Category: Capitol News

By Mary Pollock During March, the Legislature took some important actions just before leaving for a two-week “district work” break from March 26 through April 12. State employees who are currently teleworking were ordered to stay home until July 12, a signal that State public health officials see danger in prolonged periods of time in… Read more

By Mary Pollock FUTURE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY (SS) AND MEDICARE? Telephone Town Hall — With the new Biden administration and bare Democratic majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, what might be the future of SS and Medicare? To discuss that question, Michigan SERA Coordinating Council has asked Washington insider Dan Adcock, Director of Government Relations… Read more

By Mary Pollock January, in odd-numbered years, is very busy at the Capitol. New legislators are inducted, the Governor’s State of the State address is given, and the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference all happen in January. MONEY MATTERS Pension Tax Elimination Bills Introduced — Three bills that would eliminate the tax on pensions were introduced on… Read more

By Mary Pollock While the pandemic continues to structure our daily lives and the economy, political events continue to amaze. COVID-19 VACCINATIONS On January 6, Governor Whitmer caught many public health officials and seniors in Michigan by surprise when she announced that starting January 11, people in the Priority 1B group, which includes those 65… Read more

By Mary Pollock COVID-19’s spread topped the news this month along with post-election news (see separate article). COVID-19 UPDATE Twenty million doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s MNRA COVID-19 vaccines are on their way to Michigan now or by year’s end, we are told. AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson’s vaccines are not far behind. The vaccine likely… Read more

By Mary Pollock Election activities and news dominated the landscape in the last month. The Michigan Legislature met on October 13 and 21 and November 5 since the last report. COVID-19 COVID-19 cases are exploding in Michigan with an average of 20 dying each day as of this writing. The State’s seven-day average for new… Read more

By Mary Pollock A slow month it was not: a foiled kidnapping attempt on the Governor and attack on the capitol that made international news; presidential election frenzy; and the Michigan Supreme Court ruling the Governor’s Executive Orders on the pandemic are unconstitutional. Oh, and a State budget for Fiscal Year 2021 passed quietly without… Read more

By Mary Pollock The Governor continues to focus on running the state under emergency conditions for COVID-19 matters and the Legislature returned from their summer hiatus on September 1 for a few weeks. BUDGET ANXIETY First the good news — Michigan’s economy is rebounding; therefore, State government revenues are up by $2 billion more than… Read more

By Mary Pollock The August 4 primary and the COVID-19 pandemic dominated Michigan news in the last month. COVID-19 NEWS Statewide, there were 87,403 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,250 deaths as of August 8. Don’t bring COVID home or spread to others unknowingly. Free testing is widely available right now. To find a testing… Read more

By Mary Pollock COVID-19 continued to dominate the news amid continuing global protests about racial injustice. Meanwhile, the state prepared for its August primary and a budget deal was struck. VOTE FROM HOME Michigan’s major party primary election is Tuesday, August 4. This year voting at home by absentee ballot is especially important and available to… Read more