Lawmakers on Tuesday announced proposed bipartisan legislation that would create a new license and add more regulations for marijuana caregivers. On Wednesday, cannabis activists held an already-planned rally in Lansing to protest the bills that leaders told the Advance earlier this week they had heard were in the works.
Author: Michigan Advance
Of the $46.5 billion approved by Congress to help renters who fell behind on payments amid the pandemic, only $5.1 billion had been distributed by the end of July, according to Treasury data. Michigan has made progress, doling out $34.3 million in rental assistance in June to help 5,298 households, more than $28 million in May and $11.2 million in April.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate.
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late Thursday approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Here are four pieces of the Natural Resources Committee’s bill that could have a major climate impact if they’re passed into law.
With only 18 days left to finalize the rest of the state budget before the new Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 begins, leaders tell the Advance they’re confident there will be a negotiated budget in time to avoid a government shutdown — but there is some concern about higher education funding due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Two bills aimed at ending taxes on menstrual products on Thursday passed through the House Tax Policy Committee.
School board members in Michigan — volunteers who are typically parents or former educators — are facing unprecedented pressure and scrutiny as a third school year dawns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan parents are split on whether or not students should be required to get vaccinated or wear a mask this school year, according to a study done by the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, a Lansing-based advocacy group.
David Hecker writes, “A series of anti-worker and anti-educator policies passed during former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is holding them back and diminishing their voices.”
District Judge Paul Maloney blocked Western Michigan University on Tuesday from imposing a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on four female soccer players who claimed the requirements infringed on their constitutional religious rights.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 951,192 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 20,347 have died from the virus — an additional 4,494 cases and 90 deaths since Monday
For the past six years, Democratic state lawmakers in Michigan have introduced legislation that would end the sales and use tax on menstrual products. But, each time the bills were introduced, they never garnered enough support from Republicans that the legislation would make it to the governor’s desk. But this year that could change.
After months of hearings on legislation restricting voting rights, Michigan Republicans, as expected, unveiled on Monday a citizen-led ballot measure. The advantage of going this route is that the GOP-controlled Legislature has the power to approve it, thus going around Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has vowed to veto bills that hit her desk.
Some Michigan residents were among thousands rallying Saturday in the nation’s capital to protest a recent legislation they say suppresses voter rights, particularly for people of color and young people
Stimulus payments, unemployment, and other forms of governmental assistance helped ease the burden of a worldwide pandemic, according to experts.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s last-ditch effort to extend a federal ban on evictions has put hundreds of thousands of American renters at risk of losing their housing — and is increasing pressure on states and localities to get rental assistance dollars distributed faster
A new study shows the State of Michigan had 29 armed demonstrations in the last 18 months, ranking fifth in the nation. The report was released Tuesday by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). According to Roudabeh Kishi, ACLED’s director of research and innovation, over 3% of Michigan’s protests are armed, 1% above the national average, which is 2%.
Several recent studies have found the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the financial stability of LGBTQ+ individuals across the United States.