Insider Intelligence

In my blog post last month, Speaker of the House Only Feels Like a Lifetime Appointment, I explained that there have only been 54 Speakers of the House at the federal level since the position was created in 1789.  Of those, only two served more than 10 years, the longest was Sam Rayburn at 17 […]

Sine Die has come and gone in Lansing. As our Michigan lawmakers closed the books on this legislative session, we tallied the numbers to see what was accomplished in the statehouse.

The Michigan Constitution requires that the Legislature adjourns “without day” each year of a regular session.  Adjourning “without day” means that the Legislature has not set a day in which it will reconvene, therefore it’s the final adjournment of the year.  Sine die, Latin for “without day”, triggers many important events for the state Legislature.  […]

City and county governments in Michigan are using social media in unique and interesting ways to stay in touch with their citizens.

The Freedom of Information Act is a powerful tool for citizens and businesses that want to know more about their government.

This week, Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) and Representative Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway) introduced legislation reforming Michigan’s civil service system and giving directors of state departments the ability to discipline or remove government workers.  The package consists of a House Bill and a House Joint Resolution (HJR), which would amend the constitution.  Unlike […]

This week, the State Board of Education unanimously approved a one-year contract extension for the Superintendent for Public Instruction, Brian Whiston.  The extension followed the high marks the board gave him during his first annual evaluation.  The evaluation was comprised of several key factors, including his alignment with the State Board; his work with the […]

Chairman of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC), Andrew Deloney, was voted chair-elect to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) Board of Directors.  He will assume responsibilities in May 2016, when the current chair-elect becomes the chairman.  Mr. Deloney was originally appointed as an Administrative Commissioner to the MLCC in 2011 by Governor Rick […]