Following a Michigan Department of Education report showing drops in reading and math proficiency in some grades, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled a multi-step plan to boost student achievement and teacher support.
The plan would provide extra funding for school safety and mental health resources, waive state fees for teachers and modernize the standard curriculum, State Reps. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, and Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, announced Monday.
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Michigan Senate Republicans universally signed a letter opposing Attorney General Dana Nessel after she threatened to sue the fossil fuel industry.
Nessel issued a statement earlier this month seeking assistant attorneys to litigate on behalf of the state, saying the industry has knowingly caused the state harm. In response, the senate Republicans described the lawsuit as a mistake.
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With border exposure and natural ports, Michigan Republicans want to change state law to make human smuggling illegal and criminalize harboring and transporting people who are or have entered the country illegally.
There are no state-level criminal penalties for human smuggling.
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall asked Michigan’s Office of the Auditor General to audit a Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration program that offers up to $500 in monthly rent assistance to certain people for up to 12 months.
The letter from Hall, of Richland Township, urged Auditor General Doug Ringler to examine eligibility determination.
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Michigan Democrats are celebrating a record $82 billion budget for 2024 that Republicans say is wasteful and unsustainable without future tax hikes.
It’s the first budget crafted by a Democrat political trifecta in 40 years, which includes rollbacks of the state’s retirement tax on seniors and quintupled the Working Families Tax Credit.
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The Democrat-dominated Michigan House passed multiple budget bills for the fiscal 2023-24 year, sparking outcry from Republicans who say the roughly $80 billion budget – the most expensive in state history- is full of wasteful spending.
“This budget sets the priorities Michiganders asked for,” Rep. Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “We’ve invested in health-care worker recruitment and retention to strengthen our economy and shorten wait times to see providers. We’ve prioritized public safety by allocating funding to graduate a new class of officers to help keep us safe. We’re supporting the small local businesses that are the heart of our local economies.”
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Michigan House Republicans announced new leadership on Thursday after they secured a majority in the Nov. 3 election for the sixth straight term.
Rep. Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, an Army veteran, former law enforcement official, and third-term legislator, was chosen as the next speaker of the House of Representatives.
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House Republicans are sponsoring a resolution that would declare Michigan a “Second Amendment sanctuary state.”
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