Insider Intelligence

This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported a bill providing a $144 million appropriation to aid the City of Flint.  The funds would be spread throughout seven departments and help the city deal with the ongoing water crisis.  The bill provides funds for items such as nutrition programs, food banks, retaining the Detroit water connection, […]

This week, several of the budget bills for the upcoming 2016-2017 Fiscal Year were reported from the Appropriations Committees.  All appropriations budgets have been reported from their subcommittees and are either waiting consideration from the full Appropriations Committees or have been reported to the House or Senate floor for consideration.  One major issues that arose […]

Governor Rick Snyder has called for a special election to fill the 4th Senate District Seat, which was left vacant following the resignation of former State Senator Virgil Smith.  The special primary election will be held on August 2, 2016 and the special general election will be held on November 8, 2016.  The winner of […]

On Thursday, state Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) submitted his letter of resignation, effective April 12.  Senator Smith began serving a ten month jail sentence on Monday as part of a plea agreement reached with the Wayne County Prosecutor.  Under the original plea agreement, Senator Smith would have resigned from office.  However, citing constitutional concerns, Wayne […]

This week the Senate passed an amended version of a House bill requiring a student to be proficient in reading before moving from the third to the fourth grade.  The Senate added language requiring reporting on how many students were held back due to not being proficient readers and how many students weren’t proficient but […]

This week, a bipartisan coalition of House members introduced a package of legislation creating the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA).  The legislation would subject the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and the legislature to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  “The package was introduced to coincide with Sunshine Week, which promotes public access to […]

This week, the Board of State Canvassers approved a petition seeking to recall Governor Rick Snyder due to his handling of the Flint water crisis.  A recall petition filed against Senator Jim Stamas (R-Midland) for his affirmative vote on the infrastructure funding package was also approved.  The board considered a third petition filed against Lt. […]

This week, the 2015 Michigan Human Trafficking Commission Annual Report was presented to Governor Rick Snyder and the legislature.  It highlights the work undertaken by the commission and sets the stage for the continuing work moving forward.  The report highlights the efforts of the commission over the past year, including developing recommended legislative changes, developing […]