U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) alongside U.S. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced a bill last week that would boost financial literacy in high school students by establishing a pilot program where students will be given an initial deposit and subsequent opportunities to have a set amount of their continued savings matched.
Author: Michigan Advance
Dietary aide Angela Davenport argues that “nursing home workers, who have given so much throughout this pandemic, need real support.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Wednesday the nearly $70 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget, while axing Republicans’ cuts to abortion access and noting that budget language restricting COVID-19 mandates is unenforceable.
Congress in March authorized $19.5 billion in aid for cities and towns with fewer than 50,000 residents, including very small jurisdictions such as Bingham. Lawmakers wanted to help every town cover the cost of fighting a pandemic and recovering from last year’s recession. But in some small, rural or conservative towns, local leaders are refusing the cash. They say they don’t need it, and in some cases, don’t feel comfortable accepting it.
The former heads of both major Michigan political parties are joining forces to help Michigan become the next state to ratify a National Popular Vote (NPV) amendment. Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer say it would make elections more fair and democratic by doing away with the current “winner-take-all” system for awarding electoral votes
As of Sept. 16, more than 5.5 million children have been infected by the virus since the start of the pandemic. That represents more than 15% of the total cases, according to Dr. Lee Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 21,000 children have been hospitalized, a rate that’s 2.5 to 3 times higher than flu-related hospitalizations, Beers testified.
The Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) has been working on drafting maps for the state Senate, House and congressional districts for several weeks, but the drafts that have been made public so far are far from the final product.
As the U.S. Supreme Court plans to hear in December a challenge to Mississippi’s abortion ban that could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision — some LGBTQ+ advocates are concerned that threats to same-sex marriage are on the horizon.
With just over a week before the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, both chambers of the Legislature finished on Wednesday passing remaining spending plans worth about $53 billion. They now head to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has said she’ll sign them.
The GOP-led Legislature took a key step Tuesday toward completing the nearly $70 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget, carving out money for criminal justice reform, education and a number of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s programs for workers.
As all Michigan schools have begun 2021-22 classes, the state is reporting school and sports-related COVID-19 outbreaks. As of Monday, 213 pre-kindergarten-12 schools and nine universities — Alma College, Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, Northwood University, Adrian College, Northern Michigan University, University of Michigan, and Eastern Michigan University — are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.
State lawmakers should increase public funding for children and families to address the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two-thirds of Michiganders said in a recent statewide poll from the Skillman Foundation and Michigan’s Children
The event focused on disparities in health care, homelessness and the availability of jobs for LGBTQ people.
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.
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.