Michigan Government

Michigan is divided politically, and proposed Senate districts by a new commission show the difficulty of composing fair maps in a large state.

Maps were supposed to be completed by Friday by Michigan’s new independent citizen redistricting commission. Supporters say Census delays made that impossible, but critics contend the panel is rife with dysfunction.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP leaders say they have a deal to keep the lights on in state government for another year.

Macomb County Rep. Steve Marino is stripped of committee assignments and police are investigating threat claims.

Republican majority advanced bills that seek to bar local school mask mandates and allow broad parental waivers. Gov. Whitmer is likely to veto the proposals should they reach her.

Voters Not Politicians, the group that mobilized grassroots volunteers to fight gerrymandering in 2018, is launching a multi-phase campaign to fight restrictive GOP voting rules and is considering a 2022 ballot proposal of its own. The Michigan Democratic Party, meanwhile, has a “team of lawyers” ready to fight the GOP initiative in court.

Michigan is flush with federal stimulus cash, but annual budget talks are headed to the wire. One potential sticking point: Higher education spending, because of university mask mandates.

A new commission has spent weeks drawing districts in rural areas of Michigan, but has set aside only five days for southeast Michigan. Some fear they could be in a rush to complete the process.

The percentage of minority residents has grown in almost all Michigan cities. That’s prompting hope in segregated regions like metro Detroit, but some worry old patterns will repeat.

The state’s advice on when to reconfigure districts could put Michigan’s counties in legal jeopardy, clerks fear.

A Texas abortion case is testing the landmark Supreme Court ruling. If the law is overturned, a 1846 law criminalizing abortion in Michigan could become operational again.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she will veto a measure that would prevent governors from using a state emergency alert system to announce new laws or orders.

The Michigan governor pledged to make her office subject to records requests. She’s not only failed to do so, but an internal memo shows her office wants to review FOIA requests before they are disclosed.

Measures to tighter voter ID laws, bar mass mailings of absentee ballots and forbid private funding for public elections would bypass Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer does not appear to be planning another state-level eviction moratorium after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal version. Housing advocates fear “horrific consequences” for Michigan renters.

Liza Estlund Olson, the acting director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency, has agreed to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee next month.

Sidney Powell and other attorneys who tried to overturn Michigan’s 2020 presidential election must pay legal fees, undergo training and will be referred to local jurisdictions for possible suspension or debarment investigations.

Ty Garbin of Hartland will spend up to 75 months in prison for his role in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Attorneys say the 25-year-old airplane mechanic is giving prosecutors an “inside account” of the plot and is expected to testify at trials for other militia members accused in the plot.

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on Wednesday requested copies of communications between the White House and state Republican leaders.

The commission’s Democratic chair has missed 17 meetings since meetings began last year. At other times, commissioners worried about having enough members for a quorum as they race to complete their work.