The Michigan Education Association on Monday congratulated the Michigan Senate on its court victory against the House of Representatives, which, since January, has refused to send already passed legislation lowering health care costs for educators to the governor for her signature.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Senate on Monday and directed the lower Court of Claims to issue a mandamus order that would compel House Speaker Matt Hall to send the bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Among the nine bills the House has failed to present to the governor — despite having already passed both the House and Senate last December — is House Bill 6058, which will reduce skyrocketing health care costs for educators and other public employees. Many school employees this year have experienced a several-hundred-dollar increase in the amount deducted from each paycheck for health coverage.

“On behalf of school employees across our state, we would like to congratulate Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and her Senate colleagues for their massive court victory on Monday, as well as thank them for standing up for teachers, school support staff, higher education employees and the students we serve,” said MEA President and CEO Chandra Madafferi, a teacher from Oakland County. “We urge Speaker Hall to send this critical legislation to the governor for her signature.”

On Feb. 27, Court of Appeals Judge Sima Patel ruled in favor of Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and the Michigan Senate in Michigan Senate v. Michigan House of Representatives. The lawsuit was brought forth after the Speaker of the House failed to present nine bills that had already passed both chambers to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her review and signature.

However, while declaring that House Speaker Matt Hall has a constitutional duty to present the bills to the governor, Patel’s February ruling stopped short of ordering him to do so.

In the 3-0 ruling issued Monday, the Court of Appeals agreed that Hall has a duty to send the bills to the governor. However, the Court of Appeals went a step forward and, by a 2-1 majority, ordered that Hall be compelled to transmit the bills, as required by the state Constitution.

House Bill 6058 reforms Michigan’s 2011 “hard cap” law, which limits how much school districts and other public employers can spend on employees’ health care.

The hard cap has not kept pace with inflation, leading educators to pay an increasingly higher share of their districts’ total health insurance premiums. On Jan. 1, 2025, many educators’ health insurance premiums jumped by 10-20%, while the state’s hard cap increased by only 0.2%.

As many Americans are feeling the strain of rising health care costs, a recent survey of MEA members found 80% of educators are paying more for their health coverage than last year, with an average increase of $200 a month. In some cases, educators are paying double that amount, nearly making insurance out of reach. This financial stress is among the key drivers of the school employee shortage, with educators leaving the profession they love for careers with more economic security.  With their employer subject to the hard cap and unable to share in increased health coverage costs, many educators are seeing their pay increases consumed by increasing premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.