A new coalition called the Great Lakes Growth aims to boost Michigan’s economy and population by opposing what it calls “anti-growth” bills introduced in the Legislature.
GLG’s founding members include the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Detroit Regional Chamber and Grand Rapids Chamber.
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A group called on the Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature to boost electric vehicle incentives so the state can reach 2 million registered statewide by 2030.
Illinois leads the Midwest race to register EVs with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. For Michigan to reach its EV goal, it must register 280,803 EVs each year until mid-2030, which would require registering 23,400 EVs every month for seven years.
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A coalition of 12 Michigan intermediate school districts announced plans to launch a comprehensive statewide school infrastructure study.
The review will explain to lawmakers, school administrators, and parents the long-term costs associated with building upkeep as well as necessary health and safety upgrades.
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The Michigan Legislature late Thursday approved about $1 billion in tax changes highlighted in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address.
The two changes include boosting the earned income tax credit and repealing the retirement tax.
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The Michigan Legislature is supposed to make laws and spend taxpayer money wisely and transparently.
But a report from the Detroit News says the GOP-led Legislature gave $4 million to a for-profit company, with an unclear return on investment for taxpayers. The details of the corporate handout weren’t discovered until months after the appropriation.
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Michigan Democrats filed bills aiming to fulfill a 40-year pending wishlist, which include restoring the prevailing wage and repealing right to work.
Other bills filed include repealing the retirement tax, boosting the earned income tax credit, and repealing the 1931 abortion ban despite a constitutional amendment voiding the law.
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The Michigan Legislature approved a $1 billion spending plan primarily meant to attract critical state projects. The supplemental spending bill was passed Wednesday over objections from some Republican lawmakers that the spending package wouldn’t benefit taxpayers in the long run.
The state is spending a $7 billion taxpayer surplus.
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Some Michigan businesses are scrambling after a Court of Claims ruling says the minimum wage should increase from $9.87 to $12 after the Court declared the GOP’s 2018 circumvention of two voter-initiated ballot initiatives as unconstitutional.
A restaurant group estimates this change would hike labor cost inflation by 156%.
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Tax cuts are no longer on the negotiating table as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the GOP-dominated Michigan Legislature square off before a deadline to submit a budget.
Crain’s first reported the story, citing two anonymous sources familiar with negotiations, and said lawmakers hope to pass a budget on Thursday.
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The Michigan Legislature voted to place on the Nov. 8 ballot a question asking Michiganders if they want a constitutional amendment altering term limits and requiring financial disclosures.
On a 76-28 vote, the House approved House Joint Resolution R, followed by the Senate’s vote of 26-6 – each received the required two-thirds majority in support to reach the ballot.
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Former President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed Representative Matt Maddock (R-Milford) in his reelection campaign for the Michigan State Legislature.
Maddock, who has remained a strong proponent of the former president, is also running for a leadership position among House Republicans.
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In a bizarre speech on the floor of the Michigan legislature, a Democrat state Senator fought back tears while demanding apologies from unspecified Republican colleagues, while insinuating that they were racists and sexists.
The following is a transcript from the speech, given by Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-1st District:
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On Wednesday, Michigan House Republicans kicked off the 101st legislative session by introducing a bill that seeks to prohibit lawmakers from voting on bills that could benefit themselves or their family members
“To say we’re living in challenging political times is an understatement. People just don’t trust their government or their politicians,” House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, said in a Wednesday press conference.
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The Michigan House and Senate Oversight Committees are assuming authority to issue subpoenas, administer oaths and examine books and records related to the 2020 election.
The committees immediately proceeded to issue subpoenas to election clerks in Detroit and Livonia. Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey and Livonia Clerk Susan Nash have until the end of business on Jan. 12 to turn over documents pertaining to their respective elections.
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Michigan’s 16 electors unanimously cast ballots for presumptive President-elect Joseph Biden and presumptive Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The event transpired in the Senate chamber of the Michigan State Capitol on Monday afternoon, and was chaired by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist.
