Politics/Government

Audit Of Michigan Strategic Fund Criticizes Financial Records

LANSING - The Michigan Strategic Fund did not have sufficient internal control in place to ensure it properly recorded and reported its financial activity in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, an audit by the Office of the Auditor General released Thursday concluded. As a result, the MSF could not ensure the accuracy of accounting

By |2015-03-27T00:00:00-04:00March 27th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Michigan House University Budget Hikes Funding By 1 Percent; Senate Sticks With 2 Percent

LANSING - The Michigan higher education budget approved Thursday by a House subcommittee would decrease Governor Rick Snyder's recommendation for the universities by $14.7 million and increase the cap on how much universities can raise tuition. Rep. Michael McCready (R-Bloomfield Hills), chair of the House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee, said he would prefer a budget

By |2015-03-27T00:00:00-04:00March 27th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Senate Approves Cybersecurity Bill That Lacks Privacy Protections

WASHIGTON DC - The US Senate Intelligence Committee approved a controversial cyberscurity bill last week that's designed to help companies and the federal government better defend against the growing threat of data breaches. Approved by a 14-1 vote, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) aims - by providing expanded legal liability protections to companies sharing

By |2015-03-16T00:00:00-04:00March 16th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

FCC Releases 400-Page Report On Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON DC ? You asked for it, you got it, all 400 pages of the Federal Communications Commission Net Neutrality ruling. It was released Thursday and spells out how the FCC will preserve the open Internet. The agency's commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the order along party lines ast month but did not release the

By |2015-03-12T00:00:00-04:00March 12th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Bills Would Prohibit MEGA Credit Extensions

LANSING - Republican lawmakers introduced bills on Wednesday that would prohibit the amendment of tax credits originating under the now-defunct Michigan Economic Growth Authority, which have accumulated a $9.4 billion liability in the state and caused a budget shortfall in the current fiscal year. Rep. Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) and Rep. Gary Glenn (R-Midland) introduced HB

By |2015-03-12T00:00:00-04:00March 12th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Snyder Signs Bills To Eliminate Budget Shortfall

LANSING - Action to erase a $330 million General Fund shortfall in the 2014-15 current fiscal year is now complete with Governor Rick Snyder signing Tuesday bills that make some reductions, but mostly a variety of moves to replace General Fund money with revenue from other sources. HB 4110 (PA 5, immediate effect) and HB

By |2015-03-11T00:00:00-04:00March 11th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Snyder: Plan B For Roads Would Be Challenge

LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder said during a radio call-in show Monday that, should voters reject the sales tax increase on the May ballot, he would work with legislators to craft a replacement plan, but he said including revenue increases in that plan could be difficult. The response came to a question Snyder has fielded

By |2015-03-10T00:00:00-04:00March 10th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|

Few Budget Increases Sought For New Talent And Economic Development Department

LANSING - The final budget structure for the new Department of Talent and Economic Development is not quite in place yet, but it will include few funding increase requests, Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Steve Arwood, director of the new department, told the House Appropriations General Government Subcommittee on Wednesday. Arwood said the budget as

By |2015-03-05T00:00:00-05:00March 5th, 2015|Archive, Politics/Government|