Lawmakers formally began conversations on the long-term economic development policy package introduced last week, which was discussed at length during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference.
Six draft state Senate maps advanced Tuesday by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission could mean dramatic changes for several incumbents eligible for reelection in 2026.
The partisan gulf over ongoing college campus protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict and university diversity, equity and inclusion programs led to a sharply worded, angry floor debate Thursday prior to Senate passage of its higher education budget.
The Senate Elections and Ethics Committee heard divided testimony Wednesday as it continued hearing from stakeholders on a bill package that would create a Michigan Voting Rights Act.
Michigan's secretary of state, voting rights experts and activists told a Senate panel Wednesday that they supported legislation to enact a State Voting Rights Act.
Members of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission spent more time bickering than mapping on Tuesday, but the body was able to complete a third map configuration for Detroit's Senate seats this week.
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.