LANSING – House Minority Leader Tim Greimel said he is ready and willing to work with majority Republicans as the 2013-14 term begins, but plans to aggressively communicate House Democrats’ plans for Michigan to residents.

But Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) said how much Democrats participate in the development of legislation is up to House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) and the House GOP.

“The door is always open to bipartisan cooperation,” Greimel said in an interview with Gongwer News Service. “But the ball is in the speaker’s court. They have not, to date, been interested in bipartisanship.”

Greimel takes the helm of the House Democratic Caucus after two years in which Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate enacted sweeping reforms over passionate opposition from Democrats. Additionally, Democrats remain steamed at what they viewed as wholesale violations of the legislative process.

So upset are Democrats and their allies that there is some suspense over whether House Democrats will continue the tradition of voting for Bolger as speaker when the 97th Legislature convenes Wednesday. With Republicans having a 59-51 majority, Bolger does not need any Democratic votes to get elected, but unified Democratic opposition or decision not to vote would set a new precedent.

And Greimel continued to say Monday that House Democrats have yet to decide what to do.

He said they also are discussing the seconding speech that is usually made by the minority leader supporting the speaker.

Greimel did lay out the choice facing Democrats on whether to vote for Bolger.

“Obviously it is no small thing to vote for someone for speaker who has been a part of pushing the most extremist agenda our state has ever seen,” he said. “On the other hand we also understand in recent years the tradition has been for a bipartisan and unanimous vote on the House floor for speaker. We are weighing those competing interests and will be making a decision in coming days.”

Greimel begins his run as minority leader with just 10 months of legislative experience, having won his seat in a special election last February. The 2013-14 term will be counted as his first official time in office. But Greimel noted that in the era of term limits, everyone in the House lacks experience.

Greimel was the Democratic leader on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and said the position prepared him to aggressively stand up to House Republicans.

“I am no stranger to leading Democrats who are in the minority,” he said. “I have always been willing to go toe-to-toe with Republicans when standing up for what is right. But I’ve also always been willing to reach across the aisle when doing so makes sense for the residents of our state. “

One of the questions facing any minority caucus is whether to push a detailed agenda of its own, a couple key proposals or simply play defense. Senate Democrats, for example, have made a big push around their plan to provide free college tuition for high school graduates.

In past years, minority caucuses have created task forces to develop an agenda.

Greimel said he is eager for residents of Michigan to hear about the House Democrats’ plans for the state.

“The residents of Michigan deserve to know where Democrats are coming from,” he said. “We have a vision for our state that will move our state forward and advance the interest of middle class residents.”

He added: “We are not just here to play defense. We have a vision for the state of Michigan.”

Another question that a minority caucus confronts is whether to ease up on attacking the majority party to get bills sponsored by its members taken up and passed. But Greimel appeared dismissive of such tactics.

Greimel said the first focus is doing what’s right for Michigan residents and second is what is in the best interest of the Democratic caucus. He said there will not be any deals made that benefit individual members of the caucus but not residents.

And Greimel said he is skeptical about being able to create coalitions with the House Republicans based on what happened in the 2011-12 term.

Greimel said House Democrats were shunned by the Republicans and locked out of the democratic process. Democrats saw few of their bills signed into law, even when compared to pass eras when one party had control of the Legislature and governor’s office.

“There is plenty to make the Democrats pessimistic that the Republicans are willing to engage in any bipartisan discourse,” he said. “On virtually every single issue you can imagine, the Republicans have gone to the most extreme lengths to appease the rabid, right wing base of the Republican Party. “

Greimel said the Republicans pushed the most extremist legislation Michigan has ever seen throughout last term. He said they include the right to work laws, education cuts and tax policies.

“We’re interested in working through our concerns,” he said. “But certainly the extremism the Republicans went to in lame duck to pass extremist legislation in an underhanded way through suspending the House rules and depriving the public opportunity for input gives us some hesitation in terms of our ability to trust Republicans and work with them to try and find solutions.”

Another decision Greimel and the caucus need to make is whether to continue with its appeal to the Supreme Court of its lawsuit challenging how House Republicans handled the granting of immediate effect to bills. Under former Minority Leader Richard Hammel and former Minority Floor Leader Kate Segal, the caucus sued to try to force Republicans to agree to record roll call votes on immediate effect and prevent the Republican majority from simply gaveling approval of immediate effect on a voice vote.

Greimel said the caucus has not discussed the case in detail although he believes it is right on the merits, but noted the 4-3 majority of justices on the Supreme Court nominated by the Republican Party (which will soon grow to 5-2 with the departure of Justice Diane Hathaway and an appointment by Snyder).

“We need to look very carefully at what our prospects for success are given the makeup of the Supreme Court,” he said.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com