Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

One of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's top priorities, a ban on cell phones in the classroom, failed to pass the Michigan House Thursday. GOP Speaker Matt Hall again blamed Democrats for stalling legislation.

"House Republicans, we're trying to move issues that are important to the public. You read these stories about six bills being signed into law this year. Many people think that's a record of fewest bills. So, we said look, we can add some today. And you didn't see House Democrats go along with that," he said during a press conference Thursday evening.

The House also failed to extend filing deadlines for prosecutors to seek life sentences for 19 and 20-year-old murderers who could be set free under a recent Michigan Supreme Court opinion.

"Many Democrat counties and prosecutors asked us to move these bills to extend their deadlines so that violent criminals won't be let out of prison early because of paperwork technicalities," said Hall.

Hall removed Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat from the House Appropriations Committee Thursday after the Dearborn Democrat failed to join Republicans in support of the legislation.

"Now you're going to see, potentially, violent criminals released because of paperwork issues, because prosecutors are so backlogged in Democrat counties they can't file all these cases on time."

Hall said it would effect mainly Genesee and Wayne counties.

"This is coming on the heals of what I thought was a very good deal, a bipartisan deal on education that could have got a K-12 budget done by July 1. And we saw House Democrats unwilling to do that too."

Speaker Hall's press conference is linked below.