Michigan Politics

Some state lawmakers want to swap one holiday for another. Monday was Columbus Day, and a pair of bills would get rid of Columbus Day and make Indigenous Peoples Day a state holiday instead.

A state lawmaker says she felt “forced” by the Speaker of the House to remove a gun free zone sign from her state House office. Democratic State Rep. Kara Hope (D-Holt) put up the sign last month. She says for the safety and comfort of her staff, she didn’t want any firearms in her office.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been presented a budget by the state Legislature, and one area Whitmer might have an issue with the budget is the state’s new redistricting commission.

Lawmakers at the state Capitol will start looking at bills to take certain crimes off criminal records. A committee hearing on a package of bills is scheduled for Tuesday.

A democratic state lawmaker wants the state Capitol to reverse its ban on signs. The Capitol currently prohibits protestors and other people from bringing signs into the building.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has barred embattled Michigan Civil Rights Department Director Agustin Arbulu. Whitmer says it’s time for Arbulu to be fired for “unacceptable conduct.”

The people of the 104th District are a step closer to recalling their state Representative. The Board of State Canvassers approved a recall petition against Representative Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) Thursday.

Republican opponents of Michigan’s new independent redistricting commission are back in court.

The list of who can administer emergency opioid overdose medication in Michigan could grow.

Michigan students are a signature away from getting four snow days forgiven after a brutal winter left some schools closed for weeks. The state Senate sent the bill to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk Thursday. 

A state Senate committee approved a budget provision to financially penalize communities with sanctuary city policies. 

The leader of the state Senate Republicans says he’s not in favor of the Secretary of State’s call for candidates to disclose their financial information.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed her first bill into law Thursday. The new law will keep a judge’s seat in a court in the Upper Peninsula. 

It could be a challenge to end the practice of shifting money meant for K-through-12 education to higher education. 

Michigan’s cash bail system needs an overhaul. That’s the message of bipartisan legislation introduced in the state House and Senate.

Hourly workers at schools are concerned about a bill in the state House that saves schools from having to make up some snow days. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s appointees for top level offices are in the clear. The state Senate has 60 days to object to Whitmer’s appointments. It has not objected to her picks to lead departments like health and human services, natural resources, and agriculture. And the clock has run out for the Senate to stop those and other appointments.