LANSING - December tax collections were about $102.6 million above the level expected in the Senate Fiscal Agency's estimate for the month, with the bulk of additional revenue being accounted for with the Michigan Business Tax and Corporate Income Tax collections, the Senate Fiscal Agency's December 2012 revenue report showed on Wednesday. Michigan Business Tax
LANSING - Acting the day after his State of the State address, Governor Rick Snyder on Thursday signed Executive Order 2013-1, creating a new Department of Insurance and Financial Services. The order establishes that the new department will have authority over all insurance and banking issues in the state. In announcing the order, Snyder confirmed
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder announced eight expansions of government to only two limitations, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy said in its annual analysis of his State of the State Address. The worst offense the group found was the $1.2 billion he proposed in new transportation funding. "The governor and legislators rightly recognize that
LANSING - Sen. Roger Kahn, who headed a task force on transportation near the end of 2012, said on Monday that Governor Rick Snyder is very likely to include transportation in his State of the State address, currently scheduled for January 16. "Conversations are going on with a view of toward fast-tracking this this time
LANSING - Michigan's tax system is not keeping up with program need, the Michigan League for Public Policy said in calling for changes as part of upcoming budget negotiations. In addition to ensuring there is enough money to pay for needed programs, the League called for changes that would shift the tax burden away from
LANSING - House Minority Leader Tim Greimel said he is ready and willing to work with majority Republicans as the 2013-14 term begins, but plans to aggressively communicate House Democrats' plans for Michigan to residents. But Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) said how much Democrats participate in the development of legislation is up to House Speaker Jase
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder said Tuesday that he will offer a refined proposal on how to fill an estimated annual gap in the state's road funding needs of $1.6 billion during his State of the State address January 16. In the fall of 2011, Snyder unveiled a series of proposals designed to boost road
LANSING - The current 2012-13 fiscal year is expected to have much slower revenue growth than the one the state just concluded, and while that is expected to keep the books balanced, it could spell problems for future fiscal year budgets, the Senate Fiscal Agency said in a report released Thursday. "It's not like we're
LANSING - Former Governor Jennifer Granholm says she will return to teaching, speaking and other activities after the announcement her show, "The War Room," would be cancelled following the sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera. "My agreement with Current was for the duration of the election (and the sale)," Ms. Granholm said in a
LANSING - Rep. Joseph Haveman as expected will chair the House Appropriations Committee in the 2013-14 term. House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) announced the appointment Wednesday of Haveman (R-Holland), who was the majority vice chair of the committee during the current term and a part of Bolger's inner circle. Gongwer News Service had first reported