LANSING - While private sector employment has shown some rebound since the end of the Great Recession, employment by Michigan local governments continues to fall, a report from the Citizens Research Council said. K-12 education has been especially hard hit with overall employment down by job losses. Total employment in the sector is down by
LANSING - Convincing Michigan residents to make an investment in maintaining and improving roads will be a critical issue in getting back to a plan to increase investment in the state's roads and bridges, Governor Rick Snyder said Thursday in a radio interview. With the Medicaid eligibility expansion now signed into law, finding an agreement
LANSING - The Michigan Public Service Commission Thursday commended Livingston County for becoming the fifth community in Michigan ? and the tenth in the nation ? to be certified as a ?connected? community that has developed a broadband and technology plan to expand broadband access, adoption and use. Livingston County joins Charlevoix, Antrim, St. Clair
LANSING - Legislation that would exempt prewritten computer software from the sales and use taxes in Michigan were reported from the House Tax Policy Committee on Wednesday. The bills (SB 142 and SB 143 ) would exclude using prewritten software from another person's server from both the sale and use tax. The software is defined
LANSING - The Michigan Senate on Wednesday passed a bill codifying community service as a potential requirement for recipients of the Partnership Accountability Training Hope welfare program. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with requiring folks to have a little skin in the game," Sen. Joe Hune (R-Hamburg), sponsor of SB 276 , said of the
LANSING - Rep. Mike Callton said on Wednesday he would consider a proposal to tax marijuana and use the new funds to fix the state's crumbling roads, something he would call "pot for potholes." Callton (R-Nashville) said those growing and selling marijuana would love to be taxed if it meant they could be legal "above
LANSING - The House Commerce Committee reported changes Wednesday to the state's unemployment system to stay in conformity with the federal government's regulations and to deter instances of fraud. Most of the bills in the package won approval with bipartisan support, except for HB 4952 . The bill is the most controversial of the package
LANSING - An organization led by former Rep. Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski is asking Attorney General Bill Schuette to enforce the Michigan Consumer Protection Act's language prohibiting charging "a price that is grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold" against hospitals. Raczkowski said Schuette concludes he has no authority
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder has moved out to a lead against his likely Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, in a new poll after previous surveys showed the pair in a statistical tie. The survey from EPIC/MRA, released to the Detroit Free Press, put Mr. Snyder at 44 percent and Schauer at 36
LANSING - Legislation to overhaul auto insurance might have new life after Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville confirmed Tuesday it is on the Senate's agenda. "We are definitely going to take up no-fault insurance this fall," Richardville (R-Monroe) said Tuesday on WJR-AM's "Frank Beckmann Show." Richardville did not offer much detail, but said he