Insider Intelligence

This week, four members of the House Democratic Caucus announced their plan to fix Detroit Public Schools.  Their proposal would create the Detroiters Coordinating to Help Enrich Children (D’CHEC), serving as an oversight and coordinating entity.  It would be comprised of seven appointed members who have resided in the City of Detroit for at least […]

This week, the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency released January 2016 revenue numbers.  According to their numbers, General Fund and School Aid fund earmarked revenue was $2.3 billion for the month, an increase of 3.4% from January 2015.  Net income tax revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of 8.1% over the prior year.  While withholding payments […]

This week, the Board of State Canvassers approved a petition seeking to recall Governor Rick Snyder due to the Flint water crisis.  This is the second approved recall petition against Governor Snyder.  A few week ago a separate petition was approved on the reasoning of the state takeover of Detroit Public Schools.  To get the […]

This week, the Senate passed and the House concurred in a bill extending the sunset on the Health Insurance Claims Assessment (HICA) through 2020.  When the House passed their version of HB 5105 in December, it included a sunset extension through 2025.  However, the sole change the Senate made to the bill was to shorten […]

On Thursday, Governor Rick Snyder named Ari Adler as his Director of Communications.  Mr. Adler has worked in the executive office since 2015.  Adler has extensive experience in public relations and communications, including serving as communications director for former Speaker of the House, Jase Bolger, as spokesperson in Senate Leadership offices and having served in […]

The House and Senate are scheduled to hold session Tuesday – Thursday. On Tuesday, March 1, the House Appropriations State Police Subcommittee will hear testimony on the research, planning, and implementation of body-worn cameras. On Wednesday, March 2, both the House and Senate Appropriations Judiciary Subcommittees will hear budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year […]

When the State of Michigan surfaced a possible sales tax on services, satellite television providers DISH and DirectTV came to MLC for help. Although all television providers would have been taxed under the new law, satellite television providers would have been hit with a higher six percent sales tax compared to just one percent for […]

On Thursday, the Office of the Auditor General released a performance audit of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, which provides nursing care and services to military veterans, windows, spouses, former spouses and parents of State veterans.  The home has been plagued with issues and complaints over the years, leading to the legislature providing additional […]