Lansing - Witnessing her first swearing-in session, 9-month-old Sherry Whitmer smiled as she saw her mother take the oath of office.
State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, was among the lawmakers whose families were at their sides during the ceremonial first legislative session of the year at the Capitol on Wednesday. Both the Senate and the House have many new faces, with 29 and 54 new members, respectively.
Next week, lawmakers will hold organizational meetings in preparation for the start of regular sessions held later this month.
"I'm anxious to settle down and get busy," said Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, joined by his wife and two daughters as he began his first term representing the state's 23rd District, which includes MSU.
Bernero and 37 other state senators individually entered their oaths of office in ceremonies administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Maura Corrigan. But in the larger lawmaking body - the 110-seat House - the judge issued the oath as a group.
"The difference is the intimacy of the chamber," said Bernero, a former state representative, on his promotion to the Senate. In a smaller chamber with longer, four-year terms, he hopes to earn the trust and respect of fellow senators.
After the ceremonies, representatives began their traditional seat-selection process, which was suddenly interrupted for about 20 minutes when state Rep. Gary Newell's father fainted.
Emergency medical technicians carried the Saranac Republican's father out of the chamber on a stretcher. Outgoing House Clerk Gary Randall announced the senator's father appeared to be well and thanked those who provided assistance.
As representatives' names were called from the lottery selection, they chose their seats in a manner similar to college students - filling the ones near the aisles and in the back first.
Whitmer said she was happy with her pick because she will be seated near several of her friends in the House, including Rep. Carl Williams, D-Saginaw.
"We always sit near each other," she said.
But the friendly atmosphere of Wednesday's activities will soon fade as lawmakers turn their attention to the state's troubled budget.
Thoughts of the state's budget crisis lingered throughout the day's activities.
"As I stood up there taking the oath, that's what was running through my head," Bernero said. "I was filled with a tremendous sense of responsibility."
Whitmer, who becomes vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, echoed his concerns about solving the budget problems.
"This year, we've got a Democratic governor, so it's going to be incumbent on people of both parties to come to the table and come up with some long-term solutions," she said.
"We can't do any one-time fixes."
Kurt Ludke can be reached at ludkekur@msu.edu.
