Democratic state representatives-elect, from left, Adam Zemke, of 55th district, and Sam Singh, of 69th district, tour inside the Capitol Building in Lansing, Nov. 9, 2012. The newly elected freshmen class of lawmakers had their orientation on Thursday and Friday. Justin Wan/The State News
Less than 48 hours after state Rep.-elect Sam Singh celebrated his resounding win, the work started.
Singh and 27 other incoming freshman legislators, who will take to the House floor in January, already were preparing for their new roles last week, attending orientation sessions Thursday and Friday to help learn the ropes of the Capitol and hit the ground running.
And Singh will have his work cut out for him. Almost immediately, he will have to confront next year’s budget, which likely will run near $50 billion, as it did last year. And although Democrats gained five seats in the House, they still are in the minority — 51 seats compared to the Republicans’ 59 — meaning Gov. Rick Snyder and House Republicans still will stay in control.
“For me, I’m ready to get into policy,” Singh said. “I’m going to be doing a number of things on my own, talking to current legislators and former legislators and getting their advice (on) how I should tackle the first few months of the job.”
During his campaign, Singh, an MSU alumnus, pledged to fight for more state funding for MSU and other public universities.
But Doug Roberts, director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, said because Republicans will control the calendar and committee chairs, Democratic lawmakers will face challenges passing bills.
Still, Singh’s experience in East Lansing likely will serve to his advantage in discussing legislation.
“It depends what committee he’s assigned to, but all of this is possible,” Roberts said. “I think he will have influence simply because of his extensive background in local government.”
Although Singh said he would like to work on the House Appropriations Committee, final committee assignments are determined by House leaders: Rep. Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, who was chosen as the Democratic caucus leader last week, and Speaker of the House Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, who narrowly won re-election after being entangled in an election scandal this summer.
Until the new year, newly elected state representatives will be focused on learning the basics of the system, especially concerning daily House procedures, House Clerk Gary Randall said.
Randall, who served as a state representative for 18 years and has worked in the clerk’s office since 1997, said the rules of operation in the House — including casting votes and speaking rules — are among the basics legislators have to learn early.
“It’s just understanding the process of how things work and trying to get up to speed so you can get to work,” Randall said.
The new legislators will continue to have orientation through the first few months of their terms, Singh said.
Staff writer Rebecca Ryan contributed to this report.
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