LANSING – Today, Legislative Republicans passed two bills, SB 1171 and SB 1175, gutting the citizen-led ballot initiatives that were passed into law back in September. In response, state Rep. Terry Sabo (D-Muskegon) issued the following statement:
“To say that I am extremely disappointed in the Legislature after today’s votes to weaken the minimum wage and paid sick time bills would be an understatement. Many hard-working men and women in our state are unfairly affected by this legislation which takes us backwards instead of forward. Many of my Republican colleagues like to talk about their efforts to support working people in our home state, but this sure isn’t how to do it. Unfortunately, we saw this coming when the legislation was passed back in September as the majority made it very clear at that time that they were only passing it so that they could gut it after the election. That is why I voted NO in September and again today. This is not the way we should be treating our citizens or their petitions that they bring forward. These were issues that were supposed to be decided by the voters, but once again the current Republican majority feels that they know better and that voters shouldn’t have a say in their state government. My hope is that our citizens don’t forget. I assure you that I won’t, and I will continue to stand with those who want to support their families with decent wages and benefits.”
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