Insider Intelligence

This week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2019-19 creating the Michigan Poverty Task Force. Housed with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, the task force will be comprised of directors or the directors’ designees from a number of state departments and agencies. They will convene their first meeting in January 2020 and will […]

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joined a delegation of 10 other Secretaries of State to visit Israel with the American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange. The program featured in-depth discussions on cybersecurity policies and practices at the state, local, and federal level as it relates to business services, election administration, and records management. The weeklong education […]

The House and Senate continue their holiday break, during that time they are not scheduled to hold session or committee hearings. The next scheduled session day is Wednesday, January 8. In observance of the holidays, the MLC offices will be closed from December 24 – January 1.

2019 has been a year of new beginnings for Michigan’s legislature and state government. With a new Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, House Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, and over 40 new legislators, state government has welcomed a significant number of new faces this year, as well as seen individuals return, but in new and […]

Below are some of the articles that the MLC lobby team has been reading this past week. We hope you find them as interesting and useful as we do. Do You Need Charisma to Be a Great Public Speaker? – There are many attributes that help a person be a good speaker, none of which […]

In his latest blog post, MLC lobbyist Tony Des Chenes explains why you should keep your message simple when meeting with a legislator or department director for the first time. Following months of negotiations, the legislature approved appropriations that would restore some of the funding that Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed from the current fiscal year […]

Following months of negotiations, the legislature approved appropriations that would restore some of the funding that Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed from the current fiscal year budgets. Restored funding includes: $13 million for secondary road patrols $15 million to reimburse county jails for holding state prisoners $15 million to combat PFAS contamination at municipal airports $27 […]

After years of work and negotiation, sports betting and online gaming would be legal in Michigan under bills approved by the legislature this week.  The legislation sets a tax rate and creates regulatory framework for these new games and fantasy sports. Additionally, it provides authority to the Michigan Gaming Control Board to regulate online gaming […]