Insider Intelligence

Under the latest change to COVID-19 requirements, agricultural and food processing employees are no longer required to undergo mandatory testing. The change is being made in light of increasing vaccination rates, declining cases, expanded access to testing and vaccinations, and enhanced housing and worker protections currently in effect to mitigate spread. Other protections for agricultural […]

The House has tentatively scheduled session for July 14 and 15, while the Senate has scheduled session for July 15. It is anticipated that Governor Whitmer will sign the recently negotiated, and legislatively passed, FY 22 School Aid Budget.

Growing up playing hockey, there was a common phrase said among the teams I played on – never out of the fight. Typically, that was a rallying cry when games were not going well or when the other team scored a goal. It was a reminder to everyone on the team, that no matter how […]

Below are some of the articles that the MLC lobby team has been reading this past week. We hope you find them as interesting and useful as we do. Planting Trees “Doesn’t Make Any Sense” in the Fight Against Climate Change Say Experts – For years people turned to planting new trees to help fight […]

Ahead of the July 1 deadline, the House and Senate voted to approve a budget appropriating funding to K-12 schools for the upcoming fiscal year. Notably, the $17 billion budget includes a per-pupil increase that raises the state minimum funding from $8,111 to $8,700, closing the gap between the highest and lowest funded school districts. […]

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the creation of the MI Shot to Win Sweepstakes, a lottery-style raffle incentivizing Michigan residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, just over 60% of residents age 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The state is working towards their goal of vaccinating 70% of eligible […]

Earlier this month, the legislature sent a package to Governor Gretchen Whitmer providing an exemption from sales and use taxes for PPE and other supplies purchased by businesses to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The proposal received bipartisan support in both chambers, passing by a vote of 104-6 in the House and 36-0 in the […]

On July 1, 1921, the Michigan Department of Agriculture was created by a public act. Now known as the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, it was created to promote the agricultural interests of the state. Michigan’s food and agriculture industry has a $104.7 billion overall impact on the state’s economy annually and employs 17.2% […]