Michigan’s process of handling election recounts and fraud allegations has changed, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signing two controversial bills into law Monday.
Senate bills 603 and 604 modify the requirements for conducting ballot recounts and prosecuting election-related crimes.
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The recently passed Michigan budget would guarantee tuition-free community college for all residents, and expands access to tuition-free preschool.
The tuition-free community college program is paid for by $330 million in taxpayer dollars, an increase of $30 million from last year. The new program gets rid of income caps, so any student can receive free tuition at an in-district community college.
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The Michigan Senate is expected to soon vote on legislation meant individual voting protections in state elections.
A four-bill package would create a state fund to reimburse voter discrimination lawsuit costs, set up an election and voting database and provide help to disabled or non-English speaking voters, among other changes.
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Foreign policy is an infrequent subject in U.S. Senate campaigns. In Michigan’s Senate election, however, tough talk on the Chinese Communist Party is growing on the campaign trail.
Michigan, a key swing state in 2024’s general elections, will vote this year to elect a successor to retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Though the primary election is Aug. 6, the race has crystallized around Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers – the leading candidates for their parties’ nominations – who have both attacked the CCP with a frequency unusual among this year’s Senate campaigns.
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A new Michigan policy could cost Oakland and Macomb county households thousands in higher property taxes.
The Michigan House recently approved House Bill 4177, seeking to subsidize two nonprofit museums run through the Wright and Detroit Historical Societies. Because they likely could not stay open through admission fees and donations alone, Oakland and Macomb County residents would pay up to $200,000 in property taxes over the next 10 years.
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The immigration wave at the southern border is a crisis of national security, and Michigan is not exempt from its effects, a recently retired Border Patrol chief says.
Former Chief Chris Clem, who is visiting Michigan as part of Americans for Prosperity’s “Secure Borders, Secure America” tour, served more than 27 years and under five presidents as a U.S. border patrol agent. He was promoted to Yuma Sector chief in December 2020, right before President Joe Biden took office.
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Estate planning could get a little easier in Michigan if a bill that cleared the Michigan House continues to move forward.
Sponsored by Rep. Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, HB 5110 allows income trusts to convert to unitrusts, and vice versa. A unitrust gives a fixed percentage of the assets to the recipient per year, while an income trust provides a steady stream of income.
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A proposed bill could change the way Michigan votes for president.
House Bill 4156 would enter Michigan into the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement among participating states to elect the president by national popular vote.
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A Michigan judge partially ruled against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s lenient guidance on signature verification, following a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee.
On Wednesday, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates ruled “that the ‘initial presumption’ of validity in signature verification of absentee-ballot applications and envelopes mandated by the December 2023 guidance manual” issued by Benson “is incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan.”
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Former President Donald Trump will speak at the Turning Point Action Conference 2024: The People’s Convention held in Detroit, Michigan this weekend.
The People’s Convention will be held Friday through Sunday at Huntington Place in Detroit.
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Southwestern Michigan impacted by recent storms might be given a federal disaster declaration.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants President Joe Biden to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for four Michigan counties after the multiple tornadoes earlier this month. While Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties have all received state disaster support, and preliminary estimates suggest a need for federal financial assistance.
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Former President Donald Trump will speak at the Turning Point Action Conference 2024: The People’s Convention held in Detroit, Michigan this weekend.
The People’s Convention will be held Friday through Sunday at Huntington Place in Detroit.
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by Carly Moran Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave another $10 million toward the Michigan Semiconductor Talent and Technology for Automotive Research, a private-public partnership that wants to make the Great Lakes State a leader in electric car innovation. The MSTAR initiative was launched a year ago and has developed a portfolio…
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The latest battleground poll reveals that President Trump is still leading Joe Biden in the crucial swing state of Michigan, with exactly five months to go before the November election.
As Breitbart reports, the poll by Mitchell Research shows Trump at 49% to Biden’s 47% in a head-to-head matchup. When the poll includes the three major third-party candidates – independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent candidate Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein – Trump leads Biden with 46% to 45%. In the five-way poll, 5% support Kennedy, while 1% each choose West and Stein.
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Michigan State University currently has more than 140 employees working on 222 different “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” agenda items.
