LANSING - The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a handful of economic incentives Wednesday as well as a request for proposals for the state's 2013 Business Incubator Program. Total funding available in the incubator program is $8.5 million. It assists entrepreneurs in launching and growing start-up technology companies throughout the state. The MSF is looking for
LANSING - The ballot proposal requiring a two-thirds legislative majority or affirmative statewide vote to raise taxes would not apply to fees or tax credits, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency. Some critics of Proposal 12-5 have questioned whether it would apply to increasing or creating new fees, but the HFA
LANSING - John E. Nixon has been named Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine, citing his key role in Michigan?s turnaround. Nixon serves as both the State Budget Director and Director of the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The award is given for outstanding individual accomplishment in government. Nixon will be honored
LANSING - The fiscal impact of five out of the six November ballot proposals could not be determined by the Senate Fiscal Agency, but it was able to calculate some unfavorable numbers for the proposal to require a statewide vote for the construction of any new international bridge or tunnel for motor vehicles. The agency's
DETROIT - Asking a registered voter to reaffirm that they are a United States citizen this November shows a lack of equal protection under the law and has already created a lack of consistency throughout the Department of State, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman ruled on Friday, and therefore the question should not be
LANSING - Arguably the most impressively produced and acted candidate commercial in Michigan political history has hit ... the Internet: a four-minute film for Supreme Court candidate Bridget Mary McCormack set up as a micro-episode of the classic television series "The West Wing" and featuring the stars of that popular program. One of the stars
LANSING - Considering an increase to the state's renewable portfolio standard is reasonable, but it should be done in the Legislature through a proposed statute, not in the Constitution through a ballot issue, said Attorney General Bill Schuette, former Attorney General Mike Cox and former Supreme Court Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. The three current and
LANSING - Despite recent polls showing President Barack Obama with a growing lead in support among Michigan residents over Republican Mitt Romney, the chair of Romney's campaign in the state said the election would be a horse race with the former Massachusetts governor still having a good chance of winning in Michigan. "I'm absolutely certain
LANSING - Sen. Joe Hune on Wednesday introduced legislation heeding the call of Governor Rick Snyder to convert Blue Cross Blue Shield from a nonprofit, tax-exempt health care company to a nonprofit mutual corporation, but some critics said it lacks details. Generally speaking, SB 1293 amends the Insurance Code, and SB 1294 changes the Public
GRAND RAPIDS - Right to Life of Michigan began announcing its list of endorsements in the general election and largely backed Republican incumbents in key seats with one major exception: U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Cascade Township, who has voted against some of the group's priorities while in Congress. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash's practice of