Hall, Nesbitt support convention to rewrite state constitution
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., left, and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Twp., participates in a PAC reception during the third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
MACKINAC ISLAND – Republican leaders in the Michigan Legislature say they plan to support an initiative to hold a constitutional convention to rewrite the document.
The proposal automatically appears on the ballot every 16 years. The November 2026 general election will be the fourth time since the state's current governing document, which went into effect in 1963, that voters decide whether to go back to the drawing board.
House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said he does think we need a 'Con-Con.'
'They stuff so many things in this Constitution, all kinds of things, every time,' Hall said, pointing to ballot proposals legalizing marijuana and creating an independent redistricting commission that were approved by voters as examples.
'Some of those proposals sounded good, but then had intentions that the public is frustrated about,' Hall said.
While Hall was focused on taking things out of the state's constitution, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) sees it as an opportunity to make updates that he said Lansing leaders haven't had the 'political courage … to actually get done.'
Those include making the state superintendent an appointment of the governor rather than of the state Board of Education, as well as changes to how university boards are selected.
'I think there's a lot of things that should be discussed,' Nesbitt, who is running for governor, said. 'And the constitution could be a lot simpler than what it is right now.'
That simplification could touch all aspects of the state's guiding document.
Eric Lupher, president of the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, previously told the Michigan Advance that if a constitutional convention were to be approved, 'everything is fair game, from Article One through Article 12, so it's not a piecemeal approach. It is an open document that will be examined from A-to-Z.'
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said she hasn't given it much thought but is open to hearing pros and cons.
House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) said he wasn't familiar with specifics of the proposal but that it didn't sound like something he would support.
If voters did call a constitutional convention, a special primary and general election for delegates would be held, with one delegate elected in each of the state's 110 state House and 38 state Senate districts.
The convention would convene in October 2027 with no limit on how long it would last before proposing a new constitution, which voters would either approve or reject.
The legislative leaders were speaking during a Detroit Regional Chamber PAC reception during the final night of the Mackinac Policy Conference.
The unusually tense reception marked the first meeting of the four so-called 'quadrant' leaders, representing the four key positions in the Michigan House and Senate, with no quadrant meetings having been held since last year.
Brinks said the Democratic majority in the Senate is willing to work with the Republican majority in the House on priorities like transparency reform and long-term road funding.
She said that starts by having more regular conversations.
'It's important for us to sit down and negotiate the differences,' Brinks said. 'That's how the Legislature works, and it's particularly important when we have a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate to sit down and just hash out those differences.'
Puri said it should be easy to set up plans for another meeting, pulling out his phone and saying he has time next Tuesday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
But Hall said he doesn't need to meet with the other legislative leaders, arguing that the House is getting things done on their own, though the state has seen just four bills signed into law so far this year.
Hall pointed to an Epic-MRA poll saying he has a 60% approval rating as evidence that his current strategy is working.
But Puri said the polling numbers aren't indicative of the state's actual perspectives.
'I congratulate the Speaker on his polling numbers. Contrary to what you're saying, that was not statewide in Michigan, that was a select few lobbyists and Lansing insiders telling you that you're doing a great job,' Puri said. 'I don't get my validation by pleasing lobbyists, and I see some in the room, I'm sorry. My validation is waking up to a family that loves me.'
Hall said he does work well with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, citing a positive vision while criticizing Brinks and Puri for offering a negative vision.
'I would encourage the Democrat leaders to empower your governor, Gretchen Whitmer,' Hall said. 'Empower her in negotiations, and her and I will get a deal done, and we'll get it done very quickly, on the budget, on roads, on many things.'
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