Why Are Michigan Republicans Taking Votes on Bills They Know Won’t Pass?

“It seems like once is something that happened — twice, you’re starting a trend.”

Michigan Capitol Fall

Jake Neher/WDET

Efforts to overhaul Michigan’s auto insurance laws are stalled at the state Capitol.

That’s after Republican House Speaker Tom Leonard called a vote on his bills to reduce auto no-fault rates — and those bills went down in defeat.

WDET’s Jake Neher and Michigan Public Radio’s Cheyna Roth talk about a pattern that is emerging from Republican leadership in Lansing.

“(Leonard) did this previously with the income tax vote — that bill that would get rid of the state’s income tax,” says Roth.

“He put it up there, he didn’t get enough votes from his own party to get it passed.”

“It seems like once is something that happened — twice, you’re starting a trend.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

Authors

  • Cheyna has interned with Michigan Radio and freelanced for WKAR public radio in Lansing. She's also done some online freelancing and worked on documentary films.
  • Jake Neher is senior producer for Detroit Today and host of MichMash for 101.9 WDET. He previously reported on the Michigan Legislature for the Michigan Public Radio Network.