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Research Service Inc.
Policy Issues


Civil Service State Shutdown Would Be Temporary Layoff, As Unions Call For Budget
(Source: MIRS.news , Published 09/24/2025) If the state Legislature and Executive fail to pass a budget or continuation resolution before...
6 days ago3 min read


House, Senate R's Meet In Joint Caucus; 8 Session Days Added To House Calendar
House, Senate R's Meet In Joint Caucus; 8 Session Days Added To House Calendar
6 days ago3 min read


Blanchard: Duggan Wins If Government Shuts Down, Calls Hall's Proposals 'Show Business'
Blanchard: Duggan Wins If Government Shuts Down, Calls Hall's Proposals 'Show Business'
Sep 174 min read


Children Living In A Tent Dominates Hertel's Hearing
(Source: MIRS.news , Published 09/09/2025) The House Oversight Committee’s questioning Tuesday of Department of Health and Human Services...
Sep 104 min read


AG Contends Legal Actions Against Trump Admin Preserves $1.8B In Funding
AG's Legal Actions Against Trump Admin Preserves $1.8B In Funding
Sep 92 min read


Rheingans Proposing Const'l Amendment, Other Legislation To Combat Trump
Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) is proposing a constitutional amendment to require multiple state government branches’ approval before declaring a rebellion or invasion and legislation to prohibit local law enforcement from being used for federal immigration law enforcement. She also pushed for stiffer habeas corpus and Miranda rights.
Sep 81 min read


Cannabis Industry Set To Fight 'Gas Station Weed'
Gas stations, liquor stores, and vape shops across Michigan have seen the rise in what the Cannabis Regulatory Agency called intoxicating hemp-derived products that the cannabis industry believes are illicit.
Sep 83 min read


School Bathrooms Designated To Sex Assigned At Birth Under House-Passed Bill
Rep. Joseph Fox (R-Fremont)’s HB 4024 to require schools to enforce individuals to only use the restroom or locker room of their sex assigned at birth passed the House Thursday, 58-46.
Sep 52 min read


Lack Of Lake Lifeguards Left High and Dry With Committee
Michigan has 3,288 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. Indiana has 45.
Aug 291 min read


Bathroom Sex Bill Flushed Out Of Committee To Floor
Transgender students would be required to use the school bathroom of their biological sex as written on their original birth certificate under legislation that moved out of a House committee along party lines Wednesday morning.
Aug 283 min read


Forum: Cannabis Shouldn't Be Treated 'Like It's Plutonium' By Policymakers
State regulators shouldn't treat cannabis “like it's plutonium," but regulate it based on the harms it could cause and not on “archaic” rules, according to Michael Bronstein, co-founder and president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, who spoke at a National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) forum earlier this month.
Aug 253 min read


No Outside Military In Michigan Without Governor's Approval Under Pohutsky Bill
Unless the President validly invokes the military to come to Michigan, only the Governor has the authority to let armed forces in from another state, territory or district, under legislation spotlighted Thursday y sponsor Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia).
Aug 221 min read


Suspending Lawmakers' Pay For Missing Budget Deadline Fails In House
The House failed by four votes to adopt a measure that would put on the ballot a constitutional amendment that would withhold the Governor’s and legislators’ pay if they don’t pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year by the July 1 statutory deadline.
Aug 225 min read


States in ‘Fairly Strong Position’ at FY '25 End But Challenges Loom
(Source: MIRS.news , Published 08/20/2025) (BOSTON) -- Thanks to strong revenue growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and robust...
Aug 213 min read


Whitmer Brings Total Public Acts To 9
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills Friday, bringing the total number of bills passed through the Legislature and signed into law in 2025 to nine.
Aug 181 min read


Crime Is Falling In Michigan, Across the U.S. Despite Public Perception
Contrary to widespread public belief, crime in both Michigan and the United States is on the decline – and has been for years - according to the latest law enforcement and victimization data.
Aug 182 min read


School Transfer Proposal May Cut Down On 'Ghost Children'
School districts would be blocked from transferring children's records to new schools without written confirmation that the child has been enrolled there, under a bill Oakland County's top public safety officials see as removing a current loophole for hiding child abuse and neglect.
Aug 153 min read


Natural Resources Commission Commits To Reopen Year-Round Coyote Hunting
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) voted Thursday in Gaylord that it “is committed” to reinstating the year-round hunting season on the overpopulated coyote, a reversal in approach from a year ago.
Aug 153 min read


Deepfake Porn Ban, WorkKeys Exemption For High Schoolers, More Pass Senate
Creating pornographic or sexual deepfakes of someone will result in a $3,000, one-year misdemeanor and possibly a daily $1,000 court-issued injunction if it's not erased, under House bills the Senate moved Wednesday.
Aug 142 min read


Immaculate Conception Comment Causes Stir
Ideological tensions between conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats exposed themselves Tuesday in a House committee during testimony over revised legislation that would allow unwanted newborns to be deposited in a safety delivery box attached to a hospital, police station or fire station.
Aug 133 min read
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