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A Michigan Democrat State Representative seemed to threaten President Trump’s supporters on video Tuesday, by saying “we ain’t playing with you,” and calling on “soldiers” to “make them pay.”
In a three minute long Facebook live video, the far-left State Rep. Cynthia Johnson said “Trumpers” had better “be careful,” and “walk lightly.”
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The GOP-led Michigan Senate passed bills that, if passed, will reduce government revenue in a year when the state will soon be strapped for cash.
Currently, the state is facing a projected deficit between $170 million and $1.17 billion for fiscal year 2022.
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It will likely take weeks, or even months, to sort through the mess that Democrats have made of Michigan’s elections. In the meantime, only the Michigan Legislature can legitimately determine the winner of the state’s presidential Electors.
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With nine session days left in 2020, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the Republican-led Legislature to pass a $100 million COVID-19 stimulus package as well as several other pieces of legislation.
“This is the most urgent public health emergency our state has faced in our lifetimes, and it demands our full, immediate, and unified attention,” Whitmer wrote in a letter.
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The Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society said it filed a lawsuit on Thanksgiving asking the Michigan Supreme Court to physically secure all evidence of irregularities in the 2020 election and declare the results invalid on the basis of alleged unlawful conduct by state and local officials.
“In numerous instances, state and local officials brazenly violated election laws in order to advance a partisan political agenda,” said Phill Kline, Director of The Amistad Project. “The pattern of lawlessness was so pervasive and widespread that it deprived the people of Michigan of a free and fair election, throwing the integrity of the entire process into question.”
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The Kalkaska County board of commissioners has approved a resolution urging the impeachment of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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Several Republican lawmakers in Michigan have filed articles of impeachment against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The articles, filed Thursday, accuse the Democratic lawmaker of violating the state constitution and abusing her powers with her strict coronavirus restrictions.
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Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, on Friday said lawmakers will hold hearings Saturday to look into election fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election.
“Every single legal vote needs to be counted, regardless of who cast it or who they voted for. And then the candidate who wins the most of those votes will win Michigan’s electoral votes, just like it always has been. Nothing about that process will change in 2020,” Chatfield said in a statement.
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The Michigan House approved a bill with the stated purpose of better protecting Michigan’s nursing home population from COVID-19.
Senate Bill 956 seeks to prohibit the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes.
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The Michigan legislature adjourned Thursday without extending Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s state of emergency.
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the results of Tuesday’s primary will be reported later than usual because of an increase in absentee voting.
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House Republicans are sponsoring a resolution that would declare Michigan a “Second Amendment sanctuary state.”
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal Thursday, which clocks in at a whopping $61.9 billion.
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A Michigan group seeking to expand discrimination protections for “sexual orientation and gender identity” cleared its first major hurdle Tuesday.
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A Michigan bill that would require every executive branch department and division to post the salary and benefit information of their employees unanimously cleared its first hurdle Thursday. House Bill 5015 easily cleared the House Oversight Committee and is now on its way to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration. Under the bill, the Department of Technology, Management and Budget would be required to make public on the state’s website the “function, contact, and employee salary information for each executive branch department and each major division or sub-unit within the department.” “This information must be accessible to the public at no cost,” the bill adds. According to Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Township), sponsor of the bill, residents seeking to obtain salary information “must go through a burdensome Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process in order to receive it.” “Having this information readily available up front removes the response time and effort needed to fulfill these individual requests and will free up government departments to serve people more efficiently,” he said in a statement. Berman believes that his bill would “make state government more accountable to the taxpayers who fund it,” pointing out that the Michigan House already…
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Michigan’s state income tax was raised in 2007 in what was supposed to be a temporary fix, but it ended up being permanent. More than a decade later, one Republican state lawmaker plans to change that.
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A Michigan task force established by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has recommended a number of sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system, including lowering probation terms and reclassifying most traffic offenses as civil infractions.
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