A state Senate committee adopted legislation Tuesday that would implement new firearm restrictions meant to make it easier to trace homemade guns assembled from kits or 3D-printed parts. The bills would also ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic guns to behave much like automatic weapons, firing multiple rounds with one continuous trigger squeeze.

The bills cleared the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on party-line votes and were sent to the Senate floor.

The homemade or 3D-printed guns that are the subject of the legislation are often called “ghost guns” because they are so difficult to identify and track. The proposed regulations would require gun parts to be printed with serial numbers so they can be tracked if they are recovered after being used in a crime.

“It is simply too easy for criminals and other prohibited people to access ‘ghost guns,’” said Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak). “They turn to these firearms because they know they can’t buy them legally or because they know they intend to use such weapons to commit crimes and they wish for these weapons to be untraced.”

The bills were taken up by the committee less than a week following the shooting death of a health insurance executive on the streets of Manhattan by an assailant who, according to the criminal complaint, used a 3D-printed gun and silencer.

“Ghost guns are crime guns,” said Jessica Ojeda with the Giffords Law Center. “These firearms bypass critical background checks and serialization requirements, giving access to those who should be prohibited from owning a gun, including minors, traffickers, domestic abusers and violent criminals.”

Representatives of gun rights organizations say the requirements of the legislation would be easy to evade and are probably unconstitutional.

Tom Lambert of Michigan Open Carry said the bills would not have stopped the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, which is known for tight gun laws.

“So, are we saying that if that person had to put a serial number on that firearm that none of that would have happened?” said Lambert. “Is that the argument we want to advance here today? Is that really the complete absence of logic that we’re operating under?”

Lambert, an attorney, said he thinks the bills would also be open to constitutional challenges if signed into law. Many of the legislation’s requirements would be phased in over time to avert illegal seizure complaints.

The Legislature is in the final days of the “lame duck” session and no decisions have been made on taking up the bills before its end. Gun restrictions will have a tougher slog in the Legislature next year, when the Michigan House will shift from Democratic control to a Republican majority.

The Michigan Legislature returns Tuesday to the state Capitol with a long shot possibility of adopting a road funding plan on its to-do list.

House Republicans are hoping to compel House Democrats to take up a GOP-backed plan to fund roads with taxes that currently go to other priorities. The House GOP wants to take the sales tax portion of state levies at the pump and move that toward road improvements.

The proposal would raise a lot of money for roads, which has been a hot-button issue even before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer coined “fix the damn roads” eight years ago as her campaign slogan.

But Robert Schneider, a budget expert with the non-partisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said the House GOP plan would, sooner or later come a cost to other spending priorities.

“Three quarters of that goes to Medicaid and human services, higher education, revenue sharing and corrections,” he told Michigan Public Radio, “so a big component of the cuts that will be needed would have to come out of those areas.”  

But Schneider also said the state could be getting more from the money it is already spending on roads. A July 2024 report from his group ranked Michigan 30th in the nation in what it spends on roads but 40th in the quality of pavement.

“Other states that have similar revenue problems seem to do better in terms of getting results from their road work than we do, so it suggests there are some other things that we may be needing to reform in terms of the way that we deal with the roads,” he said.

Whitmer’s initial proposal to increase the fuel tax tanked in the Legislature during her first term. Lawmakers in 2020 approved a bonding proposal. But there is still no long-term plan for funding road projects.

In the final weeks of the session and about to lose their House majority, Democrats have introduced legislation proposing a variety of options, including raising the state gas tax to 49 cents per gallon, adding toll roads and increasing vehicle fees. All are considered long shots in the closing days of the session.

Four state universities do not owe students refunds for tuition, room and board and other costs after cancelling in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s under decisions released Thursday by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

The issues in these cases date back to 2020 and the peak of the pandemic. Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University and Ferris State University closed their campuses to in-person learning and activities and moved classes online. In some cases, students were allowed to remain in dormitories while taking classes remotely.

The families in these cases claim the schools didn’t hold up their end of the bargain and demanded full or partial refunds. The schools argued they did the best they could to provide educational and other services and lived up to their agreements with students.

The decisions in all four cases were unanimous and very similar in their reasoning. Appeals Judge Stephen Borrello wrote in the MSU decision that the school did the best it could under difficult circumstances.

