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Michigan Sugar Co. fined $562K for air, water violations
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has reached a settlement in Ingham County Circuit Court with a company operating a Bay City sugar beet processing plant over air and water violations. The Michigan Sugar Company will now pay more than $500,000 in environmental restoration projects and fines, cut back on odors the DEQ described […]
Nessel not considering Sareini for any position
Attorney General Dana Nessel says she is not considering a permanent job for a transition team staffer with a history of domestic violence accusations. “There’s no position that we’re evaluating him for, and nor has he applied for anything,” Nessel said in an exclusive interview with the Michigan Advance. In December, the Detroit Free Press […]
GOP leader on Whitmer’s equal pay directive: Ignore it
What’s Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey’s message to state contractors regarding Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new equal pay directive? “Don’t worry about it,” the Clarklake Republican said in an interview with the Michigan Advance. During a 20-minute interview last week in the new Senate majority leader’s Capitol office, Shirkey called Whitmer’s new executive directive to halt […]
Michigan revenue grows by $265M, but budget challenges lie ahead
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will enter budget negotiations with the GOP-led Legislature with $288.6 million more in state General Fund money than experts previously estimated, but the School Aid Fund is down by $23.9 million. Overall, revenue estimates are up $264.7 million for fiscal year 2019. That’s what state budget experts concluded at a meeting Friday […]
Shutdown halts Michigan domestic produce inspections
Domestic produce being sold in Michigan grocery stores is not being federally inspected because of the partial government shutdown, according to state agriculture experts and national media reports. The shutdown has halted federal inspections of domestic produce, including fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S., per a federal lobbyist for the Michigan Farm Bureau and […]
Whitmer signs equal pay measure
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Tuesday that would stop state departments and agencies from asking about or investigating an applicants prior salary — a move the Democratic governor says will narrow the pay gap between men and women. “It’s pretty simple, women deserve equal pay for equal work,” Whitmer said in a statement. […]
AG backs case against Trump contraception rules
Attorney General Dana Nessel is joining Massachusetts and other states in fighting rules issued under President Donald Trump’s administration meant to roll back Barack Obama-era mandates that had compelled insurance companies to cover the cost of contraception. The new Trump rules offer more leeway to companies and nonprofits wishing to deny birth control coverage to […]
Nessel asks Wayne Co. prosecutor to take over Flint water case
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday plans to replace the current prosecutor in charge of ongoing criminal lawsuits filed against high level state officials in the office’s Flint water crisis case. Nessel’s office said she will replace Flint Special Prosecutor Todd Flood with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who was a member of Nessel’s transition […]
Whitmer declines to comment on Tlaib’s impeachment call
During a press conference today, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined to weigh in how an explicit comment U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) made toward the president might impact already strained relations between Democrats and Republicans. “We’re gonna impeach the motherfucker,” Tlaib said of President Trump after being sworn in as a congresswoman on Thursday. When asked […]
Whitmer directs state to find more contracts from low-income areas
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a new directive Friday meant to encourage the state to award more contracts to businesses from communities under economic stress. In her fourth day as governor, Whitmer signed an executive directive instructing the state department responsible for selecting contractors that work with Michigan to “identify and reduce barriers for geographically disadvantaged […]
Whitmer threatens to veto any end-runs around citizen referendums
In her third day on the job, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a bold move and threatened to veto legislation that would take away citizens’ right to referendum. The Democrat signed six more executive directives today, including Executive Directive 2019-7, in which she writes: “I intend to veto legislation that circumvents the right to a referendum.” […]
Washington Post praises Snyder as Republican who isn’t ‘a sore loser’
Now-former Gov. Rick Snyder tamed the worst impulses of GOP lawmakers in the state House and Senate, resisting partisan retaliation as Democrats swept into new positions of power, according to a Washington Post editorial. And for that, he has its praise as “at least one Republican in the country who declined to behave like a […]