July 25, 2025 | This Week in Government: Farhat Booted as Dem Approps Leader After GOP Fails to Pass Policy Bills

Thursday’s House session ended with the lead House Democrat on budget issues kicked out of his post after House Republicans failed to get several bills over the finish line.

The change is likely to throw a wrench into budget negotiations, which are already tenuous nearly a month after the July 1 statutory deadline.

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, removed Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, as minority vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee  immediately following his no vote on a bill sponsored by House Republicans that would make changes to life without parole sentencing for 19- and 20-year-olds.

“This town is a f—ing mess,” Farhat said to reporters after House session. “It’s a f—ing mess in Lansing right now, unequivocally. … I believe when you govern, you want to govern through consensus. And what we’re seeing right now is this ideology being pushed where if a Republican works with a Democrat, contrary to the speaker is saying, then you’ve got to hate the Republican, and if a Democrat works a Republican, you’ve got to hate the Democrat. This is all being pushed to strangle negotiations. This is impacting our ability to do a budget.”

The House spent seven hours in session on Thursday and failed to pass any bills.

Two bills went up on the board: HB 4141, which would ban students from using their cell phones in schools, and HB 4506, which would allow prosecutors to seek life without parole for 19- and 20-year-olds convicted of certain crimes and more time for resentencing hearings for current cases.

Both bills failed.

House Republicans had attendance issues on Thursday. Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton; Rep. David Martin, R-Davison; and Rep. Pauline Wenzel, R-Watervliet, were not present. Several House Republicans said that DeSana was present in Lansing on Thursday, but he did not attend session because he felt that the House should be taking up other legislative priorities.

HB 4141  failed 53-45, though Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, said House Democrats assured him he had support.

“We thought we had the votes necessary, but I guess this was an opportunity for them to flex a little bit and jam us up for fun,” Tisdel said. “I would have liked it to go up on the board when all of our members are here … and I thought (I had) close friends on the other side of the aisle … but it was just one of those days where politics prevailed in Lansing, which is like, lo and behold, there’s gambling at the casino.”

It smacked of some payback after Hall had his caucus oppose all bills late last year during Democratic control, but Democrats were unable to act because of attendance issues. Hall led Republicans in a walkout that left the House without a quorum because of the Democratic attendance problems. Democrats attempted to create a similar issue with quorum, but because 55 Republicans were marked as present for attendance and Minority Floor Leader John Fitzgerald, D-Wyoming, was on the floor, the chamber had the needed 56 members for a quorum.

Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, faulted her caucus.

“I’m so disappointed that we have members of our own caucus who were here today who chose not to come to session and do their freaking job,” she said. “It’s disgusting.”

Lightner said she was supportive of a resolution that would dock legislators’ pay when they are not in Lansing to vote.

“If we have to take action on our own member, we have to take action on our own members,” Lightner said.

Lightner sponsored HB 4506, which went up for a vote twice. The first time it failed 55-42. It was reconsidered and put back up for a vote, and it failed 55-43. Farhat, who was excused from the vote the first time, voted no the second time.

Lightner said that Republicans made concessions to eliminate consecutive sentencing originally included in the bill to get Democratic votes, but House Democrats still voted against the bill.

“I am so mad and angry at lots of members in this Legislature today because they just slapped all victims in the face and give more respect to these pieces of crap than people that have lost their lives and the families of the victims that have lost their lives,” she said. “It’s sickening and disgusting, and I hope we can work through the process, get all our stinking members here and vote on good policy that actually prioritizes victims.”

Farhat said he never agreed to vote for the bill, but he was engaged in conversations about it.

“Part of working in good faith is talking about how you make policy better. I think the difference is, when you have a caucus, that I represent, that I’m a member of … that gets not even more than 30 second to read anything, when you have a process in which it’s ‘might is right’ and you’re in a spot, you have to vote, you have to be accountable to the positions you’re put it, that’s not how I operate,” he said. “I’m not somebody who gets bullied, or bought, or pushed around. I’m somebody who came here to do serious things on their merits . … . The policy is one I think we should continue to discuss … but there was never an agreement.”