“It is undeniable that courses were initially offered as in-person classes and that on-campus events were canceled due to an unexpected global crisis, the pandemic,” he wrote. “Despite the pandemic, MSU successfully maintained the core of its educational mission—providing instruction and various services for students— throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, there was never an agreement stipulating that education and services had to be delivered in a specific format. Therefore, it is wholly fair and just for MSU to retain the tuition and fees it collected.”

The court dismissed most of the claims in the Western Michigan University case, but did return it to the Michigan Court of Claims to determine whether the plaintiffs have any grounds to argue there was a breach of contract.  

The families could take their cases now to the Michigan Supreme Court. But the state’s highest court has already refused similar cases and these decisions could very well be the final word.

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case filed against the state by an immigrant rights organization that claims its resources are being drained for representing undocumented workers who were denied benefits for on-the-job injuries.

The case is not about the substance of the argument over the benefits, but whether the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s (MIRC) case should be thrown out for missing a deadline to file.

The state argues MIRC failed to follow a rule that required it to file its lawsuit within a year of learning about the problem. MIRC said the state is leaning too heavily on a technicality to avoid legal culpability for denying benefits to workers based on their immigration status.

MIRC’s argument is that the clock started running every time a worker was wrongly denied benefits for on-the-job injuries. Attorney John Philo, who represents MIRC, said the court should not allow a time limit on stopping state officials from violating the law.

“There’s no way we can say the state is free to commit unconstitutional acts or continue to implement unconstitutional policies in perpetuity in the future with no ability of citizens who are impacted to remedy that,” he said.

Spokespersons for Whitmer and the Michigan Attorney General’s office did not respond to a request for comment. But the state has argued in court that it has complied with state and federal laws.

Philo said the case will affect the work of other civil rights organizations that file legal actions.

“This will impact organizations’ broadly in their ability to protect the constitutional rights of clients or members,” he said.

The Michigan Supreme Court has not set a hearing date.

The open carry of guns in and near polling places and absentee ballot counting boards will be outlawed under bills signed Tuesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“Today, I am proud to sign commonsense legislation that protects voters and election workers and cuts red tape for local small businesses,” said Whitmer in a statement released by her office. “Together, we are creating a safe environment for voters to make their voices heard.

There are exceptions in the new law for law enforcement officers and people with concealed carry permits. But otherwise, guns will be forbidden within 100 feet of entrances to voting locations as well as inside polling places. That will also apply to early voting locations and ballot drop boxes during the 40-day period before an election. It will also apply to the period of time when people can drop off absentee ballots at clerks’ offices.

The final versions of the bills were adopted by the state House last month on party-line votes and sent to Whitmer’s desk.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson tried to enact a ban on guns at polling places via a 2020 directive, but it was struck down in court as outside her authority. The decision said that power rests with the Legislature.

Gun rights groups opposed the legislation and it is possible they might try to challenge the new law prior to next year’s elections.

The mother of the Oxford High School shooter is asking a judge to dismiss her felony convictions because the prosecutor withheld cooperation agreements with two school officials who testified.

Jennifer Crumbley, along with her husband James Crumbley, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, for providing the weapon used by their son in the mass shooting that left four students dead and six other students and a teacher injured.

But, attorney Michael Dezsi, in a motion filed Monday with the Oakland County Circuit Court, accused the prosecution of skirting the rules and ignoring tenets of criminal law.

“For as much talk as there has been about the charges in this case being unprecedented and the first of its kind in the country, this should come as no surprise given there is no legal basis to charge, convict, or sentence Mrs. Crumbley for the intentional crimes committed by her son,” he wrote. “This was a sham prosecution grounded in prosecutorial overreach.”

The filing makes a number of claims that Dezsi said denied his client a fair trial and justifies dismissing the convictions. At a minimum, he said, Crumbley deserves a new trial. It is expected James Crumbley’s legal counsel will file a similar request.                 A central argument is that prosecutors did not share cooperation agreements made with key witnesses against Crumbley.

Dezsi said the agreements were an incentive for school officials with an understanding that their cooperation could affect charging decisions.

“So clearly, those witnesses had a motive and a bias to testify in a way to shift responsibility away from the school and away from what they failed to do and to put that blame on the parents and onto Mrs. Crumbley, in particular,” he told Michigan Public Radio.

He said knowledge of those agreements with the school employees might have made a difference in the trial. But, Dezsi also said, the involuntary manslaughter charges should never have been filed in the first place after the shooter pleaded guilty to the murders as an adult. He said that should have absolved his client of criminal culpability.

“The prosecutor charged the shooter as an adult, sought to hold him accountable as an adult, and ultimately he was held accountable as an adult,” said Dezsi. “He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.”

