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House Finance Committee Chair Rep. Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester) got a call earlier this month from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who wanted to compare notes on crafting a new job incentive program because, as the chair said, "what we've been doing is not working."

In a caucus with such conservative brands as Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers), Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) and Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton), two-term Republican Rep. Donni Steele (R-Lake Orion) ended up with the House's most conservative record based on 46 roll call votes selected by MIRS.

Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Keego Harbor), who opted against seeking reelection after this term, ended 2025 with having the most liberal or progressive voting record in the state Senate based on MIRS' recording of 46 roll call votes as recorded and categorized on software available to all MIRS subscribers.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), the lead negotiator on the earned sick time and tipped wage package early in the year, was named the MIRS News Senator of the Year Monday, a recognition given annually to the Senator who exhibits high levels of impact, effectiveness and activity in the calendar year.

Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Keego Harbor) wants Michigan to have a 13-member task force dedicated to expanding public access to "palliative care," the medical specialty dedicated to relieving the stress and symptoms of serious illnesses. 

A Michigan Court of Appeals panel held this week that an Otsego County barbecue restaurant’s lawsuit challenging the local health department’s pandemic-related orders is moot.

A letter purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein to disgraced former Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar was released this week by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

For 2025, there were three people who earned the most Quotes of the Day: two state leaders and a newly minted state party chair.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has been named MIRS' House Member of the Year, with the team recognizing how his leadership, unpredictable power plays and transparency platform have caused culture shock around Lansing.

Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) was named MIRS' Minority Lawmaker of the Year on the MIRS Monday podcast. The second-term legislator was recognized as a liaison between Republicans and Democrats on subjects like public safety, economic development and road funding.

Others may be waiting to see if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attempts to legally challenge the law the House Appropriations Committee used to deny $644 million in work projects last week, but House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said Thursday he hasn't heard that the Governor is going to do anything to push back.

The House and Senate leadership closed the door on 2025 on Thursday with big dreams for 2026, but none that seem to overlap.

In the first “deal” House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said he'd made with Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) this session, the House and Senate passed around 25 bills cracking down on bots during high-volume ticket sales, creating a voluntary high school hunter safety education class and updating standards on the machines used in mammograms.

The House and Senate adjourned for the final time this year, producing the fewest number of likely public acts in a regular session since the founding of the state in 1837.

Democrats appear to have picked the wrong issues to campaign on in 2024. Abortion, women's rights and voters' rights didn't move the needle, but Ed Sarpolus of Target Insyght said that based on his polling from this week, Dems shouldn't have that problem this year.

The relationship between the House and Senate remained frayed on Wednesday after the House called back 11 Senate-sponsored bills it moved on Tuesday, responding to the Senate's failure to pass all the House-sponsored bills it pledged to pass.

All the work project spending the House Republicans denied last week would be restored under legislation the Senate passed Tuesday evening, 23-15, with four Republican yes votes.

Attorney General Dana Nessel committed, at a minimum, a “clear ethics violation” when she involved herself in possible criminal cases involving a personal friend and her spouse, House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) said Tuesday. Nessel's perceived unwillingness to fully participate in the investigation led a House panel to find her in contempt, a vote that fell on party lines.

For the third year in a row, Michigan is once again ranked in the American Tort Reform Association's (ATRA) "Judicial Hellhole Report."

Attorney General Dana Nessel on Monday released the fifth report into her department's investigations of alleged clergy sexual abuse, detailing allegations against 51 priests. While no criminal charges will be filed, Nessel said the reports have helped survivors.