Insider Intelligence

Yesterday, the biannual Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference was held in Lansing.  The conference included members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the directors of the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies, the State Treasurer, and the State Budget Director.  They heard testimony from the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE), IHS Global Insight, and analysts […]

On Monday, Governor Rick Snyder announced the creation of the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee (FWIACC) through executive order.  The goal of the committee is to bring together a wide range of experts to work on long-term solutions to the Flint water situation and ongoing public health concerns.  The group will analyze any long-term effects […]

On Tuesday, Governor Rick Snyder requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate an interagency recovery plan with other federal agencies to provide resources to Flint.  This request will help identify federal programs, authorities and/or technical expertise that could be utilized for the response to the water crisis in Flint.  The Governor […]

On Friday morning, Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that his office is immediately launching an investigation into the Flint water crisis.  The purpose of the investigation is to determine what, if any, Michigan laws were violated in the process that resulted in the current crisis.  “The situation in Flint is a human tragedy in which […]

On Thursday, Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) introduced two bills seeking to make reforms to Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  The legislation would create a new district known as the Detroit Community District to operate the schools.  DPS would remain only for the purpose of retiring the district’s debt.  The new district would be initially governed by […]

This week, Senator Dale Zorn (R-Ida) introduced a bill that would provide clarity to the legislative intent of campaign finance reforms that were signed by the Governor earlier this month.  After the legislature passed the bill in December, several groups and legislators voiced concerns of the unintended consequences of the legislation.  Notably, the new law […]

On Wednesday, January 13, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported an increase to the cases of legionnaires disease (LD) in Genesee County during the summers of 2014 and 2015.  While it is too early to know if this is caused by the increased levels of lead in the City of Flint’s […]

On Thursday, the Board of State Canvassers approved petition language to recall Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) and Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City).  The reason stated for the recall is due to their votes on approval on the infrastructure funding package, raising diesel and gasoline fuel taxes.  In order for the recalls to […]