Dec. 21: That's a wrap! What bills passed, died in Michigan lame duck for the ages

Related: See what Michigan lame-duck bills we're tracking

Michigan is among a handful of states with a dubious distinction that’s come into sharp focus this month: It puts no end date on its legislative calendar.

Experts say that’s a big reason we’re treated to this biennial post-election Game of Thrones otherwise known as lame duck.

“That makes it really easy,” said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego and authority on the politics of state government.

Related: In lame duck, all eyes are on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder

Michigan – along with Wisconsin – finds itself in the national spotlight in recent days for lame duck shenanigans, as the GOP-controlled legislature seeks to strip powers from the incoming Democratic governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Republican legislators also approved measures to curtail minimum wage hikes and paid sick leave and were weighing other bills including a long-shot try at altering a voter-approved measure to legalize marijuana.

In Wisconsin, Republican legislators already have pushed through measures to weaken the authority of the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general.

Both states are among just eight whose legislatures routinely meet throughout the year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Other states put limits on their session days and must call a special legislative session to conduct business after an election.

“Lame duck sessions do not happen in most legislatures because regular session length is limited,” Brenda Erickson of NCSL told Bridge in an email.

Attempts to end this practice in Michigan have gone nowhere.

A 2015 measure to end Michigan’s legislative session on the Friday before the November election in even-numbered years did not make it out of committee.

“Our constituents expect us to make the tough decisions in a transparent and thoughtful way,” GOP State Rep. Joel Johnson of Clare said at the time. “Late-night sessions and last-minute votes without a thorough committee process damages the credibility of the Legislature.”

Among the co-sponsors of that bill was former Democratic state Rep. Brandon Dillon of Grand Rapids, now chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

He concedes such a bill has no more chance of passage now than it did then. But Dillon said that could change over time.

“A lot of these issues take a while to pierce the public consciousness,” Dillon said.

“But this systematic dismantling of the powers of the governor, the secretary of state and attorney general, it’s just a purely partisan power grab. If they felt so strongly about this, they should have done this long before the election, so voters could have a chance to weigh in on it.”