responded: “I’m laser focused on getting a budget to the governor’s desk well before Sept. 30.”

At his press conference Wednesday, Speaker Hall also addressed tax policy developments. He confirmed an income tax cut enacted earlier this year will not be included in upcoming House budget recommendations but suggested instead focusing on eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, overtime pay, and tips within what he called "One Big Beautiful Bill."

“I think people in Michigan would be mad if they thought they had no tax on tips, and then they still had to have a state tax on tips. They still have a state tax on overtime,” he said. “I think it’d be a problem.”

According to Hall's estimates and analysis from the House Fiscal Agency, these targeted tax changes would reduce revenues by $150 million to $180 million annually; cutting income taxes outright would cost about $713 million for Fiscal Year 2026.

Regarding road funding proposals totaling $3 billion in new revenue streams, Hall reiterated his approach involves capping legislative earmarks at $100 million annually, eliminating corporate incentives programs, and reducing fraud or wasteful spending within existing budgets.

Speaker Hall agreed with independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan’s suggestion that lawmakers should forgo pay during any government shutdowns: “He said if that language were in effect earlier this summer, it would have helped him get a K-12 budget deal done by July 1.” However, he did not specify whether staff members should also go unpaid if there is no FY 2026 budget by October 1.

Hall was also asked about Attorney General Dana Nessel’s criticism of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). He suggested Nessel's comments may be politically motivated due to her perceived alignment with former President Donald Trump but did not answer whether MEDC funds should be frozen pending additional oversight.