Chief Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor David Williams said that makes no difference.

“James and Jennifer Crumbley shouldn’t get off the hook because their son committed the worst crime possible,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “I’d argue that where their son committed an adult crime like a murder, that actually weighs more in favor of holding them accountable, not less. More than one person can be responsible for a crime.”

Williams said Crumbley’s defense counsel was not entitled to know about the agreements because school officials were never promised anything in exchange for their testimony. He said there was never any promise of immunity from prosecution.

The agreement is called a proffer and, more casually in legal jargon, a “queen for a day” deal. It typically promises that statements in court won’t be directly used against a witness. But it does not stop prosecutors from using the statements as the basis for follow-up investigations that could result in criminal charges.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing ahead with criminal cases against Republicans accused of falsely presenting themselves as presidential electors in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The allegations say it was part of a scheme to try to switch Michigan’s 16 electoral votes to Donald Trump even though Joe Biden won the state. The charges allege the false electors sent forged certificates to state and federal authorities.

“The fraudulent certificate of votes was falsely made, forged or counterfeit. First, it was not, as it purported to be, the certificate of electoral votes for Michigan,” says the state’s argument. “The Republican elector nominees for 2020 were not (and never became) the 2020 presidential electors for Michigan.”

The state’s filings, urging a judge to move the cases to trial, take aim at the argument that the false electors were only standing by in case the results of the 2020 presidential election were thrown out by courts. By the time the Michigan’s electors convened at the state Capitol on December 14 that year, there were no legal challenges pending. The filing also relies heavily on recordings and messages shared between the false electors.

The false Trump electors showed up at the state Capitol, where they were turned away. The group also sent signed-but-invalid elector certificates to state and federal officials, which was the basis for the forgery charges.

Messages left with some electors or their attorneys and the Michigan Republican Party were not returned.

This round of motions was filed in the first six cases against a total of 13 defendants, but an Attorney General’s office spokesperson said similar requests should be filed in all the cases before the end of the year. The defendants will also be allowed to file responses to argue why the judge should dismiss the charges.

False electors in other states are also charged with similar crimes. Trump won Michigan in this year’s election. A federal judge has dismissed charges against Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 election because it would be unconstitutional to prosecute a sitting president.

A respected University of Michigan economic think tank has bumped up its projections for wages and salaries in Michigan this year.

Wage growth was slightly higher than expected in the first part of the year, and the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE) expects that trend continued since its September forecast. Therefore, its experts revised upward their prediction for the balance of the year.

“When we were looking at the data previously, we were saying there’s very little growth happening in people’s living standards since the pandemic,” said RSQE Director Gabriel Ehrlich. “Now we are seeing some growth and I think that’s an important point to make.”

The RSQE November forecast rolled out this week anticipates per capita income in Michigan will be $64,000 this year. That’s a $2,500 improvement over its September forecast.

“In most cases, it’s not enough to transform somebody’s life,” said Michigan State University economics professor emeritus Charles Ballard, who was not involved in coming up with the projection. “It’s not going to mean that you’re going to be able to buy a Cadillac, so, it’s an incremental, it’s a small movement in the right direction.”    

But that income growth may be at the expense of job growth, said Ballard.

“It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “Good news – the income numbers have been revised upward, so we’re a little bit more affluent than we thought we were. Not-so-good news – employment growth has slowed to essentially nothing.”

Ehrlich said RSQE’s projections – which are based on federal jobs data — are that wage growth will continue into 2025 but at a slower pace.

Ehrlich said a wild card is how new policies that might be adopted after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January will affect jobs and income.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is asking a judge to refuse the Oxford High School shooter’s request to withdraw his guilty pleas to murder and other charges.

In filings with the court, the prosecution argues the shooter was fully aware of the consequences of his pleas, which resulted in a sentence of life with no possibility of parole.

Prosecutors argue the teenager acknowledged the shootings were premeditated, willful and deliberate and the sentences fit the crimes.

Related: State and county officials not on same page as Oxford shooting victims look for answers

“There was no defect in the plea-taking process; thus, defendant cannot withdraw his plea,” said the prosecution. “Further, defendant testified under oath that he intended to kill; that he acted knowingly; and that his murders were done with premeditation, were willful, and were deliberate…”

Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time of the shootings, pleaded guilty two years ago to murdering four students and injuring seven other people. His defense attorneys argue life without parole is too harsh a sentence, citing a troubled home life and the possibility that fetal alcohol syndrome could be a mitigating factor.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe is now considering the request. There is no specific timeline for a ruling.

