Legislative

When Michigan's first class of legislators under the state's new term limits law arrived at the Capitol in 1993, nearly seven out of every 10 lawmakers were in their 40s or 50s.

Holding the speaker's gavel may look powerful from the outside, but four state House leaders said the job often means exhaustion, imperfect choices and a degree of isolation that rank-and-file lawmakers and the public don't always see.

The House passed the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP) initiative to prevent utilities and high-dollar state contractors from contributing to campaigns with a 77-26 vote, though it likely will remain stalled in the Legislature as Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said she wouldn't take it up for a vote.

Brandon Strong keeps his office desk neat and organized, but only because the different parts of his life each have their own pile.

The building where Michigan Republicans once plotted campaign strategy, made voter calls and watched election returns is serving a very different purpose these days.

Former members of the executive branch and Legislature who take office after Jan. 1, 2027, can no longer register as lobbyists for two years after they leave office under legislation Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law on Monday.

After a nearly eight-year tenure, JoAnne Huls will exit her role as the Governor's only Chief of Staff on July 31.

The era of free-flowing COVID-19 money is officially over as a blurred-eyed House and Senate Friday passed a $75 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget that rolled back federal spending authorizations, axed one-time appropriations and scratched alleged “ghost employees."

The story is legendary in the Bill Schuette household.

During a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) frequently dodged reporters' questions about whether he'd reprimand Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton) for his comments about Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown)'s deceased daughter and fellow Republican caucus members.

The deteriorating relationship Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton) has with Monroe County Republicans spilled onto the House floor Wednesday after a private recording circulated in which he called his fellow Republican representatives “scumbags” and negatively framed Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown)'s account of her daughter’s death. Thompson said she feels like her deceased daughter's memory was “mocked.”

Stephanie Chatfield, the wife of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, finalized a plea agreement that could leave her with no criminal conviction.

The Michigan Senate has held roll-call votes on just 21 days so far this year, a historically sluggish pace that is less than half the number recorded at the same point in 2008 and 2010, the last time the Legislature operated under split-party control.

Laying on the glass floor in the Capitol rotunda is a memorable photo opportunity for visitors to downtown Lansing.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) advised Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) today that "sometimes it's not so good to be so emotional here on the Senate floor." Singh called Runestad's zealous remarks on lawmakers voting on budgets that fund their future employers an "emotional outburst."

Kicking off the second day of the Mackinac Policy Conference, speakers from across the political spectrum repeatedly returned to the conference’s central theme: “the quest for common ground.”

Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) told the media that she believed she was removed from all of her committees for pushing the Speaker too hard on whether to investigate any connection between Jeffrey Epstein and the Interlochen camp near Traverse City.

After nearly eight hours of session, lawmakers, staff members and reporters stared at the House voting board, waiting to see which legislator would give Republicans the vote they needed to pass their property tax reform package.

Lansing will empty out next week for the annual week-long migration to Mackinac Island, prompting pundit questions about the theme and feel expected at the 2026 policy conference in the long shadow of national politics, as well as the chatter of changing who is — or isn't — elected in state politics.

All Democratic state senators who can return next year are supporting Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton)'s leadership bid in the caucus and are co-hosting a "Leadership Lunch" for him on June 4.