Bills to expand Michigan open records laws to apply to the governor’s office and lawmakers were among the first introduced at the start of the new legislative session Wednesday.

The policies were among the many that had passed the Michigan Senate last session but died in the House of Representatives during the final days of last year.

Package co-sponsor Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) has worked on the Freedom of Information Act expansion for years.

Moss said he feels optimistic about its chances despite party control in the Michigan House switching from Democrats back to Republicans this session.

“This is now something that has only passed out of a Democratic controlled Senate and only passed out of a Republican controlled House. I’m hopeful that maybe this is the right mechanics that are in place now to get it done,” Moss told reporters.

Between Moss and Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp), the policy has bipartisan sponsorship.

The bills were set up Wednesday to skip the committee process in the state Senate, meaning they could potentially be voted on as early as next week if lawmakers chose.

Moss said there’s little more to add to discussions about the matter.

“This has got to be the most vetted policy that’s still lingering in this town. And I think that by not only prioritizing it as Senate bills one and two, but by sending it directly to the floor, we are signaling how important this is,” Moss said.

Senate Democrats also unveiled their plan Wednesday for the future of the state’s minimum wage and sick leave laws.

That’s ahead of a policy shift scheduled for February.

Both the scheduled increase and the Democrats’ plan would gradually increase pay for both tipped and non-tipped workers.

The bills would gradually bump the overall minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027, quicker than the scheduled timeline. But it would cap the minimum wage for tipped workers at 60% of what non-tipped workers make, instead of the current plan to create parity by 2030.

Business groups had pushed lawmakers to scale back the increase.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) said he hasn’t fully looked at the Democrats’ proposal yet. But he said keeping the tipped wage credit is a top priority.

“Over the last several decades, over the last 70 years, we’ve had a whole industry built around this. And my No. 1 priority is how do you save the 50,000 restaurant jobs in the state of Michigan? And so I’m willing to work with anybody anyhow to find that solution as we go into it,” Nesbitt told reporters.

In the Michigan House, Republicans are also naming minimum wage and sick leave as top priorities.

Within a couple months, Michigan workers will start earning an hour of sick time for every 30 hours they work.

Places with 10 or more employees will have to provide at least 72 hours of paid sick time each year.

Smaller businesses would only have to offer 40 hours of paid sick leave annually. The other 32 hours would come as unpaid sick leave.

The new policies are taking place because of a court ruling that restored a 2018 law to its original form.

Business groups have been pushing lawmakers to make some changes to that restored law before the ruling takes effect Feb. 21.

Small Business Association of Michigan President Brian Calley said he’d like to see lawmakers scale back some of the law’s reporting requirements.

“This law requires extremely precise and detailed accounting of accruals for actual time worked. And so, what a lot of employees are going to find under this law is that employers are going to require that the employee report to them exactly when they are in and are not working,” Calley said Monday. “It’ll be a big cultural shift for flexible work environments.”

The court ruling has sparked discussion over how to interpret the new requirements and what they could mean for businesses. Some raised questions about how it would impact current benefits packages that businesses may offer.

In response, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity hosted a webinar in August. LEO Deputy Director of Labor Sean Egan tried to allay concerns it would be too much of a shift for some.

“As long as they meet that 72 hours and certain accruals, and you allow that use for the same use as allowed under the Earned Sick Time Act, you may not need to add anything to your plan,” Egan said.

Under the policy as planned, workers would be able to use their sick time if they or a family member feel unwell, or experience domestic or sexual violence.

Calley said it could lead to workers no-call/no showing, adding he’d like to see more accountability of employees using their sick time.

“It’s not until the fourth consecutive day of absences that the employer can require any documentation as to why the person was absent and that they’re absent for a reason covered under the law,” Calley said.

Some lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have expressed interest in taking another look at the policies. But compromise would have to pass both the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives, as well as get the signature of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Calley shared his doubts as to whether lawmakers could reach an agreement by February.