The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear a case filed by a business group that wants the state to compensate its members for losses due to state-ordered COVID-19 restrictions early in the pandemic.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves in place a lower court decision that the Macomb County Restaurant, Bar and Banquet Association, unlike its members, was not directly affected by COVID orders and, therefore, does not have standing to sue.

The order from the Michigan Supreme Court was unsigned, but Republican-nominated Justice David Viviano wrote a dissent. He said the question of “associational standing” in the case is worth considering. He also wrote a decision from the court could provide guidance on the limits of state powers in future health emergencies.

Viviano wrote there could be some situations where an association can represent members’ interests without requiring individual businesses to file lawsuits.

“Plaintiff has made a persuasive argument that its interest as an association is sufficient for that purpose,” he wrote. “This is a jurisprudentially significant issue that I believe warrants our careful consideration.”

It is more typical for individual plaintiffs to file lawsuits while organizations representing specific interests can file “amicus” briefs with a court.

Sam Backos is a restaurant owner and a board member of the Macomb County Restaurant, Bar and Banquet Association. He told the Michigan Public Radio Network that a legal technicality should not keep the case from being heard.

“We look at it as, what’s the difference?” he said. “We’re filing a collective argument here to seek some relief. Nobody is discussing the merits of our case. They’re saying, no, you don’t have standing, which we disagree with.”

The Supreme Court order effectively upholds a Michigan Court of Appeals decision from October of 2022, which held a lower court “correctly concluded that plaintiff was not the real party in interest and was not the proper party to bring monetary claims on behalf of its members. Plaintiff made no assertion that the executive orders restricting the food-service industry affected the legal rights of plaintiff itself. That is, it failed to identify any actual controversy between itself and defendants.”

Backos said the Michigan Supreme Court order may have wrapped up the case in state courts, but is not the final word. He said his organization plans to take the case next to the U.S. Supreme and will file early next year.

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on a challenge by a chemical manufacturer to the state’s drinking water rules for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.

PFAS are a family of chemicals used in products including clothing, cookware and firefighting foam. PFAS, which are linked to a number of health conditions, are very slow to break down and are often called “forever chemicals.”

The manufacturing company 3M argues the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy did not follow the required process for promulgating rules to deal with PFAS in drinking water. 

3M says the state failed to provide an estimated cost of complying with the regulations for cleaning up groundwater.

The state says 3M is arguing for a needlessly expansive interpretation of the rules. The state is hoping the justices will reverse lower courts when they issue a decision.

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) will step aside as the Democratic leader as Republicans take control of the chamber next year. 

Tate, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer led a Democratic trifecta as their party held all three offices during a consequential session that included strengthening abortion rights and restoring unions’ bargaining power by repealing Michigan’s right-to-work law.

“Come January, we will look for every opportunity to work with our Republican colleagues in a bipartisan manner to put the people of Michigan first,” Tate said in a statement released Wednesday. “We will fulfill our duty as the voice of reason and do our best to make our mark on legislation that moves through the state legislature.”

Tate, who was easily reelected, will continue to represent his Detroit House district.

Representatives Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) quickly announced they will run for the position of House minority leader. Others could still join the race. The decision will be made in a closed-door meeting of members of the House Democratic caucus in the new term.

The current Republican leader, Representative Matt Hall (R-Richland Township), is widely considered the frontrunner to be the next House speaker. But he could face a challenge by Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare) or other Republicans interested in leading the House under a GOP majority.

With so many closely contested races in Michigan, authorities are on the lookout for efforts to meddle with elections or harass election workers.

A new state law creates new penalties for election interference. That includes threats to election workers, disrupting polling places and attempting to interfere with absentee vote counting boards, which happened four years ago in Detroit.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday that state and local law enforcement agencies are ready.

“We’ve done tabletop exercises for a while and I feel confident that we are prepared, and I remain hopeful that all of this preparation is not necessary, but should it be, we will be on top of it,” she told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “We, of course, are living in unique times and that’s why we have done a lot of work with the Secretary of State’s office and the Attorney General’s office as well as local clerks’ offices to make sure that there are severe penalties for people that mess around, that there’s accountability for those who want to undermine the election.”

The U.S. Department of Justice also announced that it will have election monitors in 27 states, including Michigan. The cities include Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Ann Arbor, Warren and Hamtramck where officials will be on the lookout for voting rights violations. The DOJ has done this sort of monitoring in previous election years.