Immediately after Farhat voted no, the House clerk read in a letter from Hall removing Farhat as minority vice chair.

“From what I can see, he’s not getting the job done,” Hall said at a press conference following session. “I’ve done a lot of deals with Democrats over the last several years. I always follow through on the things that I said I was going to do. … We need somebody that is really going to represent the Democrats and somebody who can honor their commitments. That’s what we want to get under the bipartisan budget.”

Hall made it clear that he also removed Farhat for not agreeing to a deal on the K-12 education budget on July 1. He has not yet named a replacement. Hall picked Farhat for the minority vice chair role even though House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton Township, recommended Rep. Will Snyder, D-Muskegon.

“We’re going to interview some of the other legislative Democrats,” Hall said. “Someone who when they make a commitment is going to follow through because that’s critical to the budget process.”

Hall said Democrats should empower Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to negotiate on their behalf.

“If Democrats were smart, they would follow her, because she’s a lot more popular,” he said. “If they were smart, they would follow her and support her on the budget, because I think she’s demonstrated that she knows how to get it, and she knows how to work together.”

Hall said that he offered House Democrats multiple deals on priorities their caucus wanted to see passed, but they rejected all of them. House Democratic sources speaking on background confirmed that Puri rejected several deals on Thursday to deny Republicans the votes they needed to pass legislation.

“We need to be asking why we were brought in to not have a single bill voted out,” Puri said. “We waited around and twiddled our thumbs for hours and hours and hours. It was very clear early in the day that this wasn’t going to go anywhere. … There is just a really stubborn mindset in the speaker who refuses to understand that he is not the judge, jury and executioner of all things in Lansing. And until her realizes that he needs our help, things aren’t going to get done.”

Now that Farhat is no longer the minority vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, it’s unclear who will be part of negotiations in the House.

“I can tell you who’s not – Ann Bollin,” Farhat said, referring to House Appropriations Chair Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton. “I got moved because I was someone who wanted to fight for values. What you see with the speaker is a consolidation of every aspect of power on this side of the chamber. You’re seeing him handle the conversation. You’re seeing him handle those things, and you’re seeing him also pick who negotiate on behalf of Democrats, which he did, but not just negotiate what they’re allowed to stand on for principle and what Democratic values they’re allowed to defend…. There’s a legislative process that has to play out that the speaker has shown an unwillingness to do this time.”

The leader of the Department of Civil Rights said Wednesday his agency and others provided the administration with a reduced budget proposal in the event of a 15% cut, while the state’s budget director confirmed the office is working with leaders on plans for “a wide variety of scenarios,” in the wake federal cuts and shifting economic policy

Department of Civil Rights Director John Johnson revealed Wednesday that in the time since the department’s initial budget proposal came before Senate appropriations subcommittees and then was approved by the full chamber, the State Budget Office requested an alternative proposal to be submitted with a 15% reduction. Johnson said other departments received similar requests but did not specify.

“We did appear before the Senate on March 20, it did approve our request, but since then, the State Budget Office has asked that we, along with other departments, submit a plan to reduce our fiscal year 26 appropriations by 15%,” Johnson said. “There’s no indication that’s going to happen. They just want to be ready in case they need that information or to be able to negotiate as they continue trying to get a fiscal year 2026 budget approved.”

Johnson went on to say that the department submitted its reduced proposal as requested, and despite his confidence that the request was made on a contingency basis, he and the division leaders within his department decided to institute a hiring freeze until the budget situation stabilized.

“As a result of that, of the uncertainty of our budget, and even that request that we submit that plan, we’ve imposed a temporary hiring freeze in the department until everything is settled, and are only hiring for essential positions,” Johnson said.

Budget Director Jen Flood confirmed that SBO is working with departments on contingency plans “for a wide range of scenarios,” in part due to federal cuts and economic policies coming from the Trump administration.

“Due to recent federal budget cuts and shifting economic policy, SBO is working with departments and agencies to plan for a wide range of scenarios,” Flood said in a statement. “While departments are currently evaluating their options, there is no statewide hiring freeze in place. We look forward to working with the Legislature to pass a balanced and bipartisan budget that prioritizes the core services that Michiganders rely on each day.”

