MACKINAC ISLAND - The governor's traditional Detroit office will be converted to part of an urban issues office, Governor Rick Snyder said Friday, while the mayors of the state's two largest cities said the state needs to make it easier for cities to work with their neighbors on services and programs. The comments came from
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder has asked the Michigan Supreme Court for a wide-ranging advisory opinion on the constitutionality of taxing pensions from public sector jobs that will take place under the tax legislation he signed into law. Snyder's request, filed Tuesday, should short-circuit an expected attempt by public employees to file litigation against the
LANSING - A bill discussed Wednesday at the Michigan House Transportation Committee would change the current distribution of sales tax revenue to give more money to infrastructure in Michigan. HB 4521 would direct that 4 percent of the sales tax allocated on gasoline that now goes to the general fund would be split between the
LANSING ? Michigan's 15 public universities will not be cut 15 percent each, but by varying percentages, Gongwer News Service has learned. The cuts range from 14.5 percent for some universities to as high as 15.4 percent for others, sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Gongwer. Governor Rick Snyder had proposed a 15 percent
LANSING - The Michigan Senate Energy and Technology Committee is expecting quick movement on legislation that would further deregulate the state's telephone industry. The bill (HB 4314 ) is expected to see a few changes based on discussions between the various parties, but the main thrust of considering wireless and voice over Internet protocol as
LANSING - The Michigan general public opposes most of Governor Rick Snyder's major tax and spending proposals, a new poll shows, and some, especially cutting spending on schools, are opposed by Republicans. The results also show a large majority oppose the recently enacted emergency manager act and proposals to take away collective bargaining rights. In
LANSING ? Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville sent the critical tax overhaul legislation to the Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee where a considerable challenge awaits to get the votes needed to move the legislation to the Senate floor. Richardville (R-Monroe) could always have the bills discharged from the committee to the full Senate if
LANSING - Business licensing and regulation has been housed with business development efforts for decades, but breaking them apart actually gives the state an opportunity to be more business friendly, said Steven Hilfinger, director of the new Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, told Gongwer News Service in a recent interview. The new department retains
LANSING ? Michigan state government departments would be prohibited from issuing rules more stringent than federal standards under legislation passed by the Senate. Majority Senate Republicans touted passage of the seven-bill package as a significant move to improve the state's business climate. Although most of the focus so far this year has been on the
SOUTHFIELD - In announcing his budget for the state, Governor Rick Snyder called for shared sacrifice on the part of state and local government to help bridge a $2 billion budget gap. But sharing doesn't have to be about sacrificing, particularly when what are being shared are services among government entities. That?s the message that