Category: Michigan

Gov. Whitmer Suggests School Sales Tax Holiday; GOP Calls It ‘Pandering’

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed suspending the Michigan sales tax on school supplies for the upcoming school year, drawing GOP criticism of “pandering.”

“As families gear up for the school year, they should be able to get what they need without spending too much money out of pocket,” Whitmer said in a statement. “That’s why I’m putting forward the MI Back to School Plan, which includes a proposal to temporarily suspend the sales tax on school supplies. Getting this done would lower costs for parents, teachers, and students right now, and ensure that they have the resources to succeed.”

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Report: Michigan Among the Top Three Best ‘Free Speech’ States in the Union

The Center Square

Three Midwestern states scored best in the nation in analysis of laws restricting speech about government. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa outranked every other state by wide margins.

That’s the conclusion of a report issued by the Institute for Free Speech, a national nonprofit research facility that focuses on First Amendment rights. Wisconsin’s score of 86% out of a possible 100% was followed by Michigan (77%) and Iowa (75%).

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Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Accepted over $1 Million from Billionaires, Celebrity Donors While Attacking Her GOP Opponent’s ‘Special Interests’ Ties

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign has raked in donations from billionaires and Hollywood celebrities despite fundraising off her Trump-endorsed opponent’s ties to “special interests,” according to state records reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Michigan Democrat’s campaign has received over $1 million from billionaires and almost $48,000 from Hollywood celebrities since 2021, state campaign finance disclosures show. At the same time, the governor’s reelection campaign has criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon for her ties to “special interests” and former Education Secretary and billionaire Betsy DeVos.

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Judge: Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency Can’t Collect on Appealed Unemployment Overpayments

The Center Square

A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that the state Unemployment Insurance Agency can’t collect on claimants appealing a determination they were overpaid.

Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle ruled that his prior preliminary injunction stops UIA collection on all individuals who “timely” appeal UIA claims until they are resolved.

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‘Not Good’: Salman Rushdie Suffers Nerve Damage, Expected to Lose Eye After Knife Attack

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Salman Rushdie is likely to lose an eye after the attempt on his life on Friday, with the writer also serving significant nerve and organ damage, according to reports.

Rushdie was attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on Friday while giving a talk on free speech; he has been under intensive hospital care since the incident, while police have meanwhile apprehended his alleged attacker.

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FBI Informants Involved in Whitmer Kidnapping Debacle Allegedly Smoked Weed, Shared Hotel Room with Accused Plotter

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FBI informants in the case of the alleged 2020 plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer purportedly shared a hotel room and smoking weed with a target, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. are undergoing retrial on charges of planning to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in 2020 in response to her COVID-19 restrictions. They and two others were originally acquitted in April, with their defense arguing the FBI entrapped them, The Associated Press reported.

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Commentary: The Real Job Crisis in Michigan

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The real crisis in the U.S. labor market is not, as we keep hearing, that there are not enough people who can work. The real crisis is all the working-age people on the sidelines, not even looking for a job. Yes, the unemployment rate is low, but that statistic covers only those who have looked for a job in the last four weeks. The labor-force participation rate, which measures the share of working-age people working or at least looking for work, shows a long-term decline, especially for men without a college degree, and practically in states like Michigan. When able-bodied men are not even looking for work, a host of social problems ensue — from crime, to drug addiction, to family breakdown. 

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Michigan School Choice Initiative Clears Signature Hurdle for November Ballot

The Center Square

Let MI Kids Learn filed more than 520,000 signatures with the Michigan Bureau of Elections to put an education choice initiative on this November’s general election ballot.

If the ballot initiative is approved by voters, the Michigan legislature can approve the initiative immediately. Previously, both the state House and Senate passed the bill similar to what 21 states have as law, but Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined to sign it.

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Michigan Democrat Candidate Claims Assisted Suicide Could Be ‘Proper and Ethical’ for Terminally Ill Children

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Democratic Michigan congressional nominee Robert Lorinser claimed it could be “proper and ethical” for children suffering from a “terminal illness” to receive a medically assisted suicide, according to a Facebook post obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“[S]uch a difficult issue -DYING,” Lorinser, who is running to unseat Republican Rep. Jack Bergman in November and is also a doctor, wrote on Facebook on Oct. 20, 2018. “Children are harder than dying after a long life. Calling it medical assisting dying –I like. When, who, how–devil is in the details.”

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Ohio, Michigan Charter Schools Sue Biden Administration

The Center Square

A group of Ohio and Michigan charter schools sued the Biden administration today, claiming a new rule that requires charter schools to prove public schools are over-enrolled is illegal.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, includes the Michigan Charter School Association and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit charter school authorizer that supervises 13 charter schools in Ohio.

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Detroit Asks to Push Legacy Pension Payment Schedule by 10 Years

The Center Square

Facing a $131 million annual pension bill due in July 2023, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration filed a lawsuit to request city pension funds extend by 10 years its repayment schedule from 20 to 30 years.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court says a more extended payment plan would cost the city less over an additional decade as it approaches the “pension cliff” when it must resume payments.