State Budget Office representatives did not respond to questions from Gongwer News Service about how many departments had been asked to provide slimmed down budget proposals or if others had submitted plans with a 15% cut or a different percentage. A source speaking on background said some departments were asked to prepare budgets with cuts greater than 15%.

Although Flood attributed the plans being made with departments to uncertainty at the federal level, Johnson indicated that it was stalling and murkiness in the state budget process that necessitated the alternate proposals and his department’s hiring freeze.

“There’s been no action by the House in terms of budget, and as a result, we’re unsure as to where we’re heading into fiscal year ’26 at this time,” Johnson said. “(We received) the recommendation of increase (to our budget) by both the governor and the Senate, but absolutely no clue from the House as to where they’re heading on this.”

The federal tax and spending changes signed into law this month will reduce state revenues by $677 million in the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year, a report from the House Fiscal Agency said.

Other reductions due to federal changes are phased in and will not have an immediate significant impact on the state, the HFA analysis said.

The revenue impact from tax changes will decrease over time – $613 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year, $444 million in the 2027-28 fiscal year, and then reduce to $46 million by the 2033-34 fiscal year.

The reduction results from how federal tax changes affect what businesses pay in Corporate Income Tax. The federal tax changes change firms’ Michigan tax base. The biggest change comes from expensing domestic research and experimental expenditures.

The loss of $677 million for the upcoming fiscal year presents a significant new issue in finalizing the budget.

Other than tax changes, the legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump makes changes to Medicaid. The HFA analysis said the specific state impacts won’t be known until the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provide implementation guidelines and rules.

Additionally, several provisions are delayed until future years.

Still, HFA estimates Medicaid costs for the state are projected to decline by $7.1 billion gross by the 2033-34 fiscal year.

The bill’s changes to provider taxes and state directed payments could reduce annual Medicaid payments by $3.1 billion gross by 2033-34, HFA said.

There are four state health care provider taxes that are used to increase Medicaid provider rates for the applicable health care provider class through supplemental Medicaid payments and offset General Fund dollars that would otherwise be needed.

There are also four state directed payments, which are arrangements between the state and its contracted managed care organizations that require managed care organizations to pay providers at a specific or enhanced fee schedule.

The state will be required to implement work requirements for Healthy Michigan participants by Jan. 1, 2027, and redeterminations will be required every six months. HFA said these requirements are expected to comprise approximately 25% of the overall funding impact to the state, about $1.9 billion gross by 2033-34.

One change in the bill could lead to Michigan receiving $250 million per fiscal year through 2029-30. The rural heath transformation program will distribute $50 billion as grants to states during the next five years.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, the state could be responsible for potentially more substantial portion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The federal bill sets a state match based on the error rate in the state from either the 2024-25 fiscal year or the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Under the provision, Michigan could be on the hook for up to $600 million for SNAP. The 2023-24 SNAP error rate in the state was 9.87%, which would result in a 10% match requirement and increase costs to about $400 million.

There are also additional work requirements for adults on SNAP under the federal bill, including requiring able bodied adults to work until they are 64 years old, up from 54, and the age of dependent children is reduced to under 14 years old instead of 18.

The state will also take on 75% of administrative costs, up from 50%, beginning Oct. 1, 2026. This would cost the state $84.8 million based on 2023-24 fiscal year numbers.

House Republicans issued a slew of subpoenas Tuesday morning, including two document subpoenas for the Department of Attorney General, one for Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel and two for the Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR and DHHS responded on Tuesday saying that the subpoenas were unnecessary to get a response.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) said all the departments were given the opportunity to submit documents during the weekend, and those that did not were subpoenaed.

The committee also requested information from the Department of Corrections regarding body camera usage at the Huron Valley Women’s Correctional Facility, but the department responded to the committee’s request.

None of the five issued subpoenas were related.

