Republicans won a majority in the state House in last month’s elections, but victors from the November election will not be sworn in until Jan. 8. In their final month in the majority in the state House, state Democrats are seeking to pass reforms to the state’s minimum wage and sick leave laws following a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in August that the state’s changes to the 2018 Wage Act and Earned Sick Time Act were unconstitutional and set Feb. 21, 2025, as the date when the increased minimum wage and paid leave initiatives in the original legislation would go into effect. The act also phases out lower minimum wages for tipped workers.

During the lame-duck session, lawmakers are hoping to pass bipartisan bills to slow the implementation of the court’s changes.

Legislation from Republican state Rep. Graham Filler and Democratic state Rep. Nate Shannon would move the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour starting on Feb. 21, 2025, rather than $12.48 per hour, and progressively move it to $15 per hour by 2029 instead of the planned $14.97 per hour by 2028. The bill package would also maintain a minimum wage for tipped workers, along with addressing upcoming changes to paid sick leave.

“If we don’t act fast, these changes could devastate small businesses and the restaurant industry, leading to closures and job losses across the state. I’ve been working hard to find a common-sense solution that gives businesses room to adapt while still increasing wages for workers,” Filler said in a statement after introducing the legislation last month.

The issues of minimum wage and paid sick leave are the most pressing, but they could lead to lengthy negotiations during the lame-duck session, which is scheduled to end on Dec. 19.

On Tuesday, the state House Criminal Justice Committee pushed forward legislation to repeal sodomy laws that remain on the books in the state. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 blocked sodomy laws across the country, but Democrats are pushing to remove the “zombie” legislation from state law, according to the Detroit News.

“Despite repeated attempts to do so, the Legislature has never repealed Michigan’s so-called sodomy ban, permitting a zombie law that insults the constitutional rights of Michiganders to remain on the books,” Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit said on Tuesday, according to the outlet.

The sodomy legislation passed through the committee with eight Democrats voting to push it forward and two Republicans voting against pushing it forward.

Republican state Rep. Brian Begole, who voted against pushing forward the legislation, said that he believed there are more pressing issues to focus on and told the outlet that he did not “believe the majority of Michigan citizens feel this legislation is a priority right now.”