LANSING - Michigan's 2016-17 fiscal year officially ends Saturday, and state budget officials expect a quiet close to the year. There are no urgent transfers or last minute adjustments needed, officials said. The state expects departments to lapse unspent funds, but an estimate on the amount is not yet available. One official said lapses "look
LANSING - Michigan Senate Republicans expressed frustration with operations within the Department of Environmental Quality earlier this month in a letter to Governor Rick Snyder asking for his office to restore a mindset of being more responsive to customers to the agency. Nearly all 27 Senate Republicans signed on to the September 6 letter to Snyder, in
LANSING - All but one of Michigan’s labor markets saw unemployment fall in August, but 16 of the 17 also saw their workforce decline, the Department of Technology, Management and Budget said in a report Thursday. The majority of the markets also saw higher unemployment rates last month than they did in August 2016, the
LANSING - With changes required to take place starting in April 2018 for some Healthy Michigan enrollees who will have to get coverage in a new marketplace arrangement that includes a health care savings vehicle, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is calling for comments on its plan. Titled the Healthy Michigan Plan Second
LANSING - State energy industry regulators said Thursday their top priority in the coming months is to continue implementation of new comprehensive energy laws passed late last year and don't expect to see much in the way of major initiatives coming before the Legislature this fall. "It's a huge amount of work with a lot
LANSING - Long-term employment projections show the state will see 7.4 percent job growth over a 10-year period, according to a report done by the state's Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. The long-term industry employment projections reported in the past week say the state will see 0.7 percent job growth annually from
LANSING - Business Leaders for Michigan announced Thursday it is producing a study intended to boost K-12 school performance in the state. The organization said it has supported school reforms in the past, but this is the first time it has created a project to identify specific actions that could affect student outcomes. PricewaterhouseCoopers will
LANSING - Legislative Democrats said Thursday they are introducing legislation to more than triple the percentage of electricity utilities generate from renewable sources to 50 percent by 2035, as well as double the energy efficiency standard to 2 percent starting in 2022. The move comes months after the Legislature passed, and Governor Rick Snyder signed,
LANSING - Consumers Energy can speed up construction a wind turbine project by three years in Tuscola County following a ruling issued Thursday by the Public Service Commission. Last year the PSC allowed Consumers to buy 19 wind turbines for its Cross Winds Energy Park II in Tuscola County and said the utility could have an
LANSING - Michigan drivers are one step closer to being able to use electronic proofs of registration during traffic stops following Michigan Senate action Thursday. The bill, HB 4013, passed the chamber by a 38-0 vote and heads to Governor Rick Snyder's desk. The bill would allow motorists to show an electronic copy or digital