A pro-Trump Michigan attorney faces a criminal trial starting next month for allegedly tampering with voting machines following the 2020 presidential. Another new law in this election cycle also clarifies that local canvassing boards are required to certify election results based on the numbers provided by local clerks.

Polls suggest the presidential race in Michigan is a toss-up. The U.S. Senate race remains within the margin of error. A few swing Michigan congressional seats will help determine the balance of power in Washington.

And, adding to the existential worries of Michigan politicos, a handful of state House races will decide whether Democrats will continue to control Lansing for another two years, or if Republicans will take the helm for the coming term.

Statehouse Democrats had a good run for the past two years with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on the same team and ready to sign their bills. The Senate also has a slim Democratic majority. But the Senate and the governor are not up for election this year.

State House seats — 110 of them — are on the ballot this year. Facing a two-vote Democratic majority, Republicans only have to flip one seat for a tie or two seats for the slimmest of majorities.

State Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) is bullish on GOP prospects this year. Posthumus, a leader of the House GOP campaign team, said Democrats are playing defense across the board.

“You have a Biden-Harris presidency and you have complete Democrat control of the state of Michigan,” he told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “This is going to be a referendum on the California-style progressive policies. It’s made our state [a] more expensive place to live, more difficult to raise a family, more difficult to find a job. That’s what voters are going to be voting on.”

Posthumus said he thinks the House races will be won or lost mostly on local candidates and local issues. He expects House control will come down to three or four races in Battle Creek, Downriver Michigan, Macomb County and Traverse City.

Part of the dynamic at play here is districts recently drawn by the state Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission with the constitutionally assigned task of creating as many competitive districts as possible. It appears to have succeeded.

“That’s kind of what these new districts are about,” said Rep. Penelope Tserneglou (D-East Lansing), the House Democrats’ campaign chair. “We’re going to have more competitive districts as we continue to move forward, and the majorities will always be slim.”

Tserneglou said she is looking for Democratic incumbents, in particular, to outperform the presidential and Senate races at top of the ballot.

“So I think we can [keep a majority], even if we did lose one or both of those other seats — although I don’t see that happening either,” she said, “but I do know that it’s going to be close on all counts.”

Democrats have leaned into some marquee accomplishments of this term — repealing abortion restrictions, for example, along with repealing Republican labor laws, including the anti-union right-to-work law.

Those laws were signed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder during a period of GOP control.

Republican Brian Calley was Snyder’s lieutenant governor and is now president of the Small Business Association of Michigan. He said the now-repealed labor laws improved the state’s business climate, and dramatic policy shifts from term to term are not good for business.

“Michigan is not a state that operates on the political fringes,” he said. “This is a purple state. It may be the deepest color purple state in the whole country.”

Michigan was the first state to reverse a right-to-work law since the 1960s. Changing longstanding workplace rules was one of the arguments put forward by unions and Democrats when the right-to-work law was adopted in 2012.

Michigan’s competitive House districts in many ways reflect the state’s political complexion as a whole, said Michigan State University political science professor and director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research Matt Grossman. He also said  tight margins mean the minority party still has the ability to block legislation, which is an important political negotiating tool.

“So part of power is stopping things from going through as well as getting things to go through,” he said.

That small measure of political power could have a longer-term effect of moderating policymaking at the state Capitol, Grossman said, even if that reality is not reflected so much in apocalyptic political campaign messaging.

A challenge to the state’s rules on water contamination by a group of forever chemicals is on the Michigan Supreme Court’s November oral arguments docket.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s rules are aimed at PFAS,  a family of chemicals used in clothing, cookware and firefighting foam. PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they’re so slow to break down. PFAS have been linked to a variety of conditions and health risks.

The manufacturing company 3M claims the state did not follow the law for promulgating regulations, which includes a requirement to provide an estimated cost of compliance. 3M says that should include the costs of cleaning up drinking water and groundwater. The state says it’s only required to provide an estimate for drinking water cleanup. Lower courts ruled against the state.

The PFAS case is one of a half dozen cases to be argued at the court’s Nov. 13 session. 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued guidance for election workers and law enforcement on everything from new voting laws to dealing with disturbances at polling places.

The 14-page document outlines laws about ballot drop box security, carrying firearms at and near polling places, electioneering near voting locations, the roles of election challengers and dealing with disruptive behavior.

“This guidance is critical to keep us all on the same page, preserve the rights of Michiganders in every community, and to maintain a safe environment at every voting location across the state,” Nessel said Thursday in a Zoom press conference.

