Jeff Irwin (born June 19, 1977)[1] is an American activist, progressive and politician serving as a member of the Michigan Senate.
On the commission, he was instrumental in building a new homeless shelter, increasing funding for human services and affordable housing, instituting a living wage policy, and helping to create the Washtenaw Health Plan, which extended health insurance to uninsured workers prior to the Affordable Care Act.
As a State Representative, Irwin primarily focused on securing additional education funding for Michigan’s students, increasing healthcare coverage, criminal justice reform, and introducing legislation to protect the environment and natural resources.
He led opposition against fracking and in favor of clean energy, and introduced the first legislation to shut down Enbridge’s “Line 5”, a pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac in Lake Michigan.
This suit was in response to the passage of controversial legislation affecting graduate research assistants and the collection of union dues by public employers, and changes to the rules about petition signatures and ballot initiatives.
The suit alleged that Republicans were violating the Michigan State Constitution by not granting requests for recorded roll call votes on whether legislation should take immediate effect.
[8] The Ingham Circuit Court initially ruled in favor of Irwin and his colleagues granting an injunction against the legislation in question.
[9] In 2013, Irwin introduced a bill that would fully decriminalize marijuana,[10] and sponsored legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Michigan, recognize same-sex marriages that were licensed in other states, and reverse the state's ban on extending health benefits to domestic partners of public employees.
[11] Since introducing legislation on these topics in 2013, Michigan has legalized adult use of cannabis, dramatically reformed civil asset forfeiture, and begun the process to shutdown Line 5.
[18] In the Senate, Irwin has introduced legislation to tighten regulations against polluters, allow more juvenile offenders to seal their records, expunge all cannabis-related offenses, ban PFAS in food packaging and dramatically expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.
[21] Irwin's legislation resolves a major issue that prevented legal Michigan residents from collecting federal pandemic unemployment assistance.
In the House, Irwin introduced legislation to eliminate "pay-to-play" schemes by limiting the awarding of state contracts to campaign donors.
[25] In 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit filed against Merck by former-Attorney General Mike Cox over the arthritis pain medication Vioxx.
[29] If passed this legislation would bring Michigan into alignment with the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which held that sentencing juveniles to mandatory life without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional.
In 2021, Irwin introduced legislation that would impact literacy performance in children, specifically pertaining to screening and treating aspects of dyslexia.
[30] Irwin also introduced legislation that would prevent and reduce students being removed from school, while ensuring that their due process rights are protected during disciplinary actions.
After Governor Gretchen Whitmer moved to shut down Line 5, Irwin thanked her for “taking bold, decisive” and that for “the last 67 years, Enbridge has continually prioritized profits over people, and put our state at risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life.” He has sponsored legislation to remove Michigan’s cap on residential solar production[34] and require polluters to be held accountable for the cleanup costs of their pollution.
[38]” Irwin supports repealing laws that weaken protections in the Tenure Act that ensure job and retirement security for educators.
He supported marriage equality prior to the Obergefell decision and introduced legislation to make second-parent adoption available to same-sex partners in Michigan.
[40] In 2014, Irwin publicly supported Washtenaw County Clerk, Larry Kestenbaum, against then-Attorney General Bill Schuette’s legal defense of Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage.
The Republican-led committee released a report showing that there was no fraud during or after the election, Irwin said he was glad that Republicans “are finally and definitely putting an end to ‘The Big Lie’ perpetuated by the former president.