A Michigan House committee approved bills on minimum wage and sick leave, sparking debates and public testimony, with one bill proposing a $12 minimum wage and another exempting small businesses from mandated sick time.

"Feel free to try a signature initiative," one Michigan Republican lawmaker said as the GOP-run House prepares to scale back a minimum wage hike.

When Republicans in the Michigan House of Representatives took control of the chamber on Jan. 8, they immediately got to work, introducing legislation to preserve Michigan’s tipped minimum wage and moderate changes to the state’s paid sick leave policy.

Two bills, which would adjust minimum wage and paid sick leave legislation set to take effect in February, have successfully advanced through committee in the Michigan

The proposals demonstrated that Democrats are open to altering the looming policy changes that have been loudly protested by some restaurant workers.

As the Michigan House of Representatives welcomed new Republican leadership to the chamber on Wednesday, the Democratic-led state Senate hit the ground running, introducing 15 bills, with some reviving key debates from the previous legislative session.

LANSING — A legislative committee on Thursday overwhelmingly approved bills that would scale back minimum wage and paid sick leave laws due to take effect in February, sending them to the House floor with bipartisan support.

It took two overflow rooms in the House Office Building in Lansing this week to accommodate everyone who wanted to testify.

A state House committee approved legislation Thursday to scale back minimum wage and earned sick time laws set to take effect in a few weeks. We have more from Rick Pluta.