“The role of Oversight is when something comes to us that, at least at face value has some information that is credible and points to a certain behavior or activity that might not be in alignment with the law or within alignment of the intended purpose or actions of the Legislature, that’s why we do these things,” DeBoyer said “And that’s why I always say, truthfully, I hope there’s nothing here. But we still have a responsibility to get to the bottom of it.”

The first subpoena issued to the Department of Attorney General requests documents related to the April 18, 2023, criminal referral concerning the Michigan Campaign Finance complaint in the matter of The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust v. Bipartisan Solutions.

The subpoena specifically requests an internal communications, communications with the Department of State, and any notice of an isolation wall. Bipartisan Solutions is alleged to have raised $700,000 in 2020 for the ballot question committee Fair and Equal Michigan, which sought to bring a ballot proposal to expand the definition of sex under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to provide civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.

The second subpoena issued for the attorney general is related to potential criminal activity by Traci Kornak, a personal injury lawyer and former treasurer for the Michigan Democratic Party. Kornak was investigated for insurance fraud in 2022.

The Department of Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

“I hope there’s nothing to see here,” DeBoyer said. “But if it turns out that there is potential conflict between the Attorney General’s Office and the individuals being investigated, well, we’re going to make a recommendation back to the Legislature on what we believe the right policies would be to prevent this from occurring in the future.”

The House Oversight Committee also subpoenaed Hertel, seeking testimony on child protective services, residential care, and state and local assistance programs. Oversight subcommittees previously invited Hertel to testify, but she has not been available.

“MDHHS is always willing to meet with our legislative partners to discuss the programs and supports we administer to protect the health and safety of Michigan families. MDHHS has appeared before policy, budget, and oversight committees in the Michigan House of Representatives 21 times and responded to more than 100 requests for information from these committees since the start of this legislative term in January 2025,” Lynn Sutfin, public information officer for DHHS, said in a statement. “MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel responded to the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, July 8, and shared that she was happy to testify before the committee on an alternative date and requested more information on what the committee wanted to discuss to ensure she was prepared for a productive conversation that focused on the matters the Legislature wanted to discuss. … A subpoena was not necessary to compel the director to appear before the committee.”

During the committee meeting Tuesday, Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell) said his subcommittee, the House State and Local Assistance Programs Oversight Subcommittee, offered two dates to Hertel and she declined both.

“It appears that DHHS is repeatedly stonewalling the House and its subcommittees seeking to investigate these timely and important issues,” Woolford said.

Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen), chair of the House Appropriations Human Services Subcommittee  also issued a statement on Tuesday.

“House Republicans have raised serious questions for months about troubling reports involving MDHHS — including children sleeping on floors, young people being placed in unvetted out-of-state facilities, instances of welfare and Medicaid fraud, and taxpayer-funded services being extended to individuals without legal status. These issues deserve a full and transparent review,” Roth said. “Our goal has always been to work collaboratively behind the scenes to investigate these concerns, but unfortunately, we have not been able to secure the cooperation we had hoped for from the department. When a state department is unwilling to engage with the people’s representatives on matters this serious, we are left with no choice but to take further steps to obtain the information the public deserves.”

DeBoyer said the Oversight Committee sent an email to Hertel last Thursday requesting other dates and had not received a response.

The final two subpoenas were issued to the Department of Natural Resources. The first subpoena requests records related to the 2010 invasive species order regarding feral swine. The second subpoena requests record related to the department’s Canada Goose euthanasia program.

“The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is always willing to meet with legislators to discuss our work to protect and manage natural and cultural resources for the people of Michigan,” DNR Public Information Officer Ed Golder said in a statement. “The DNR director and relevant staff would be happy to appear before the committee to answer questions regarding the department’s work but have not been invited. A subpoena was not necessary to compel the department to provide information.”

Although oversight is not the focus of many in Lansing right now, with no deal on the state budget in sight, DeBoyer said that these subpoenas were a separate but equally important measure.

“They’re distinctively different. They’re not exclusive from each other, but they’re certainly distinctively different,” he said.

Still, oversight issues can have ramifications on the budget, DeBoyer said, pointing to the goose euthanasia program.

