Insider Intelligence

Next month, Michigan voters will vote on two ballot proposals during the general election. Each proposal will need a majority of voters to approve in order to become law. Proposal 20-1 would change how future oil and has revenue is disposed and what it can be used for. For an overview of the proposal by […]

This week the Board of State Canvassers approved ballot language aimed at protecting residents against unreasonable searches and seizures. SJR G, approved by the legislature in June, defines in the Michigan Constitution that electronic data and communications are property and are exempt from search and seizure without a warrant. This proposal will be placed on […]

Members of the House Democratic Caucus announced a proposal changing the way that citizen-led ballot initiatives are handled in Michigan. Under current law, once a citizen’s initiative is validated for having the required number of signatures, the legislature can take a vote on the measure, or if they choose not to act it would go […]

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on July 17 regarding the legality of the legislature adopting a ballot initiative, only to amend it shortly thereafter. Specifically, this case deals with the ballot initiatives changing the state’s minimum wage and sick time leave laws, which were headed for the ballot in 2018. As allowable […]

This week, the Michigan House and Senate filed two lawsuits against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for refusing to follow the 2018 petition initiative law that Attorney General Dana Nessel declared unconstitutional through an official opinion. The 2018 law, passed by the legislature and approved by former Governor Rick Snyder, required that not more than […]

In her most recent opinion, Attorney General Dana Nessel determined that portions of Public Act 608 of 2018, which made changes to laws governing signature collections, is unconstitutional. Passed at the end of the last session, the reforms were controversial throughout the process. After taking office, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson requested an opinion on […]

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has requested an opinion from Attorney General Dana Nessel on the constitutionality of changes to Michigan’s initiative and referendum process that was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in December 2018. Within Public Act 608, Secretary Benson is specifically asking the Attorney General to determine the constitutionality […]

This week, legislation introduced by Representative Jim Lower (R-Cedar Lake) making changes to the state’s ballot petition process was passed by the House. The plan makes changes to the process of collecting signatures to get an item placed on the ballot. The legislation, as passed by the House: Requires not more than 15% of certified […]