Michigan's Legislative Dynamics to Change: Implications for the Life Sciences Industry
Bipartisan Cooperation Key as Power Balances Reshape Policy Direction
One party control of the legislature and executive office came to end as an outcome of the November 2024 election. Republicans flipped enough seats to give them a 58-52 majority in the Michigan House for the next two-year term. In the Senate, the Democrats will hold only a one seat majority due a vacancy opening up with one of their members being elected to Congress.
So, expect much of what is likely to pass the Michigan Legislature to be nonpartisan. With slim margins in the House and Senate, meaningful movement on high-profile issues will require dealmaking that makes sense to members of both parties – something that hasn’t been witnessed in some years. It won’t easy nor quick, but here’s hoping that checks and balances will be sufficiently in place to at least move some things forward.
It’s expected that Republican control of the House should, at a minimum, emphasize fiscally responsible, pro-growth reforms. State lawmakers appear poised to push through some changes to paid sick leave laws set to take effect on February 21, 2025, following a Michigan Supreme Court ruling. The specific changes that survive the legislative process, if any, remain to be seen and most likely will not become finalized until after the state’s sweeping changes take effect next month.
In the Senate, Democrats will continue to pursue ill-conceived legislation that targets drug manufacturers rather than PBMs and insurers to lower out-of-pocket drug costs. Indeed, bills to establish so-called Prescription Drug Affordability Boards have been reintroduced in the Senate. Similarly, legislation requiring drug manufacturers to provide products to contract pharmacies participating in a 340B program without conditions or limitations is expected to be reintroduced, thereby altering a federal program at the state level.
In other policy areas, MichBio expects that Democrats will make attempts once again to restrict, if not, prohibit the use of animals in research, though such legislation is unlikely to gain much traction, certainly not in the House. Also, a Data Privacy Act will be reintroduced, though if written as passed by the Senate in the last session, it will not impede the sharing and disclosure of patient clinical data in research and between collaborators/partners – an exemption that MichBio and AdvaMed garnered over the last fifteen months.
MichBio is currently developing its state policy priorities for 2025. Now that a state R&D tax credit has been reestablished, it’s likely our emphasis will turn to other measures that can catalyze capital investment in early-stage ventures, reshore manufacturing, and expand bioscience workforce-specific training programs.
It’ll take plenty of educating legislators about our life sciences industry before we can convince them to support favorable policies. A first step will be the upcoming Legislative Welcome Reception set for January 28 in Lansing. Attendance is limited to MichBio members and sponsors – contact us at stephen@michbio.org to learn more.
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