The Republican co-chair of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's council to recommend strategies to reverse the state's population decline said he believes it was placed on a shelf to never be used.
A draft Senate map for the Detroit area drawn by professors at Michigan State University, done as a potential guide for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission as they redraw the area under court order, could mean at least one open seat, an opportunity for a Republican pickup and some changes for incumbent senators.
Senate Democrats said Tuesday's passage of sweeping changes to state economic development incentive policy was months in the making and necessary to attract an educated workforce and families.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office praised several pieces of the economic development proposal that cleared the Senate on Tuesday but didn't directly address the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund bill that would move up to $250 million toward community-focused projects.
Half of the funds designated for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve program would be directed toward local community needs rather than large job spurring projects under an overhaul that cleared the Senate on Tuesday.
Members of the Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to resurrect an income tax capture program that was allowed to lapse in 2019 with what supporters called significant improvements while opponents attacked it as an unnecessary corporate handout.
A bill that would allow high school athletes to enter into name, image and likeness contracts was taken up for testimony Wednesday by a Senate panel, with one member expressing concerns over expanding what is a big-money enterprise on the collegiate level to the amateur level.
The latest version of legislation to expand the Freedom of Information Act to include the Legislature and the governor's office was taken up for testimony Wednesday.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to divide Michigan Democrats with some calling for a sustained ceasefire in the region to avoid more civilian casualties of Palestinians living in Gaza, while similar minded protesters assembled outside U.S. Sen. Gary Peters' home during the weekend.
The Senate's minority leader this week introduced a resolution calling for the resignation of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib over her comments during the Israel-Hamas conflict and took to the Senate floor Thursday calling her unfit for office.