The Michigan Education Association commended the Michigan Senate for standing up for educators after the Senate formally requested that a judge order the delivery of already-passed legislation to the governor for her signature.

Among the nine bills the House has failed to present to the governor — despite having already passed both the House and Senate — is House Bill 6058, which will reduce skyrocketing health care costs for educators and other public employees. As of Jan. 1, many public employees have experienced a several-hundred dollar increase in the amount taken out of each paycheck for health coverage.

“We applaud Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and her Senate colleagues for working tirelessly on behalf of teachers, school support staff, higher education employees and the students we serve,” said MEA President and CEO Chandra Madafferi, a teacher from Oakland County.

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 initial ruling stopped short of ordering him to do so. The Senate’s new motion requests Patel enforce her ruling and compel Hall to follow the state Constitution’s requirement that “every bill passed by the Legislature shall be presented to the governor.”

In addition to Thursday’s action, both the House and Senate appealed aspects of Patel’s Feb. 27 ruling to the Court of Appeals. The Senate has also asked the Supreme Court to bypass the Court of Appeals and take up the lawsuit directly.

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 up with inflation, leading to public employees paying an increasingly higher share of their districts’ total health insurance premiums — often hundreds of dollars more taken out of every paycheck, making it harder for them and their families to make ends meet. This financial stress has been a key driver of the school employee shortage, with educators leaving the profession they love for careers with more economic security.

On Jan. 1, many educators’ health insurance premiums jumped by 10-20%, while the state’s hard cap increased by only 0.2%.

“We urge the courts to act swiftly and decisively on this matter, as every day without action forces educators and public employees to bear the burden of skyrocketing health care costs,” Madafferi said. “Under the current law, districts and employers are legally restricted from covering more than a small fraction of these increases — even if they want to. This leaves educators shouldering the overwhelming majority of the cost, regardless of how steep the increase.

“A prompt ruling is essential to ensuring fairness and financial stability for those who dedicate their lives to serving Michigan’s students and communities.”