What is a private purpose appropriation?
Among other important roles, a constitution establishes the branches of government, grants them powers, and places restrictions on them. Many restrictions are often rooted in past experiences, some...
View ArticleChallenges Ahead Balancing the State Budget – What Could it Mean for...
With his signature in mid-July, Governor Snyder put to bed the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) state budget. Eight years removed from the end of the Great Recession and benefitting from an expanding state...
View ArticleConsidering a Part-Time Legislature for Michigan
Date: September 21, 2017 Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Event Location: Michigan Chamber of Commerce – 600 S Walnut Street, Lansing, MI 48933 Event Purpose: The Citizens Research Council of Michigan...
View ArticleConsidering a Part-Time Legislature for Michigan
Date: September 21, 2017 Speaker: Jordon Newton and Dr. Peverill Squire Venue: Leaders’ Issue Forum Topic: Considering a Part-Time Legislature for Michigan Mr. Newton's Presentation Slides Dr. Squire's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Paid Sick Time Ballot Proposal Becomes Law; What’s Ahead for Michigan?
In a nutshell: Michigan lawmakers adopted a citizen-initiated law requiring employers to provide paid sick time to all employees, effectively keeping the proposal off of the November ballot and making...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What’s on the ballot in 2018? What do these proposals do?
Date: September 17, 2018 Speaker: Eric Lupher Venue: GCSI Client Election Briefing Topic: What’s on the ballot in 2018? What do these proposals do? Presentation Slides
View ArticleClik here to view.
Statewide Ballot Proposal 2018-2 — Redistricting
Download Analysis Proposal Summary Register for Webinar Memorandum 1150 | September 2018 The redistricting process affects the core components of a representative democracy. It determines what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Webinar – Proposal 18-2 – Redistricting Reform
Date: October 17, 2018 Speaker: Jordon Newton Venue: Citizens Research Council Webinar Topic: 2018 Statewide Ballot Issues Presentation Slides View Webinar
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can you imagine fifty states seeking relief from gerrymandering? Friends,...
Gerrymandering is a long-practiced tactic employed by the political parties, but it is only recently that voters have reached their tipping points and started to push back. Discontented voters in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Changes are in Store for Michigan’s New Paid Sick Time Law? Lame Duck...
In a nutshell: In September, the legislature enacted a citizen-initiated law requiring employers to provide paid sick time to all employees, effectively keeping it off the November ballot. Since, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To Credit, or Not to Credit? That is the Question Facing the Legislature
Prior to the November election, the legislature chose to “adopt and amend” two citizen-initiated proposals, including the minimum-wage increase. A bill has been introduced to keep the “tip credit,”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Medicaid Expansion: An Unsung 2018 Election Winner
Several states have begun expanding their Medicaid program at the ballot (including some more conservative states that initially opposed the program) In spite of language that would terminate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Paid Sick Time in Michigan: Where it Stands Today
In a nutshell: Paid sick time is on the national agenda and likely to gain prominence in 2019.Last year, Michigan became 11th state to enact a paid sick time law.Michigan’s law, originally approved as...
View ArticleRedistricting: the scourge that (still) haunts Michigan government
In a nutshell:* Voters approved redistricting reform in the November 2018 election, but unfinished business still haunts the issue, as new Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson seeks to settle a related...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Evaluating the Effects of Term Limits on the Michigan Legislature
A version of this post appeared in the May 8, 2018 Bridge Magazine In a Nutshell Legislative term limits in Michigan have failed to achieve their proponents’ stated goals: Ridding government of career...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Medicaid work requirements are meant to promote work, but can imperil health
In a nutshell: Michigan is proposing to add a work requirement to the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Michigan Plan, Michigan’s 2014 expansion of Medicaid. Following criticisms of the original...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good Government Reforms on the Horizon? Term Limits Take Center Stage
One of government’s most enduring clichés is that “politics make strange bedfellows.” Clichés usually have at least a germ of truth within, as we see in Michigan this fall. A seemingly disparate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Pathways to Old Funding Options for Public Transportation
What we found: Regional transportation options in Southeast Michigan are limited and the RTA has been unable to raise the necessary funds to improve public transportation. A new proposal would amend...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Local Governments Face Fiscal Challenges Despite a Growing Economy
A recent article in Bridge Magazine highlights the fact Michigan has almost 200 communities in financial distress despite the fact that the economy is experiencing the longest economic expansion in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Adapting Michigan’s Sunshine Laws to the Cloud of Coronavirus
In a nutshell: Michigan’s Open Meetings Act, which requires opportunities for public attendance at meetings of public bodies, has been amended by executive order to allow for remote participation....
View Article