LANSING - Several key metrics to watch when it comes to the health of a governor's re-election prospects show Governor Rick Snyder is in better shape for re-election in 2014 than former Governor John Engler was for his first re-election bid in 1994 or former Governor Jennifer Granholm was in 2006, according to a polling
LANSING - The Michigan House came together on Thursday to approve unanimously a package of legislation barring the use of so-called skimming devices that obtain a person's credit card information when they think they are using an ATM or other credit card reader. The bills (HB 5050 , HB 5051 , HB 5052 , HB
LANSING - Voters could, at an upcoming election, see a constitutional amendment aimed at giving more flexibility to the Natural Resources Trust Fund and ensuring that mineral royalties continue to go to parks and recreation activities. The State Parks Advisory Committee is expected at its December meeting to adopt a resolution that would support a
LANSING - Michigan Senate Republicans established a new Compliance and Accountability Committee on Thursday that will focus on complaints from teachers about alleged difficulties and intimidation they have encountered in trying to resign their Michigan Education Association union membership. Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive), the committee chair, said the goal of the
LANSING - Persons seeking unemployment benefits would be rejected if a prospective employer withdrew a job offer because they failed a drug test required as a condition of employment, or refused to take the test, under a bill signed Tuesday by Governor Rick Snyder. HB 4952 (PA 146, immediate effect) drew criticism from some Democrats
LANSING - The state should be helping small farmers with safety certification and financing and encouraging development of more farmers' markets, the Food Policy Council said in its final report approved this month. The goal of the council's recommendations is to ensure access to healthy food across the state, and particularly to locally-grown foods, the
LANSING - A bill to essentially allow telecommunications companies to end landline services to customers with a 90-day notice has several big names concerned about ensuring residents have access to reliable voice communication service in the future, but proponents of the bill say consumers are already making the decision to get rid of landlines, and
LANSING ? The Michigan House and Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed bills that would discontinue charging sales tax on trade-in motor vehicles, recreational vehicles and boats when purchasing one. The big change, as was first reported Monday by Gongwer News Service, was extending the phaseout of applying the sales tax to the value of the
LANSING - The longest-serving attorney general in the nation, Frank J. Kelley, Michigan's 50th attorney general, was honored at a ceremony Wednesday when the walkway from the state Capitol building to the Michigan Hall of Justice was officially named the "Frank J. Kelley Capitol Walkway." "I am extremely honored and humbled to receive this recognition
LANSING - Business groups have long argued increasing the minimum wage forces employers to cut back on hiring, but the Michigan League for Public Policy said in a report released Monday that the increase would generate jobs. The group estimates that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from the current $7.40 would mean