Insider Intelligence

In 2010 the legislature passed reforms to teacher retirement pensions and healthcare. Since it was signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder, unions have been fighting against the law, contending that it is unconstitutional.  Specifically, the law stated that a teacher must contribute 3% of their pay towards healthcare benefits in retirement.  The legal question […]

This week, Governor Rick Snyder named Judge Kurtis T. Wilder to the Michigan Supreme Court.  Prior to this appointment, Judge Wilder served on the Michigan Court of Appeals and served as Chief Judge of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court.  Before taking the bench, Judge Wilder was in private practice.  He earned both his law and […]

On Friday, January 6, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously selected Justice Stephen Markman to serve as its new Chief Justice.  Justice Markman was appointed to the Court in 1999 and reelected in 2000, 2004, and 2012.  He succeeds Justice Robert P. Young, Jr., who served as Chief Justice since 2011.  “Justice Young did an incredible […]

In the previous blog post we highlighted the policy events of the past two years.  In addition to the active session in terms of legislation, there were quite a few shake ups to the membership of the legislature.  Throughout the past two years, the legislature has lost seven members between the two chambers.  Former Senator […]

This week, the Michigan Supreme Court denied a request by Governor Rick Snyder to issue an opinion on state funding for private schools.  In the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year budget, there was an appropriation of $2.5 million to cover the costs for private schools to comply with state mandates placed on all K-12 schools.  After signing […]

This week the Michigan Supreme Court announced it is reorganizing the regional administrative structure in the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to improve service to trial courts.  The new plan expands the number of regional administrators and realigns coverage areas so that services to trial courts can be more focused and timely.  Regional administrators provide […]