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
LONDON - Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger said last week repealing the prevailing wage is still seriously being discussed, and he hopes to have some solution to transportation funding approved by the Legislature before the end of the year. Bolger (R-Marshall) said in an interview with Gongwer News Service he currently is giving Senate Majority
LANSING - Michigan's premiums for health insurance coverage through the federal exchange may be lower than the national average, but sign-ups have been "modest," says Rick Murdock, executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, due to factors such as the fierce advocacy on both sides of the Affordable Care Act, the state deciding
LANSING - Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger says he would like to see reform of the state's no-fault auto insurance system before the end of the year and Rep. Pete Lund's bill isn't dead in the House. "I think (HB 4612 ) does address several ... issues, but we remain willing to work with people
LANSING - Policy changes are needed to reduce the cost of no-fault insurance in the state without necessarily reducing benefits, the Citizens Research Council said in a report released last week. The report found that Michigan insurance rates are 17 percent higher than in other states, in part because medical costs for similar crashes are
LANSING - A performance audit of the security and access controls in the state's main database for the Medicaid program generally showed effective management, but also highlighted some weaknesses that need shoring up. The audit of the Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System, known as CHAMPS, showed that the Department of Technology, Management and Budget