Category: Capitol News

By Mary Pollock We are in the midst of the first quarter of an election year, practically the last time state legislators are going to pass anything controversial like raising taxes. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY MARCH 10 Michigan’s presidential primary is March 10, a week after so-called Super Tuesday when 11 states hold their primary. With Michigan’s… Read more

By Mary Pollock The Legislature broke for the winter holidays on December 19 amid a flurry of activity to settle many of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget disputes. The legislative session resumes on January 8, 2020. BUDGET IMPASSE RESOLVED More than nine months after Governor Whitmer introduced her budget, legislative chambers sent negotiated supplemental… Read more

By Mary Pollock The Legislature’s last day before its holiday break is December 19 with plans to return January 8, 2020. BUDGET RESOLVED The standoff between Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-led legislature on the Fiscal Year 2020 budget (which started October 1, 2019) appears to have been partially resolved, a good start at… Read more

By Mary Pollock SERA MEMBER APPOINTED TO STATE RETIREMENT BOARD Governor Whitmer has appointed SERA member Lauri Schmidt of Williamston to the State of Michigan Retirement Board which provides oversight of the state employee’s pension fund. Schmidt is the SERA Plus Coordinator for Hantz Financial Group and the retired director of the Employee Benefits Division… Read more

By Mary Pollock The talk of the town is the GOP-controlled legislature waiting until the last minute to send the Governor FY2020 budget bills and then the Governor’s bold budget vetoes. However, there was plenty of other news in the last month. FY 2020 BUDGET Whitmer’s budget, presented in March, was built around her proposed… Read more

By Mary Pollock The Michigan Senate returned on August 27 and the Michigan House on the day following, ending its 9-week summer “district work.” BUDGET NEWS Facing a potential state government shutdown on October 1 over Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s commitment to raising new revenue to complete her campaign promise to “fix the damn roads” and… Read more

By Mary Pollock The legislature remained adjourned during July while news outlets reported snippets of information about quiet budget talks among legislative and executive branch leaders. Each chamber has passed a proposed budget, but a single budget has not been adopted for presentation to the Governor. The Senate says it will return August 26 and… Read more

By Mary Pollock For the last 8 years, the GOP-led Michigan legislature finished the budget in mid-June, the Republican Governor signed it promptly, and everyone left for the summer. This year with a GOP-led legislature and a Democratic Governor disagreeing on budget priorities, school districts, public universities, community colleges and local governments whose fiscal years… Read more

By Bob Kopasz FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 SERA COORDINATING COUNCIL TO BE HOSTED BY LAKE SUPERIOR SERA CHAPTER #9 IN MARQUETTE, MI Arrangements have been made to have the Friday, August 2 SERA Coordinating Council meeting to be held in Marquette, Michigan. Lake Superior Chapter# 9 will be hosting the event. On Thursday evening (August… Read more

By Mary Pollock May saw continued movement of appropriation bills, conclusive activity on auto no-fault insurance reform, and the legislative and executive branch leadership decamping to Mackinac Island for the annual Detroit Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference. AUTO NO-FAULT INSURANCE PASSES Following decades of efforts led by the auto insurance industry to end mandatory… Read more