“We were spending money to euthanize Canadian geese,” he said. “The argument I would make to you is if we have an overpopulation of a natural resource, why are we not expanding the abilities for that natural resource to be harvested in a manner that maintains that natural resource as an asset, as opposed to making it a liability that’s going to cause us to spend money to manage it.”

DeBoyer stressed that he was hoping the subpoenas wouldn’t result in anything.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that’s rooting for behavior in the state of Michigan by their departments to turn out to be nefarious or intentionally or willfully in violation of the law,” he said. “But … people are people and people do things they shouldn’t do. And our job is to make sure that the statutes of the state of Michigan exist to address issues when people are not operating in a manner they’re supposed to operate.”

Department of Education officials pushed back Wednesday on some conclusions of a report they commissioned, including one asserting the governor should have more control of the agency and the State Board of Education.

The 2023-24 fiscal year budget provided $500,000 to commission the report. In a press release that included the report, officials cited “the strengths and weaknesses” of its findings.

“The Michigan Department of Education agrees with some findings in the report and disagrees with others,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice said in a statement. “The report offers no significant new research or fresh insight about knowledge, education policy, or ways to improve student achievement.”

The report, conducted by the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan, reviewed existing academic papers, policy reports, and government documents. To determine how specific proposals might affect outcomes in Michigan, researchers used administrative data “to conduct novel statistical analysis.” Additionally, researchers interviewed a variety of stakeholders from local school districts, advocacy groups, and more.

A key recommendation in the report, which MDE disagrees with, is moving toward a system in which the governor has greater authority. The report recommends maintaining some guardrails to prevent partisan politics from undermining educational outcomes.

“The reforms described in this report are not intended to dramatically restructure the balance of state versus local power over educational governance,” the report says. “Rather, they are designed both to foster greater alignment across state-level entities and to create a system whereby MDE can better communicate its goals and priorities to local districts, and then guide, support, and monitor local actors to improve teaching and learning. Our recommendations aim to strengthen educational governance, allowing state agencies to better use their formal and informal authority to enhance outcomes for all Michigan students.”

Specifically, the report says the state should take steps toward a system in which at least some members of the Board of Education are appointed by the governor and the governor has more control over the choice of state superintendent.

“Quantitative research provides limited guidance on the question of whether strong gubernatorial control (i.e., the appointment of the state superintendent or the State Board of Education) results in higher student performance,” the report says. “There is some tentative evidence that stronger gubernatorial control can result in higher student performance, but this research has important shortcomings and thus is far from conclusive. At the same time, our interview respondents indicate the need for a more coherent and well aligned education governance system. And many interviewees indicate that the current structure of Michigan’s State Board of Education has little impact on student outcomes, and, in fact, is a barrier to making progress on educational reform.”

State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, D-Saginaw, said the report’s “opinion-based” governance recommendations risk undermining Michigan’s constitutional safeguards.

“It is troubling that the report leans on opinion over data, especially when recommending governance changes that disregard the will of the people and the constitutional safeguards established in 1963,” she said. “Governors already have a voice in the process, and we would welcome even more active engagement through gubernatorial board liaisons. But at a time when public education is under attack, we must remain steadfast in protecting the independence of those entrusted to lead our schools and serve all children – not political agendas.”

The state should also develop a coordinated and “well-funded” approach to improve academic performance in key areas, like literacy, the report says.

This could include identifying a set of evidence-based instructional approaches and requiring districts to select from a set of state-approved curriculum materials.

The report also recommends MDE receive more funding and the infrastructure to attract and retain experienced educators with deep knowledge of the challenges facing Michigan schools.

Rice said the department indeed needs more staffing.

“MDE staff are small in number, but disproportionate in their impact given their numbers,” he said. “MDE is able to provide local schools with a great deal of support despite having 1% of the state’s full-time equivalent staff (approximately 500 staff members) and 0.2% of the state’s budget to oversee close to 25% of the state’s budget every year.”

Further, intermediate school districts should be restructured to play a larger and more standardized role in education, the report says.

The report also recommends increased investment in teachers, ensuring adequate funding in key areas like special education and capital investment, providing incentives for school districts to implement service sharing, and fine-tuning the school choice system.