Insider Intelligence

Do you remember learning parliamentary procedure in high school and thinking “I’ll never use this stuff”?  Or, maybe you belong to a civic organization that uses Robert’s Rules to operate its meetings.  Well, if you ever plan to become a legislator or legislative staff, you may want to brush up on those parliamentary skills.  But, […]

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. A Brief Guide to U.S. Corporate Tax Reform – With Congress and the President temporarily resolving the budget situation, corporate income tax reform received new life […]

MLC’s Brendan Ringlever shared some gems of the creative class in Grand Rapids. The Senate passed legislation making reforms to campaign finance laws in Michigan. House and Senate Democratic Caucus members introduced legislation giving in-state companies a preference in bids for government contracts. Michigan’s unemployment rate last month slightly increased. The August revenue report was […]

On Thursday, the Senate passed a two-bill package making reforms to campaign finance in Michigan.  The proposal would allow independent expenditure committees to raise and spend unlimited funds.  It also allows for candidates to solicit funds for those committees, but would prohibit them from telling the committee how to spend the funds.  “This is a […]

This week, members of the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses formally introduced their “Michigan Jobs First” legislation.  The bill package gives Michigan companies preference when bidding on government contracts.  Details of the four-bill package include: Gives Michigan companies an 8% financial advantage when competing for state contracts Gives in-state businesses thirty-days to resubmit their bids […]

The seasonally adjusted August unemployment increased slightly to 3.9%, an increase of two-tenths of a percentage point from the prior month.  Total employment for the month declined by 17,000 and the number of unemployed increased by 10,000.  Despite the month-to-month increase, last month’s rate is 1% lower than the August 2016 rate.  The national unemployment […]

This week, the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency released their revenue numbers for August 2017.  Last month, General Fund and School Aid Fund taxes increased 4.3% from the prior year, totaling $2 billion.  Tax collections for the month were roughly $6 million below prior estimates. General Fund earmarked collections were $5.4 million below projections, while School […]

The House Government Operations Committee this week reported a resolution calling for a convention of states.  The measure, introduced by Speaker Pro Tem Lee Chatfield (R-Levering), seeks to amend the United States Constitution to decrease the size and spending of the federal government.  Additionally, his resolution calls for term limits on members of Congress.  House […]