Twenty-eight new lawmakers are joining the GOP-controlled Michigan Legislature on the first day of the next two-year session.
The new House members were sworn in shortly after noon Wednesday along with those re-elected to the 110-member chamber. Senators are in the middle of their four-year terms.
Opening day is filled with pomp, smiles and excitement of choosing new seats before the real work begins weeks down the line. But acrimony over the GOP's passage of a right-to-work law in December lingered as hundreds of union demonstrators protested outside the Capitol.
Republican Jase Bolger is expected to be chosen to lead the House again.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder will outline his agenda in next week's State of the State address. He will propose a budget in late January or early February.
