Business + Labor
Whitmer administration eases solar farm restriction
Updated, 8:20 a.m., 6/5/19 Millions of acres of rural Michigan land could now become solar farms under a new state policy, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced Monday. Land that is currently eligible for tax benefits under the state’s Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program — about 3.4 million acres, in total — is now eligible […]
Whitmer talks workers’ rights, as GOP Legislature shows no sign of budging on Right to Work
Before last year’s manic Lame Duck period which saw a number of socially conservative and GOP power grab bills fly to then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk, there was the tumultuous 2012 session. That’s when Snyder inked bills making Michigan, home of the UAW, a Right to Work state. That legislation — a right-wing priority that has […]
Duggan announces sweeping demolition plan for blighted Detroit homes
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced on Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference that he aims to rid the city of its blighted, abandoned residential properties by the end of 2024. Duggan said that the city of Detroit will ask its residents to approve a bond issue for more than $200 million next March that will […]
Whitmer’s attempt to debunk ‘pot for potholes’ taken as a challenge
Taxes collected from Michigan’s new recreational marijuana law are unlikely to fill many potholes, but plenty of social media users are saying they’re up to do their part. During her keynote address at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer restated her goal of instituting a 45-cent gasoline tax to fix the state’s […]
Levin: USMCA doesn’t protect workers’ rights, American manufacturing
Updated 1:56 p.m. To hear President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence tell it, the fate of American manufacturing depends on the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by the end of the year. Trump touts his proposed alternative to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as “a great deal” for American […]
Gilbert pledged support on road funding before hospitalization
According to Crain’s Detroit, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert pledged his support to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in obtaining funding for her signature campaign promise of repairing Michigan’s roads, just a day before suffering a stroke that left him hospitalized.The report says that both Whitmer and Gilbert aides confirmed that he told the governor he was […]
Enbridge offers new 2024 deadline for Great Lakes oil tunnel
After weeks of negotiations between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and the Canadian oil company Enbridge, the latter has announced that it can complete construction on a planned buried oil pipeline within just five years. Enbridge originally estimated a seven-to-10-year construction period for its proposed $500 million oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac that would […]
Whitmer answers insurance reform critics, says leaders ready to work through summer on budget
Some progressives are unhappy with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for approving a bipartisan no-fault reform plan, but she told the Michigan Advance Thursday that it’s not a giveaway to the insurance industry. “This is a system that’s been around for a long time and we’ve made a major change that is far superior to the bills […]
Whitmer signs auto insurance bill with legislative leaders by her side
Flanked by legislative leaders from both parties, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday morning aimed at reducing auto insurance rates for Michigan residents, capping decades of anticipation over reform to the state’s unique no-fault system. The ceremonial bill signing was held on the porch of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island during the Mackinac Policy […]
Nessel: I ran on shutting down Line 5 and I’ll do it without a deal by June
Updated 5/29/2019, 7:05 p.m. Attorney General Dana Nessel told the Michigan Advance on Wednesday that safety concerns about the oil pipeline running under the Straits of Mackinac was the reason why she ran for the office last year. And if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cannot soon reach a satisfactory agreement with Canadian oil company Enbridge, Nessel […]
Inman pleads ‘not guilty’ to bribery charges
Indicted state Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) entered a plea of “not guilty” on Tuesday in a Grand Rapids federal court, in response to charges that he attempted to solicit a bribe in exchange for a “no” vote on last summer’s repeal of Michigan’s prevailing wage. The Detroit News reported that the third-term northern Michigan lawmaker, […]
Susan J. Demas: Whitmer, Duggan and the UAW had a hell of a week
It’s hard to remember a week that saw the resolution of both a blockbuster business deal and a longstanding, key legislative issue in Michigan. But that’s what happened this week with finalizing the $4.5 billion Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) expansion and the Legislature finally passing a bipartisan plan to overhaul the state’s no-fault auto insurance […]