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Sixth Circuit Court Grants Restraining Order Against Michigan Abortion Law

The Center Square

The Oakland County 6th Circuit Court late Monday issued a temporary restraining order against the Michigan Court of Appeals’ ruling earlier the same day allowing county prosecutors to enforce Michigan’s 1931 abortion law.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer requested the emergency ex parte restraining order after the Court of Appeals decision, which was rendered after the state’s 1931 law banning abortion was triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling in June.

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After Record Funding, Michigan Schools Seek More Money

The Center Square

Despite boasts of record state school spending amid declining school populations, many of Michigan’s local ballots next week will feature school sinking funds, millage renewals, or millage increases.

Michigan’s more than 850 school districts received about $6 billion of federal COVID funds, but in many cases, it’s unclear how the districts spent or plan to spend the money.

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Michigan Taxpayers Funding $16.6 Million for Private Manufacturer

The Center Square

Michigan taxpayers will give more than $16 million to a private manufacturing company, Gentex. The company is spending $300 million to expand operations over three years, which it claims will create 500 jobs.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to announce the subsidies to Gentex, a high-tech electronics manufacturer for the auto, aerospace, and fire safety industries.

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Students Support Pro-Life Michigan Football Coach

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University of Michigan-Ann Arbor coach Jim Harbaugh made several pro-life statements as a guest speaker at a pro-life event on July 17.

Harbaugh told those in attendance:

“I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born. I love life. I believe in having a loving care and respect for life and death. My faith and my science are what drives these beliefs in me.”

Harbaugh then quoted the Book of Jeremiah, stating, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs Executive Order Aiming to Reduce Gun Violence

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive instructing state departments to use federal resources from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in an effort to reduce crime and gun violence.

The directive follows a roundtable discussion with law enforcement, parents, students, and faith leaders on how to stop violence and hold criminals accountable for committing violent crimes.

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FOIA-Seeking Conservative Group Awaits Fulfillment of Court Order by Michigan Secretary of State

The Center Square

A conservative group on Tuesday demanded Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson comply with the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling to release unredacted documents in response to their Freedom of Information Act request.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against Benson last Thursday, requiring her office to release the documents in response to a FOIA initially sought by Michigan Rising Action.

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Detroit Leaders Propose $203 Million for Affordable Housing

The Center Square

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and City Council members Mary Waters, Angela Calloway, and Latisha Johnson want to spend $203 million on affordable housing.

A seven-point plan aims to create a new housing division, renovate vacant apartments and Land Bank homes, and provide mortgage down-payment assistance using money meant to recover from COVID, as well as some state and local funds.

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Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency Shrugs Off Additional $55.6 Million in Unemployment Overpayments

The Center Square
Unemployment line

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency announced on Thursday it will forgive an additional $55.6 million in overpayments.

This round of waivers pertains to nearly 7,300 jobless claims the agency erroneously issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as $2.4 million of refunds for claimants paying back benefits or applied toward overpayments.

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Ford May Let Go One-Fourth of Salaried Michigan Employees to Pay for Electric Vehicle Transition

The Center Square

Less than two months after announcing it would apply $134 million of taxpayer dollars for retooling two Michigan plants, news reports this week surfaced that revealed Ford Motor Company would lay off approximately 8,000 salary workers.

According to Bloomburg reporting, the job cuts are part of the automaker’s effort to liberate $3 billion of corporate operational costs from the its internal combustion engine business. The company would then transfer savings garnered from the layoffs to build electric Ford F-150 Lightning and Ranger pickups at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, a new Mustang coupe at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, and a $35 million Ford Customer Service Division packaging facility in Monroe.

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‘Vindictive’: Michigan GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Launches Unconventional Line of Attack to Unseat Gov. Whitmer

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Michigan GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Tudor Dixon attacked Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as “vindictive” and unresponsive during an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Dixon, who leads the pack of Republicans running for governor, is a conservative media personality, manufacturing businesswoman and mother. Dixon told the DCNF that Whitmer has not listened to the needs of the people.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs $54 Billion Operating Budget

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $54 billion operating budget that, combined with the 2023 education budget, reaches a record annual spending of $77 billion.

“Today, I am thrilled to sign my fourth balanced, bipartisan state budget that delivers on the kitchen-table issues that matter most to working families, was done on time, and does not raise taxes by a dime,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The budget will protect public health and public safety, expand mental health resources, grow Michigan’s economy and workforce, empower working families and communities, and pays down billions in debt.”

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Gov. Whitmer Signs Executive Order to Create Michigan Parents’ Council

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday to establish the Michigan Parents’ Council.

The council’s responsibility is to meet with parents throughout the state, gather their input on a number of themes, topics, strategies and ideas; then act in an advisory role to the state superintendent and governor when relaying information from those discussions.

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Michigan Fish Hatcheries Get New Ship, $34 Million for Repairs

The Center Square

Michigan fish hatcheries will receive $34 million in the 2023 budget for infrastructure repairs and replacement of a 54-year-old survey vessel.

