LANSING - Funding priorities such as the Michigan Promise Grant are so critical that Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Monday she is prepared to veto other areas of the budget to help free up funding to cover those priorities if the Legislature will not approve new revenues. In a press conference, Granholm would not detail what
LANSING - A plan by Michigan Senate Republicans to create $300 million in new revenue for the current fiscal year in exchange for phasing out the surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax will add to the state's structural deficit in the long run, said Craig Thiel with the Citizens Research Council. The proposal calls for
LANSING - There will be plenty of energy to meet Michigan's needs this winter because electric use is expected to fall 4.3 percent for the year and natural gas could fall 10.1 percent, the Public Service Commission said in its annual energy appraisal released Friday. Some of the use and cost reductions are based on
LANSING - In what could prove to be a major step toward ending the final deadlock on the 2009-10 budget, Senate Republicans developed a proposal Thursday that would raise more than $300 million a year for the next two fiscal years, with the proviso that the money would then go to reducing the surcharge on
LANSING - On Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued orders (E.O. 2009-44 and E.O. 2009-45) creating a new Department of Natural Resources and Environment to encompass the duties of the current departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources as well as some functions of the Department of Agriculture. Administration officials estimated the changes, which would be
LANSING - After so many years of fighting to end what he called the unfair practice of basing insurance rates on credit scores, it's about time the Supreme Court give the state the power to stop the practice that results in higher rates for many Michigan residents, said state Insurance Advocate Butch Hollowell on Wednesday
LANSING - The Michigan Senate passed bills Wednesday that would require the Department of Human Services to work with utilities to identify residents who are eligible for assistance programs. The bills (SB 553 and SB 555 ) are part of a package of bills designed to protect residents from unwarranted utility disconnection, particularly by municipal
SOUTHFIELD - The outlook for U.S. light vehicle sales is beginning to improve, according to a recent R. L. Polk & Co. analysis. Polk estimates new light vehicle sales in 2010 will be up 9.6 percent over 2009, to 11.2 million units, with third quarter 2010 sales estimated to be the strongest, at an anticipated
LANSING - Despite taking the step of voting on revenue increases Tuesday, legislative Democrats and the governor said House proposals do not go far enough to restore funding for critical programs including local police and fire, college scholarships and health care for senior citizens and low-income residents. "Now is the time to stand up for
LANSING - The headline projects of the state's push to build its renewable energy economic platform came close to realization Tuesday, when the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved grants to convert the former Wixom automotive plant into the largest renewable energy corporate complex in the country. MEGA also approved grants for the development of a