Faced with a shrinking margin for the 2013 legislative session, Michigan Republicans not only majority-muscled through a “right to work” for less bill in its lame-duck session that stood little chance of passage next year, but several other last-minute controversial measures as well.

In Michigan, a majority of the state’s African American citizens could soon be without elected representation, because of a law passed earlier this year with the backing of billionaires Charles and David Koch. Last week, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) sent a request to Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the civil rights implications of the law.

The drive to overturn Michigan’s “financial martial law” through a ballot initiative is close to securing enough signatures to qualify for a spot on the November 2012 ballot, nearly seven months before the deadline to file those signatures.