The salaries for those employees, some of whom work on DEI full-time, totals more than $18 million dollars according to a College Fixanalysis. One of these goals included an “inclusive language” guide that instructed university employees not to say “America” or use Easter and Christmas imagery.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced broad goals for affordable Michigan housing yesterday.
At the Mackinac Policy Conference held annually by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the governor pushed an increased housing construction goal and low-income household energy financing.
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Michigan Senate Republicans universally signed a letter opposing Attorney General Dana Nessel after she threatened to sue the fossil fuel industry.
Nessel issued a statement earlier this month seeking assistant attorneys to litigate on behalf of the state, saying the industry has knowingly caused the state harm. In response, the senate Republicans described the lawsuit as a mistake.
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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on Sunday joined a number of his counterparts from other states for a Meet the Press panel discussion, and the top state election official claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) will pose new “mis- and disinformation” threats during the 2024 elections.
Fontes told Meet the Press host Kristen Walker, “AI is not a new weapon. It’s an amplifier and a magnifier of mis- and disinformation,” and revealed that his office held a “tabletop exercise” that apparently involved both election officials and members of the media.
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With border exposure and natural ports, Michigan Republicans want to change state law to make human smuggling illegal and criminalize harboring and transporting people who are or have entered the country illegally.
There are no state-level criminal penalties for human smuggling.
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The Michigan Department of Transportation will begin four new road repair projects this week in Dickinson, Jackson, Marquette and Ontonagon counties.
The projects are all expected to be completed by the end of the summer, and officials say will support an estimated 2,022 jobs across the state.
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A Michigan state senator tried to take another path to try to return money to school districts that were fined for COVID-19 regulation violations.
Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, offered an amendment Wednesday to the 2025 state school budget to reimburse districts for previously unfair penalties.
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A Michigan lawmaker wants to restore what he calls a hunter with a fur harvester license’s right to hunt coyotes all year.
State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock recently introduced House Bill 5721 that he says would give that right back to hunters.
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Michigan House Democrats passed budget bills totaling nearly $81 billion – larger than Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommendation.
Republicans in the minority for the first time in 40 years decried the spending proposals as wasteful as Democrats said the budget would invest in all Michiganders.
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The Michigan Supreme Court declined to say whether the government can use drones to spy on people without a warrant.
The unanimous Friday ruling follows a 17-year dispute between residents Todd and Heather Maxon and Long Lake township officials who say the 5-acre residential property is being used as an illegal junkyard.
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The Michigan House approved bills to allow physical therapists to practice in states that have entered a compact.
House Bills 4504 and 4505 aim to enter Michigan into the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, which allows physical therapists to practice physical therapy in states within the compact without having to be licensed in each state.
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The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency wants taxpayers to foot its $55 million settlement for improperly taking money.
The agency said Tuesday it will seek Legislative approval of $55 million for a settlement fund related to Saunders v Unemployment Ins. Agency et al. on April 25.
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Michigan’s top business group says “we can’t get” to the 100% clean energy standard by 2040 without nuclear energy.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, bipartisan lawmakers and organized labor support restarting the 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan’s Eastern shore, expected to return online in 2025.
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The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Michigan $159 million in solar subsidies for low-income households.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will be administered through the MI Solar for All program, which aims to increase access to affordable solar energy for eligible families.
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Michigan Democrats have regained the House after a Tuesday special election.
The wins give Democrats a 56-54 House majority from the victories of Peter Herzberg and Mai Xiong in the 13th and 25th state House districts.
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A new report found Michigan school districts spent their COVID-19 funds similarly to their general budget, with nearly half spent on employee compensation and benefits.
A Mackinac Center for Public Policy report shows how school districts have spent $2.5 billion of the $6 billion in federal pandemic aid between the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall asked Michigan’s Office of the Auditor General to audit a Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration program that offers up to $500 in monthly rent assistance to certain people for up to 12 months.
The letter from Hall, of Richland Township, urged Auditor General Doug Ringler to examine eligibility determination.
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A Michigan report says up to 700,000 people could leave the state by 2050.
An April report, which does not measure inbound migration, from the Michigan Center of Data and Analytics says Michigan’s population has shifted to mostly older people and more residents are dying than being born.
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Twenty-five Michigan lawmakers oppose President Joe Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA rules for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles phased in from 2027 through 2032 will require about 67% of new car sales to be electric by 2032.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report Thursday arguing that a Michigan law requiring parental consent for abortions harms minors.
