LANSING ? Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed into law Friday a landmark ban on smoking in most Michigan workplaces beginning May 1. Granholm thanked bill sponsors and activists, including the wives of two now-dead crusaders for the effort, during a ceremony at the Michigan Brewing Company, a Lansing restaurant, to sign HB 4377 (PA 188). "Thank
LANSING - Thanks to at least $150 million in unexpected revenues and savings, Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Thursday decided to delay implementation of a $127-per-pupil pro-ration cut that was to have taken effect with the December 21 school payment. But she and top state fiscal officials warned that a pro-ration cut will still likely be
LANSING - A Michigan House committee largely dropped the idea of starting school before Labor Day, bowing to the tourism industry's concerns, as it approved more key bills Tuesday that are part of the state's effort to compete for $400 million in federal "Race to the Top" funding. The House Education Committee also reported legislation
LANSING - The Homeowner Construction Lien Recovery Fund is out of money and, rather than try to build it back up, the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth is seeking to have it repealed. The fund was designed to protect homeowners from liens by paying subcontractors if the general contractor did not. But as
LANSING - The Michigan Legislature began its final push Tuesday on passing a series of education reform measures in hopes of winning $400 million in federal funds for schools through President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" program. In the Senate, the Education Committee approved bills that would enable the state to take over failing
ANN ARBOR - Although the Legislature receives outstanding short-term analysis from its House and Senate Fiscal agencies, it needs a similar nonpartisan arm with a more long-term approach, an economist said Friday. Timothy Bartik, senior economist for the Kalamazoo-based W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said Washington state has had success with this approach and
LANSING - In a move to stave off some of the budget cuts hitting K-12 schools, the Michigan House approved a supplemental Thursday that would tap federal stimulus funds and yet-to-be-approved state revenues in order to reduce the governor's $127 per-student proration and restore funding for higher-funded schools and early education programs. Gov. Jennifer Granholm
LANSING - About $6.9 million in funding for horse racing programs vetoed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm would be restored under a bill that passed the Senate on Thursday. The bill (HB 4311 ) replaces all but $1.7 million of the funding Granholm vetoed in the 2009-10 fiscal year budget for those programs. It uses money
WASHINGTON DC - For the last decade or so, Internet service providers have been dealing with requests to block access to pornographic or copyright-infringing Web sites, or in China, ones that dare to criticize the government. Now a U.S. House of Representatives bill is taking the unusual step of requiring Internet providers to block access
DETROIT - When the new Detroit City Council convenes in January, a majority of the nine-member body will be new as voters ousted another incumbent in Tuesday's elections, but voters decisively re-elected Mayor Dave Bing. Voters also approved changing the election of the council to districts from the current at-large, elected a charter commission to