Politics

Michigan Technology related politics

Michigan Senate Passes Aviation Fuel Tax Increase To Fund Airport Maintenance

LANSING - Airports in the state would receive state funding to help with repair and maintenance costs under legislation approved by the Senate on Thursday. The bills (SB 418, SB 425, SB 426, SB 612, SB 613 and SB 614) would dedicate 2 percent of the sales tax on aviation fuel with to aviation purposes

By |2015-12-04T08:20:58-05:00December 4th, 2015|Politics|

$5 Billion Switch Data Center Gets Tax Breaks In Michigan Senate Amid Conservative Cries Of Foul

LANSING - Although the agreement on just how much of a sales/use tax exemption colocation centers such as Switch, a company out of Nevada looking to expand in Michigan, should receive varied from Thursday morning to Thursday afternoon, the Senate ultimately decided to allow such entities to receive the full extent of an exemption on

By |2015-12-04T08:22:11-05:00December 4th, 2015|Featured, Politics|

$5 Billion Switch Data Center Tax Exemptions Get Airing In Michigan Legislature

LANSING - Michigan would see at least 1,000 new jobs, a more diversified economy and a level playing field encouraging data centers to invest in the state if exemptions for certain personal property from sales, use and property taxes are passed by the Legislature, a representative of Switch, a company looking to create its eastern

By |2015-12-02T06:59:24-05:00December 2nd, 2015|Featured, Politics|

Tobacco Tax Revenues Up For First Time In Decade, Low Gas Prices Help

LANSING - For the first time in a decade - in fact, for the first time since Michigan last increased its tobacco tax - tobacco tax revenues increased during the 2014-15 fiscal year, figures show. The increase does not appear related to more people smoking. Rather, the increase seems due largely to lower gasoline prices

By |2015-11-30T13:11:14-05:00November 30th, 2015|Politics|

$5 Billion Data Center Tax Exemption Bills Readied For Michigan Legislative Committees

LANSING - A Michigan Senate committee meeting has been scheduled for this week for a three-bill package that would give exemptions to sales, use and property taxes for a major data center based out of Nevada looking to expand in the Grand Rapids area. The Senate Michigan Competitiveness Committee is scheduled to meet at 8

By |2015-11-30T13:11:15-05:00November 30th, 2015|Featured, Politics|

HP Turns Over Source Code To State Preventing Computer Crash

LANSING - Hewlett Packard met a judge-imposed deadline of 5 p.m. Friday to turn over the source code for information technology projects it had been pursuing for the Department of State, a department spokesperson said Monday. A week ago, a Kent Circuit judge ordered HP Enterprise Services to turn over the source code for the

By |2015-11-24T17:24:50-05:00November 24th, 2015|Politics|

Report Shows Government Subsidizing Lake Erie Polluters

LANSING - The farms contributing to nutrient loads in Lake Erie also benefit from substantial federal subsidies, the Less=More Coalition said in a report released Thursday. The group found that subsidies to confined animal feeding operations outpaced fines for pollution violations, though pollutant levels in the western Lake Erie Basin increased. "While agricultural runoff has

By |2015-11-20T11:15:06-05:00November 20th, 2015|Clean Update, Politics|

MPSC Authorizes Increase For Consumers Energy Electricity

LANSING - Customers of Consumers Energy will pay $1.28 more monthly for their electricity service, effective December 1, under new rates approved Thursday by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The PSC authorized Consumers Energy to increase its electric rates by $130 million annually, due in part to the company's retirement of seven coal plants in

By |2015-11-20T11:15:06-05:00November 20th, 2015|Politics|

Up To $35 Million Needed To Update Michigan Voting Systems

LANSING – Michigan has about $25 million leftover in federal funding to update its voting equipment from when it received federal funding through the Helping America Vote Act passed in 2002, but the state still needs another potentially $35 million to get its voting equipment ready for the November 2018 general election when current systems

By |2015-11-13T08:01:21-05:00November 13th, 2015|Politics|

State Warns Of Inability To Adjust Vehicle Fees Without Source Code From HP

LANSING - The Michigan Department of State will be unable to implement the vehicle registration fee changes Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law this week to raise funding for roads unless Hewlett Packard turns over the source code for the troubled information technology project to upgrade secretary of state online services, officials say. Attorneys for the

By |2015-11-13T08:01:22-05:00November 13th, 2015|Politics|