“Michigan’s fish and aquatic habitats are among our state’s greatest natural, recreational and economic assets, and we must continue working together to protect them for future generations,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Together with the historic, $450 million investments in our parks and public lands under the Building Michigan Together Plan I signed earlier this year, our bipartisan budget represents a once-in-a-generation investment that will help us continue safeguarding our most precious natural resources.”

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Michigan Bill Aims to Stop Gas Station Price Gouging

The Center Square

Democrats say a price-gouging bill would stop “Big Oil” greed, but others say it would penalize independent operators of gas stations.

Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, and Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, sponsored Senate Bill 1136, which defines price gouging as “an unjustified disparity of more than 20%” between the price of a comparable energy product or service in a market before, during, or after a market disruption.

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Billionaire’s Project Gets $100 Million from Michigan Taxpayers

The Center Square

Michigan’s 2023 budget will give $100 million to a billionaire’s pet project but no tax relief to 10 million Michiganders despite $7 billion leftover in the state’s bank.

The Center Square reported earlier this month that the $77 billion budget gives  $100 million for the Detroit Center for Innovation, a new research facility operated the University of Michigan.

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Line 5 Expected to Emerge as Major Michigan Campaign Issue

The Center Square

Republican gubernatorial candidates support Line 5 as it exists and champion the proposed $500 million tunnel to house the pipeline 100-feet beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

Their Democrat opponent, incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has been attempting to shut down the pipeline as well as prevent construction of the five-mile conduit, which would be buried beneath the lakebed of the Straits.

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Ann Arbor Police Officer Retires over ‘Mob Mentality;’ Police Enforcement Tumbles

The Center Square

by Elyse Apel   An officer from the City of Ann Arbor Police Department retired early due to the “political climate.” Eric Ronewicz, who serves on the executive board of the Police Officers Association of Michigan, sent an email to his superiors on July 3, 2020, saying officers have received no “clear guidance” on how to handle potentially violent situations. Ronewicz’s resignation over the political climate came as statistics show Ann Arbor police have seen a large drop in police enforcement, including physical arrests, parking violations, and traffic violations. Ronewicz said in the email that officers didn’t feel they had the support of the police administration. And he said that when suspects resisted arrest, it could lead to charges against the officer. “We also could have charged criminally in order to satisfy a faction of society even if we abided by law and policy in order to affect an arrest for domestic violence in which force had to have been used,” he said. In the email, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Ronewicz cited the “mob mentality” that he said has taken over the country. He said the lack of guidance from the department and a fear of…

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Touts $77 Billion 2023 Budget, Despite No Tax Relief

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is touting the $77 billion 2023 fiscal year budget that she says will improve Michigan’s economy and workforce.

Whitmer bragged that the budget negotiated with Republicans doesn’t raise taxes. However, it also keeps $7 billion of taxpayer money locked in state coffers while spending another $7 billion more than the prior budget.

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Group Submits 753,759 Signatures for Abortions Rights Ballot Initiative

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A group says it has collected more than enough signatures to place a question on the Nov. 8 ballot of whether abortion rights will be enshrined into state law.

The group, Reproductive Freedom for all, says it submitted a record 753,759 signatures, an amount that exceeds the minimum required amount of 425,059 valid signatures. The group tweeted Monday morning: “This victory is YOUR victory. Countless petitions, countless volunteer hours, countless miles driven to get every last signature, and *we finally did it.* Now, we are even closer to codifying reproductive rights here in MI once and for all!”

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‘Launch Michigan’ Wants an Extra $3.8B for Schools Statewide

The Center Square

A school advocacy group called Launch Michigan wants an additional $3.8 billion for Michigan schools disbursed statewide, funded by an undisclosed new tax.

The group released its report in June, prior to state lawmakers passing a 2023 $19.6 billion School Aid Fund, which includes record education spending of $21.3 billion, or 27% of the entire state budget for the year.

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Michigan Schools Are Getting Paid to Change Their ‘Racist’ Mascots

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Several Michigan school districts will receive more than $400,000 in funding to change their mascots, according to a Native American Heritage Fund (NAHF) press release.

NAHF, which receives some of Michigan’s gaming revenue, is giving $411,438 out of $480,000 in grants to four districts with mascots that depict Native Americans, according to a press release from the fund. Each school district will receive the funds for its transformation in August.

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Ten Michigan Churches to Share in $1.24M Energy Efficiency Grant

The Center Square

Ten Michigan church congregations, each of low-income nature, will share in a $1.24 million grant award for energy-efficiency upgrades.

Federal money will be appropriated through the Sacred Spaces Clean Energy program to “advance environmental justice and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said in making the announcement Wednesday.

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Confusion Clouds Michigan Abortion Legality as County Prosecutors Clash

The Center Square

Whether a Michigander woman can get an abortion without being criminally charged under a 1931 law might depend on the county prosecutor.

Confusion now abounds, which is why Gov. Gretchen Whitmer again urged the Michigan Supreme Court to hear her lawsuit to strike the 1931 law triggered by the United States Supreme Court overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

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