Insider Intelligence

According to numbers released this week by the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, the seasonally adjusted employment rate for April 2017 was 4.7%.  The rate is three-tenths of a percentage point below the prior month and two-tenths of a percentage point below the April 2016 rate.  Last month, total employment rose by 18,000, while […]

This week, Governor Rick Snyder called for a special election to fill the 109th House District, which was left vacant following the passing of former Representative John Kivela.  The seat is in the Upper Peninsula and includes the counties Alger, Luce, Schoolcraft, and a portion of Marquette County. The special primary election will be held […]

This week, the House passed a resolution aimed at defining electronic property rights.  It would amend the Michigan Constitution to make clear that the government must generally obtain a search warrant to access a person’s electronic data or communications, protecting electronic property from unreasonable search and seizure.  “As technology continues to rapidly evolve, citizens have […]

This week, Representative Steven Marino (R-Harrison Twp.) and Representative Diana Farrington (R-Utica) introduced legislation reforming the state’s contingency fund that helps communities deal with disasters.  Under the bills as introduced, the contingency fund would continuously maintain a greater amount of funds that can be used more quickly to help local governments cope with disasters.  Currently […]

This week, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced the municipalities awarded grant by the DEQ to boost their recycling education and infrastructure projects.  The $500,000 in grants support Governor Rick Snyder’s 2014 Residential Recycling Plan of Action by increasing access to recycling, improving recycling processing capacity, and promoting recycling education in Michigan.  Funding for […]

Legislative session continues next week with the usual Tuesday – Thursday schedule. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission will hold a regular business meeting in Saginaw on Monday, May 22.  For more information, please click here.

Projections for General Fund (GF) revenue were revised down by $178.8 million for the 2017 Fiscal Year.  On a positive note, the revenue earmarked for the School Aid Fund (SAF) has increased from earlier estimates by $152.9 million for the 2017 Fiscal Year, resulting in an overall increase of $25.9 million from the January estimates.  […]

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. The Six Top Trends in Government Innovation – Are any of them appearing at a government near you? Have Scientists Discovered the Cure for Potholes? – […]