Politics

LANSING - It seems the Michigan Senate can add one more group to its list of skeptics on its plan to fix Michigan roads, as the Michigan Association of Counties says it cannot get behind the plan because of its reliance on funding shifts. "MAC has consistently supported the difficult, but necessary, decision to raise

LANSING - The state implemented a new system for handling unemployment taxes and claims, implemented in 2012 (MiDAS Tax) and 2013 (MiDAS Benefits), respectively, at a cost to date of $46.24 million. A worker with the Unemployment Insurance Agency, who also asked to remain anonymous, said that system has some good features, but also has

ANN ARBOR - Over the next few weeks, MITechNews.Com will be publishing excerpts from cybersecurity expert Richard Stiennon's latest book, called There Will Be Cyberwar. The book makes the case that the US military rushed to "network everything" and, like most organizations, neglected to secure its most critical systems. One point he makes is that

LANSING - It took more than seven hours, but the Michigan Senate eked out passage Wednesday of a road funding package that includes a tax increase, pumping more money from the General Fund into roads and a potential income tax cut despite sharp opposition from Democrats and one-third of the majority Republican caucus. The vote

LANSING - Ten percent of the electricity market would remain set aside for alternative electric suppliers to the big utilities, but those suppliers would have to meet new requirements and new regulations would be placed on those customers under the energy legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Mike Nofs and Sen. John Proos. The long-anticipated bills,

CHICAGO - As Michigan develops its state energy policy and waits for the federal Clean Power Plan carbon standards to be finalized later this summer, a new report from the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs shows that the state ranked No. 5 in the nation in clean energy and clean transportation job announcements in

LANSING - A Michigan Senate Republican plan to increase the gasoline tax and earmark income tax revenue to raise funding for roads, while cutting the income tax rate if revenue growth meets certain benchmarks, took a big step forward Tuesday with approval from the Senate Government Operations Committee. The committee amended various House bills on

LANSING - The U.S. Supreme Court ruling holding that state prohibitions on same-sex marriage violate the U.S. Constitution could mean that married same-sex couples in Michigan can find protection from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, attorney Richard McLellan said Monday. However, that protection would be narrow and

LANSING - A bill phasing out Michigan's film incentive program is officially on Governor Rick Snyder's desk awaiting his action. HB 4122 was presented to Snyder on Monday. A spokesperson said last week he is reviewing the bill. The bill has been controversial this term, with the House pushing to end the film incentives in

LANSING - With the U.S. Supreme Court holding that state commissions, created by voter initiatives, can constitutionally draw the district lines for Congressional members, the question now comes down to whether such an effort will be attempted in Michigan. There has been, especially since the 2012 redistricting plan was adopted, much discussion among Democrats and