CPAs are licensed at a state level, it is Michigan law that determines what you need to do to become a CPA, what you can do as a CPA, and what, if you do it, will cost your CPA license. This makes state elected officials incredibly important to the profession and the practice arena in Michigan.
As a result of last week’s election there will be 29 freshman legislators headed to the Michigan House of Representatives in January, none of whom are CPAs. Republicans have maintained a majority of the Michigan House with the same margin of 58 – 52 as the current session. With the continued Republican majority in the legislature and a Democratic Governor, Michigan will continue to operate with split government. The MICPA has already begun fostering relationships with the incoming elected officials and will continue to educate lawmakers on the CPA profession and how their decisions in Lansing impact the profession.
Although the power remains the same in the House of Representatives, leadership elections were also held last week which determined who will lead each caucus in the 101st legislative session. Jason Wentworth (R – Clare) was elected the incoming Speaker of the House and Donna Lasinski (D – Scio Township) was elected to be the Democratic leader for the upcoming session. The MICPA has strong relationships with leaders on both sides of the aisle and will build upon that strong foundation.
While we have answers about leadership, we are still waiting for Committee assignments to be announced. CPAs touch every area of Michigan’s marketplace and legislation impacting the practice arena gets sent to a variety of committees in the legislature. Two such committees, the Regulatory Reform and Tax Policy Committees, are particularly important to CPAs since a variety of legislation goes before them. Both committees will have new leadership, tasked with determining which legislation will receive a hearing or a vote. The MICPA will keep an eye out for committee assignments and ensure that CPAs are well positioned for their voices to be heard by the new leadership.
Reach out to Rachel Reardon, Government Relations Senior Manager, at rreardon@micpa.org, if you have an existing relationship with any of our incoming or returning elected officials to get involved in our advocacy efforts today!
