LANSING - The credit ratings agency Moody's called the city of Detroit's decision to sue to invalidate a $1.45 billion certificates of participation pension swaps deal an "extreme act," but also said it is such a rare move it would be unlikely to affect the broader municipal bond market. If the city succeeds in federal
LANSING - Backers of a ballot proposal increasing Michigan's minimum wage start out in a strong position, according to a new poll released Thursday. The survey, conducted by the Lansing polling firm EPIC/MRA, showed 60 percent of likely voters would vote yes on increasing the minimum wage from $7.40 an hour to $10 an hour
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder's budget recommendation for K-12 schools makes a variety of changes, including pushing back the submission date for annual financial reports from November to October every year, and providing more flexibility in districts' spending of funds for at-risk students. The House Appropriations School Aid Subcommittee heard an overview of those recommendations
LANSING - Rep. David Knezek, Rep. Theresa Abed and Sen. Jim Ananich announced a proposal on Tuesday that would cover tuition for low-income students in universities and community colleges that would allow students benefiting from the program to pay back into the fund to keep the program going. The group called the proposal, announced at
LANSING - Leading business groups have begun pouring money into a committee that will aid efforts to pass the proposal on the upcoming August ballot earmarking a portion of the state's use tax revenues to local governments as a partial replacement for revenues they will lose as part of the related reduction in the personal
LANSING - Legislation that expands on Governor Rick Snyder's proposed property tax credit by essentially restoring the credit to where it stood before the 2011 tax changes was reported unanimously to the Senate floor Wednesday by the Finance Committee. In reporting SB 752 , some committee members said the issue raised by the proposal, which
LANSING - In discussing the amount of money proposed by Governor Rick Snyder to go to the Department of Transportation this fiscal year, Sen. John Pappageorge suggested upping the ante for what he and others expect will be a long season of filling potholes. Pappageorge (R-Troy) off-handedly proposed to Senate Appropriations Committee members on Wednesday
WASHINGTON DC - U.S. Rep. Gary Peters has introduced a measure designed to ensure the federal government funds the U.S. customs plaza at the proposed bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, and won praise from Governor Rick Snyder. Dubbed the Customs Plaza Construction Act of 2014, the measures calls for the federal government to construct
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder called on business leaders to hound members of Congress over a new customs plaza for New International Trade Crossing as he presented his administration's triumphs to a Detroit Regional Chamber luncheon last Friday. The address was what has become the governor's annual presentation to the Chamber after he presents his
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday proposed two bonds to be included in the Michigan Strategic Fund budget, one which develops engineering talent at universities with those programs and the other to address talent needs in skilled trades through community colleges. Overall, Snyder recommended $766.6 million ($210.3 million General Fund) for the Michigan Strategic