Michigan Legislature

A bill to make state records easier to find is working its way through the Michigan House of Representatives.State agencies frequently release reports to the Legislature. But state Representative Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Twp) said they’re sometimes hard to find since each agency has its own system for handling them and posting them online.

Budget bills are starting to move at the state Capitol as lawmakers attempt to get an earlier start on crafting a spending plan for the coming fiscal year and avert a deadlock similar to last year’s standoff.

The report claims there is a history of physical and sexual abuse at Michigan boarding schools which native American children were compelled to attend, as recently as the 1980’s.

This week, state Senate Democrats introduced a package of bills (SB 757-760) called Kids Over Clicks. Among other things, the bills would aim to ensure AI chatbots are inaccessible to children.

The Michigan Legislature adjourned Thursday for the year, ending a 2025 session where a politically divided House and Senate often struggled to reach deals.The marathon final day saw roughly two dozen mostly mundane bills clear both chambers, capping a session on track to enact the fewest number of new laws in any year since Michigan became a state.

Michigan Republicans want the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling saying that all bills passed by both chambers of the Legislature have to go to the governor.

Districts now have until December 4 to decide whether to give up some legal protections and accept a portion of the state's $321 million fund for student safety and mental health.

The Michigan Court of Appeals says the Republican-controlled state House cannot sit on nine bills adopted last year when Democrats were in control.

Friday on Stateside, details in the state Legislature's $80 billion budget plan. The budget includes a new 24% tax on cannabis wholesalers to fund road repairs, as well as a slight increase on spending on K-12 education.

An effort to move up Michigan’s primary election date next year may be dead on arrival in the state Legislature.