LANSING – Under the radar, there are renewed legislative efforts to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination in housing and employment for the gay community, which, if approved, might negate the need for a statewide ballot proposal in 2022.

MIRS has learned that House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) would like to get something moving in the closing week of lame duck, but there is no guarantee all the moving parts can come together in time for that.

If not, the effort would resurface in the new legislative year.

Taking a page out of what former Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof attempted in trying to legalize marijuana and passing a minimum wage increase prior to that, the idea is getting the Fair and Equal Michigan team to pull their petitions to include the LGBTQ community into the state’s civil rights law.