Policy Issues

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township)'s recent attempt to negotiate numerous policy bills alongside the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget deal is slowing down progress to the point where finishing everything by Independence Day may not happen, MIRS has learned.

While HUD Secretary Scott Turner praised a new workforce housing development in Portage last week, city officials say the project is the product of years of rewriting local zoning rules to make housing easier — not harder — to build.

A House Oversight subcommittee chair walked back an earlier claim that an apparently defunct Clinton Township day care bilked the state of $1.12 million today, but blamed a state agency for not being clear on how it discloses grant recipients.

Senate Democrats on Thursday approved having Michigan create its own online marketplace where residents can shop for healthcare when they're not covered by Medicaid or insurance through work, joining 20 other states that have left the federal marketplace.

One Friday last summer, the Mielke boys set up their lemonade stand at the Rogers City Famers Market, just as they have the last three summers.

Michigan hospitals would be required to offer financial assistance to certain patients and medical debt would largely be barred from credit reports under a three-bill package introduced today by three House Republicans in politically competitive districts.

Auto insurance companies in Michigan would be banned from charging a customer more based on them being a loyal customer than they would charge someone who's actively comparison-shopping, under a bill by Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Twp.) aimed at outlawing "price optimization."

The federal government closing a grant program that encouraged farmers to install renewable energy systems could "financially ruin" those who started spending money on projects and will no longer be reimbursed, a Senate committee heard Thursday.

A proposed constitutional amendment to overhaul the way Michigan’s university boards are selected failed in the House today, prompting Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) to warn Democrats that they’re going to be “wishing they made this deal today.”

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."

Rising health care costs are becoming one of the most significant threats facing Michigan small businesses, according to Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) President and CEO Brian Calley.

Evoking the CIA officer she was following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) can't help but view Chinese vehicles crossing American borders as "surveillance packages on wheels."

Both political parties in the Michigan House have a property tax relief plan. The GOP passed theirs without Democratic support, and the Democrats unveiled their blueprint, which the R's don't buy because it does not include all taxpayers.

Two Michigan Department of Transportation workers were killed Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle while patching potholes on U.S. 127, an Ingham County Sheriff’s spokesperson said.

Rising gasoline and diesel prices tied to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and continued instability from the war in Ukraine are expected to push Michigan energy costs higher this summer, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s 2026 Summer Energy Appraisal.

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.

A Democratic lawmaker on Tuesday called for the state's Department of Corrections (MDOC) director to resign after a second inmate death was reported at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHVCF).

Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) said Tuesday afternoon that she is "done asking" House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's connections to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, demanding an immediate vote on a resolution creating a special House committee to examine the matter.

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.

News reporters and members of the public who find and expose “waste, fraud, abuse, misappropriation, or other misuse of taxpayer dollars,” could win a financial award after Rep. Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Township) announced his new bill yesterday.