Bipartisan bills: New year, new chance for Michigan asset forfeiture reform
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) If police in Michigan believe you’re involved with a crime, they can take your cash, guns, cars or home if they can connect it to the alleged crime — even if you’re never actually charged or convicted. That property winds up in civil court and you have to fight to get it […]
Gov. Whitmer seeks speedy Michigan public record response, but not (yet) for her office
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) GRAND RAPIDS—Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order Friday aimed at speeding the response of state government to public record requests, even as she declined ‒ for now ‒ to lift the veil on her own office. Speaking before the Michigan Press Association, Whitmer said state government must be “open, transparent and […]
Federal court scuttles Michigan gerrymandering deal, rejects trial delay
by Joel Kurth, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) DETROIT – A federal court on Friday rejected an attempt to settle a Michigan gerrymandering case that would have redrawn 11 state House districts before the 2020 elections. The ruling paves the way for a trial to start in the explosive case Tuesday. A three-judge panel from U.S. District Court hearing the […]
Whitmer administration changing tone around Michigan marijuana regulation
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) As Michigan moves toward legal sale of recreational marijuana in 2020, new developments in pot regulation only reinforce expectation the industry will find a more sympathetic ear in Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The most obvious evidence is her backing of Proposal 1, which state voters approved in November to legalize recreational […]
Michigan cut school funding and school performance plummeted. Coincidence?
(Bridge) Michigan ranks dead last in the nation in school funding growth in the quarter century since Michigan radically changed how it funded public education system, according to a new Michigan State University study. School funding has dropped 18 percent since 1995 when spending is adjusted for inflation, according to the report. Only one other […]
Jocelyn Benson seeks to settle gerrymandering suit by redrawing House seats
by Joel Kurth (Bridge) New Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced Friday she wants to settle a federal lawsuit alleging Michigan’s political districts were illegally gerrymandered by redrawing 11 state House seats for the 2020 election. The proposed settlement, which must be approved by the court and is already drawing fierce objections from Republicans, would […]
CEOs, Republicans add voices to Michigan’s child care ‘crisis’
By Ron French (Bridge) Child care, an issue that wasn’t on the political radar a decade ago, could become one of the major issues facing the administration of newly elected Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The number of interest groups wanting to address Michigan’s notoriously stingy child care funding is reaching critical mass, from educators to business […]
Four people, four reasons child care costs are a growing crisis in Michigan
by Ron French (Bridge) A young family scheduling the birth of children around child care costs. A child care worker with an associate’s degree earning less than $13 an hour. A child care provider dealing with a revolving door of workers leaving out of frustration or to make more money. A business owner so fed […]
After Flint, Michigan toughened lead rules. Now water utilities are suing.
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) LANSING — Michigan last June adopted the nation’s strictest rule for lead in drinking water, including requiring utilities to replace all of the state’s roughly 500,000 lead service pipes within 20 years. Public health advocates applauded then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s move as an important step toward protecting Michigan’s drinking water after his […]
Dana Nessel moves to drop Michigan from suits fighting EPA clean air rules
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Attorney General Dana Nessel is moving to drop Michigan from four lawsuits her predecessor joined against federal Environmental Protection Agency air regulations. Nessel, a Democrat, announced Tuesday her office has filed motions to remove Michigan from multi-state lawsuits joined by former Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, that challenge Obama-era EPA rules […]