The law, which became effective in 1991, requires all Michigan residents under the age of 18 to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion or receive a waiver from a judge. The ACLU of Michigan chapter, alongside Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), however, argued that the law “undermines the safety, health, and dignity” of minors and that the process to waive parental consent is “traumatizing.”
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Over 10 years, the city of Detroit went from the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy to investment-grade status.
Moody’s Investors Services gave Detroit a rare two-notch bond rating increase from Ba1 to Baa2 with a positive outlook, returning Motor City to investment-grade status for the first time since 2009.
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State Rep. Tom Kunse wants reform within the Michigan Liquor Control Commission after an audit found more than 62,000 liquor bottles were missing.
The audit from the Office of the Auditor General marked three “material conditions” – the most severe rating – for the group composed of five unelected governor appointees that oversee liquor distribution through authorized agents using 11 state-owned warehouses.
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A company taking $715 million of taxpayer subsidies is suing the local government for revoking vital water infrastructure for its electric vehicle plant.
In October 2023, the Green Charter Township board approved the water line for Gotion, which bought 270 actors of land in Mecosta County in August 2023.
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A jury found James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley who killed four students in 2021, guilty of manslaughter.
The jury decided Crumbley was negligent when he bought a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol four days before the shooting for the 15-year-old with mental health problems who claimed he was seeing “demons.”
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall urged House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to pass reform to records requests during Sunshine Week, which celebrates government transparency.
Sunshine Week, observed this year from March 10-16, highlights the need for transparency and accountability at all levels of government.
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Despite more spending on public education, test scores remain flat in Michigan, according to a recently released report.
The free market-focused Reason Foundation released its Public Education at a Crossroads study, analyzing the lack of correlation between increased spending and improved test scores in American schools between 2002 and 2020.
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Michigan Democratic lawmakers want mass transit between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor but don’t know how to pay for it.
State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, majority caucus chair & Education Committee chair, posted on social media that mass transit would prevent young people from leaving the state.
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by Carly Moran Michigan plans to send $219 million in tax credits back to taxpayers over the next few weeks, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced. Whitmer said a supplemental Working Families Tax Credit will be sent to Michigan families who already received a 2022 tax year Michigan Earned Income…
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The White House and Biden 2024 reelection campaign are concerned that President Joe Biden is hemorrhaging support from voters in Arab and Muslim communities in Michigan amid his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, Politico reported Tuesday.
Biden has publicly backed Israel’s war effort against Hamas even as many of his supporters and voters demand he call for a ceasefire in favor of protecting the Palestinian population in Gaza. Multiple uncommitted voter campaigns have sprung up against Biden as he continues to lose support from Arab and Muslim communities threatening not to back him in the state’s Tuesday primaries, according to Politico.
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Days before Tuesday’s primary election, more than 700,000 Michiganders have already cast a ballot thanks to new voting laws.
More than 18,000 votes were cast in the first three days of in-person early voting statewide over the holiday weekend.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell, a lawyer aligned with former President Donald Trump who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan.
The nation’s top court included no comment with the Tuesday rejection.
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A voter-led petition seeks to repeal a Michigan law that allowed the state to seize local control of large-scale wind and solar projects.
The Michigan Farm Bureau and the Michigan Townships Association say Public Act 233 of 2023 strips local siting authority in 1,240 townships and gives it to the Michigan Public Service Commission – three people appointed by the governor.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the proposed 2025 budget wouldn’t raise taxes but it would dump a 1,200% increase in trash fees onto local taxpayers.
The budget aims to raise the landfill tipping fee rate for state landfills from 36 cents to $5 per ton – a 1,288% increase.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2025 budget includes $5 million for a car repair program.
The program would fund vehicle repairs, purchases and other services to obtain and retain employment not to exceed $2,000 in the past year – the same cap as last year’s budget but more than double from the $900 cap in the year prior.
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The mother of a shooter who killed four students at a high school in Oxford, Mich., in 2021 was found guilty Tuesday on all charges of involuntary manslaughter.
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Michigan Senate Republicans on Thursday announced their plan to improve childhood learning and support teachers in the K-12 schools.
They proposed a MI Brighter Future plan they said would help students gain access to additional resources and learning opportunities, require proven training methods for educators, give parents more control over their child’s progress, reinstate accountability in teacher evaluations and provide for performance-based bonuses.
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