MLive.com: NewsFlash - House Dems looking for criminal investigation after failed vote
"Mr. Kooiman, we have a warrant for your arrest."

A girl can dream.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A group of House Democrats is calling for a criminal investigation into the House's Republican majority after Republicans last week prevented a vote on Democratic bills to curb out-of-state trash.

Democratic Reps. Alma Wheeler Smith of Ypsilanti and Stephen Adamini of Marquette said Tuesday during a news conference with other House Democrats that Republicans violated the state constitution when they blocked a vote on the bills.

Smith and Adamini said a vote should have been held because they submitted signatures from 22 Democrats, meeting the constitutional requirement that a recorded vote must be held when one-fifth of the House or Senate requests one. The House has 110 members.

House Clerk Gary Randall said the Democrats never officially asked for a vote on their legislation, despite handing in the signatures.

Democrats said that's not their fault. They contend that Republican Reps. Jerry Kooiman of Grand Rapids and Chris Ward of Brighton, who were leading last Thursday's House session, refused to recognize Democratic House members who wanted to ask for a vote.

Democrats said GOP House leaders were guilty of felony misconduct in public office for their refusal to call on minority members.

Their actions allowed the House to avoid a vote on a Democratic package of bills intended to curb trash coming into Michigan from other states and Canada. The main bill of the package would raise the fee to dump trash in a Michigan landfill from 21 cents per ton to $7.50.

If I'm not mistaken, at one time Republicans were blaming Granholm for the trash coming in. But here they are, blocking a bill that might help curb it. Hmmmmm.

I don't expect this investigation to go anywhere, but I hope it puts toads like Kooiman on notice that this shit won't fly anymore. Next time it happens, demand that charges be pressed. Heh.