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Michigan’s manic Lame Duck session continues to mesmerize national media
Michigan’s frenetic end-of-the-year legislative session before Democrats assume all top statewide offices continues to command the attention of national outlets. Reporters from national outfits like CNN attended the exit interview last week of GOP Gov. Rick Snyder and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, eager to see if the term-limited governor would show his hand on signing […]
North Carolina gov. who endured power grab fundraises for Whitmer
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who knows a little bit about legislative power grabs, sent out a fundraising pitch this week for his fellow Democrat, Michigan Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer. After Cooper won election in November 2016, the GOP-controlled Legislature called a special session. As North Carolina Policy Watch reported, Republicans quickly moved to claw back […]
Whitmer talks roads, Asian carp with Trump at White House meeting
At the White House today, Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer naturally took the opportunity to talk with President Trump about “fixing the damn roads,” but she also said she raised the issue of Asian carp. “That was an interesting conversation because I don’t think President Trump had really had the chance to think, or learn much about […]
Anti-abortion telemedicine legislation moves to governor’s desk
Gov. Rick Snyder has often said that he’s focused on economics, not social issues, but that hasn’t stopped his fellow Republicans from sending anti-abortion legislation to his desk. This time it’s a permanent ban on telemedicine exams for abortion backed by Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference. In 2012, Michigan enacted […]
Peters, up for reelection in 2020, lands key Homeland Security committee post
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) will serve as the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next term. That’s the upper chamber’s principal oversight committee. Peters, a freshman who succeeded U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) when he retired in 2014, is up for re-election in 2020. The GOP is […]
Snyder makes good on promise to sign Great Lakes pipeline legislation
Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday vowed he would sign legislation that will keep Enbridge’s petroleum operation under the Straits of Mackinac up and running. And today, he made good on that promise. The Republican governor announced via press release this morning that he had signed Senate Bill 1197 sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba). The bill […]
Updated: Enbridge tunnel bill awaits Gov. Snyder’s signature
Updated: 2:08 p.m. Both houses of the Legislature today wasted no time acting on legislation that could ensure that oil and natural gas continue running through the Straits of Mackinac. The bill is now on Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk. This has been one of term-limited governor’s top priorities in his last few weeks in office […]
Whitmer to join governors-elect in Trump meeting this week
Michigan’s next governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is slated be part of a group of governors-elect meeting on Thursday with President Trump at the White House, the Detroit Free Press reports. A Whitmer spokesperson told the Free Press that the Democrat wants to talk about “federal trade policies, access to affordable health care, protecting our Great Lakes […]
Susan J. Demas: How we’re working to advance journalism in Michigan
In our first eight days, we survived one of Michigan’s notorious November snowstorms, a reporter’s car being taken down by our terrible roads and a bomb scare across from the Capitol, just blocks from our office. It’s been quite the trial by fire for the nascent Michigan Advance. But I’d expect no less, as we […]
Michigan’s Lame Duck action makes news nationwide
Michigan’s Lame Duck session has been a popular topic around the nation. More than a dozen major news outlets, including CNN, NBC and The New York Times, have reported on state GOP lawmakers and their frantic attempt to strip authority and decision-making from incoming Democratic statewide officials. Michigan’s end-of-the-year session also has attracted the attention […]
Progressives call to end Lame Duck legislative sessions
Is it time to end Lame Duck action in Michigan? Sam Inglot, Progress Michigan’s relentless deputy communications director, has a provocative op-ed in the Lansing State Journal this week slamming Republicans for “gut[ting] popular policies that help working families” in this late-year session. The GOP-controlled Legislature has taken up a number of bills giving progressives heart […]
Former El-Sayed policy director behind ‘Green New Deal’
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who served as Abdul El-Sayed's policy director for his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, has moved on to the national stage.