With 6 weeks before the holiday break, The Michigan Legislature has decided to not do another damn thing: When the gavel hit, They didn’t do shit!

It’s official, the Michigan State Legislature will not be doing any work or voting on any new legislative proposals that could provide renters with serious relief. It also means that those who have been working on getting a Drive Safe bill passed, particularly the Immigrant Justice that is led by Movimiento Cosecha. And it means that the Enbridge Line 5 is still operating, putting the Great Lakes at risk, ignoring Tribal Sovereignty and perpetuating the Climate Crisis, despite Gov. Whitmer’s promise to shut it down years ago.

This extended vacation is unacceptable and it comes right after the Michigan State Legislature took off from early July til September the 6th, as we noted in an earlier post on GRIID related to the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha to get driver’s licenses for the undocumented community.

Movimiento Cosecha and the Drive Safe Coalition have been organizing the entire year, and despite the Democrats having control of the State House, the Senate and the Governor’s office, they chose not to make it a priority.

On September 5th, the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition held a sizable rally at the Lansing State Capitol, with very clear and strong demands around tenant rights and housing justice, which GRIID also attended and wrote about.

Since then, the Rent is Too Damn High coalition has made an impact. In a recent Action Alert that the coalition sent out, they provided a list of lessons learned this Fall: 

1. We have a handful of renters’ rights champions who are ready to sponsor bills and fight for them in the legislature. A bill to enable rent control, and another 8 bills strengthening renters’ rights, have been introduced to the house and are ready for passage.
   
2. Landlords are paying attention to us. The Rental Property Owners Association, the Property Management Association, and other lobbyists have been attending housing committee meetings and testifying against renters’ rights. After our 9/5 demonstration, one of them even said they had “never been more nervous” about being held accountable.
   
3. Democratic House leadership, starting with Speaker Joe Tate, haven’t shown any interest in advancing renters’ rights. Instead they are siding with landlords by leaving important bills to languish in committee.
   
4. Renters aren’t the only constituents being sidelined. House leadership has concluded that doing less of everything will help them get re-elected next year. This is an obviously self-defeating strategy, but it’s the one they’re going with. Don’t take my word for it…read this article published Monday in capitol news service Gongwer: Whether To Upend Status Quo Driving Dem Divide In House.
   
5. The House is likely to adjourn for the year on November 9 — over a month earlier than usual. When they do, they’ll be leaving vulnerable renters and unhoused people without any more rights or relief, as we head into another cold winter. This has definitely come to pass!
   
6. Whatever renters win, we’ll have to fight for. We already knew this, but this fall has confirmed it — The people at the top are not looking out for us. They don’t go to sleep worrying about the rent. They go to sleep comfortable, in homes that they own. It’s up to us to build more power and change the political equation.
   

The Rent is Too Damn High coalition held another rally on November 8th and also spent hours lobbying member of the State legislature. However, since the Michigan State Legislature has decided to do no more work until next year, the Rent is Too Damn High coalition is now using the phrase – When the gavel hit, They didn’t do shit!

The Rent is Too Damn High coalition is not taking a break and working on pressuring State Legislators in our respective communities, like Rep. Kristian Grant, who sits on the Housing Subcommittee and needs to be held accountable for allowing the unhoused to live through another winter, tenants who facing threats of eviction and need rent control, and thousands of Michigan families that can’t afford housing in the current market-driven housing system! 

Representative Grant is hosting a 1 hour coffee and community meeting on Monday, November 13, from 9 – 10am at the Scorpion Hearts Club, which is located at 1035 Wealthy Street SE. Grand Rapids. Why these meetings are held at times when many working people can’t attend, by design. If people can attend, then ask Rep. Grant why none of the demands from the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition have not been met? You also might want to ask her why she has already accepted $500 from the Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County during the current re-election campaign cycle, according to state records.  Lastly, we should all demand that she make ending the ban on rent control in Michigan a priority beginning in the New Year.