Insider Intelligence

There were numerous articles written in December about the record setting lame duck: 4 weeks long, record number of votes, and public acts.  But I thought a little context might be helpful in understanding just how busy the legislature was during this time.  First, a refresher on some stats. In 2018 there were 690 public […]

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. Why We’re Drawn to Leaders Who Emphasize the Negative – The adage that there are so many negative political campaign ads is “because they work” is […]

A bipartisan package of bills was introduced reforming Michigan’s civil asset forfeiture laws. The House Speaker and House Democratic Leader were joined by the Attorney General in supporting the reforms. The biannual Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference was held, unveiling Michigan’s economic outlook and revenue projections. Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of the director for […]

On the first day of session for the new term, House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) was joined by House Democratic Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills) and Attorney General Dana Nessel in supporting legislation reforming the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws. To show the importance being placed on the issue, the bipartisan package of bills were […]

Today, the biannual Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference was held in Lansing. The conference included House and Senate members, the directors of the House Fiscal Agency and the Senate Fiscal Agency, State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, and State Budget Director Chris Kolb.  After hearing testimony from the Research Seminar on Quantitative Economics at the University of Michigan, […]

On Thursday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of Robert Gordon as the new head of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, he is the senior vice president of finance and global strategy for The College Board. In the Obama administration, Mr. Gordon served as acting assistant secretary at the Office of […]

This week, a bipartisan group of Representatives introduced a bill package making reforms to transparency laws in state government.  Currently, Michigan is one of only a few states that exempts its governor, lieutenant governor, and the Legislature from sunshine laws. This package would remove those exemptions, something which the sponsors state would increase accountability. Under […]

This week, Justice Bridget McCormack was elected by her colleagues to serve a two-year term as Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. She is the sixth woman in Michigan history to serve as Chief Justice. This also marks the first time in state history that the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Chief […]