LANSING, MI - The Michigan Senate on Wednesday made changes to the paid sick time and minimum wage laws over the objections of Democratic lawmakers and the groups who spearheaded the initiatives.

In September, the Republican-led legislature adopted the measures instead of letting them go to the ballot. Doing so meant they could come back and amend them with a simple majority, instead of the two-thirds vote it would have taken to make changes passed at the ballot box.

The Senate made big changes to both measures in a quick-moving process on Wednesday, approving major changes in an 8:15 a.m. Senate Government Operations Committee and passing the bills on the floor before 1 p.m.

The full chamber approved the changes Wednesday over the objections of Democrats like Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing.

"I will not support a blatant violation of our democracy, a violation of our constitution," Hertel said.

He said the lawmakers were essentially ripping democracy away from the people in contradiction to the constitutional provisions allowing citizens to seek legislative initiatives.

No Republicans spoke in favor of the bills' passage on the Senate floor.

Minimum wage changes approved

The new minimum wage law from the initiative isn't in effect until March of next year. As written, the law slowly brings minimum wage for tipped workers like waiters and bartenders up to the same level as regular minimum wage and raises minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022.

But under the bill approved by the Senate Government Operations Committee, the minimum wage would raise more slowly, hitting $12 per hour by 2030 instead of 2022, and stopping there instead of indexing to inflation afterward.

In addition, the latest version keeps the wage for tipped workers lower than minimum wage instead of bringing tipped workers up to the same wage level as minimum wage workers.

The Senate approved the changes 26-12, with all Democratic members plus Republican Sen. Tory Rocca, R-Sterling Heights, voting against it.

Before the vote, One Fair Wage, the committee that backed the original proposal, rallied in opposition to the changes the Senate was considering.

Charles Dunn, a tipped worker in Burton, criticized the legislative process, which adopted and then changed the legislation.

"The joke was on me and hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters," he said.

Paid sick leave changes pass

The paid sick leave legislation also passed 26-12, also with all Democratic members plus Rocca voting against it.

Under the new paid sick time law, which isn't in effect yet, Michigan workers would be able to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capping out at 72 hours per year for larger businesses and 40 hours per year for small businesses, which must also allow unpaid leave. Both sizes of business could elect to offer more paid sick leave.

The proposal would have workers earn 1 hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours, instead of 30 hours, worked. And an employer of any size could limit paid sick leave to 36 hours per year instead of the higher limits contained the current law.

It would also narrow who the paid sick leave requirements applied to. Where the ballot proposal version covered all Michiganders, the Senate exempted businesses with fewer than 50 employees and certain types of employees, as well.

The changes to both bills quickly passed the Senate on Wednesday. Both bills need to be approved by the full House and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder to become law.