One of the points addresses the use of police body cameras at polling places. The advice says officers need to ensure if they are called to a polling place, body cameras cannot violate the right of voters to privately fill out their ballots.

Nessel said law enforcement has a lot of discretion to address threats and disruptions but also a legal obligation to help ensure an orderly election.

“And it’s up to law enforcement from my office to our State Police to sheriff’s departments and local agencies in every community to preserve public safety and help ensure a secure legal voting environment,” she said.

Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin faced off tonight against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in Michigan’s final scheduled U.S. Senate debate of the election season.

The seat is open with the retirement of Democratic U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and the race will help determine the make-up of the Senate next year. Polling shows the race is tight.

During the hour-long debate held at the WXYZ-TV studios in Southfield, the candidates were asked about the economy, immigration and the cost of health care.

Gun control was a big difference between the candidates. Slotkin said she supports tougher federal gun laws.

“To me, we have to, as Democrats and Republicans, as gun owners and non-gun owners, go after the No.1 killer of our children in our communities and in our schools, by suicide and by accident, and it is the responsibility of our leaders to protect children,” she said.

Slotkin’s House district includes Oxford, the site of a mass school shooting in 2021.

Rogers said he does not want new gun laws and instead supports better enforcement of existing gun laws and improved mental health services for children.

“We need to enforce the gun laws that we have. We also need to deal with mental health issues that are happening in our schools,” he said. “This generation of Americans is under mental duress and distress like I have never seen before.”

The candidates were also asked about their stances on abortion.

Slotkin said she would support setting in law the standard that existed before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that ended federal protections of abortion rights.

“If codifying Roe v. Wade came before the U.S. Senate, I would vote for it,” Slotkin said.

Rogers, who has a long record of supporting abortion restrictions, said he would not go against the wishes of voters who adopted a state reproductive rights amendment in 2022.

“I will respect the vote of the people of Michigan that they put as part of the Michigan Constitution,” Rogers said.

On student loan debt, the candidates agreed that a national service program might be an option for dealing with the increasing burden of educational costs and interest on loans. Slotkin also endorsed a 2.5% interest rate cap on student loans.

Absentee voting is already underway in Michigan so this debate could be the closing argument for many voters. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin faced off Tuesday night against former Congressman Mike Rogers in their first debate in the race to fill Michigan’s open U-S Senate seat.

The candidates clashed over electric vehicles, abortion rights and their political loyalties.

Rogers, the Republican nominee who served in the House from 2001 to 2015, described Slotkin as a Democrat too aligned with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“My opponent has voted 100 percent with the Biden-Harris agenda,” he said during the one-hour faceoff hosted by WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Slotkin, who’s been in Congress since 2019, invited Republicans disenchanted with the GOP under former President Donald Trump to cross over and vote for her.

“For Republicans who feel like their party has left them over the past couple of years,” she said, “you will always have an open door in my office.”

The candidates argued over electric vehicle incentives supported by Slotkin.

“It’s either going to be us or China,” she said. “Right now, China is eating our lunch on these types of vehicles and Michigan has had the experience of missing these trends, right? In the 70s and 80s, we said, oh everyone loves their big cars, no one’s ever going to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle and then the Japanese and the Koreans came in and ate our lunch and we’ve never made up that market share.”

Rogers said that is the wrong approach.

“Why that is a good plan when there are other things we can do?” he said. “The electric grid isn’t even ready to handle it. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to make sure that hybrids is an interim step here before you get to the next one. You beat China by selling Americans cars they want to buy.”

Rogers and Slotkin agreed that U.S. energy policy should include wind, solar, fossil fuels and nuclear. They both support re-starting the Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan. It would be the first mothballed nuclear plant in the U.S. to resume operations if that happens.

One issue they disagreed on was abortion rights. Slotkin said she would vote for a federal law to restore in law the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights that was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. She noted Rogers has a record of supporting abortion restrictions throughout his political career.

“Every single time he was casting one of those votes, he was saying something very particular,” she said. “He was saying to women he does not trust you to make your own decisions about your own family planning. Every single time.”

But Rogers said the Supreme Court properly put the question back to states. Rogers said he would not support national laws that interfere with Michigan’s reproductive rights amendment that was adopted by voters in 2022.

Polls show the Senate race in Michigan is within the margin of error. It is one of a handful of races that could determine control of the Senate. There is a second debate scheduled for next week in Detroit.