MichCapCon

Michigan electricity customers can expect a $1.50 per-meter charge on their monthly bills in September, thanks to a recent decision by state utility regulators. Read story: michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/hike-comi…

Mississippi’s literacy policies have brought success for students and families in the state, and they provide important lessons for Michigan and the rest of the country, a new study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy finds. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/mississip…

A state representative is seeking $8.8 million in demolition funding from the 2027 state budget for Flint Community Schools. The Flint district received $156 million in COVID relief funds in 2021. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/flint-sch…

Michigan electricity customers can expect a $1.50 per-meter charge on their monthly bills in September, thanks to a recent decision by state utility regulators. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/hike-comi…

Two House members requested millions in taxpayer dollars for cultural and recreational destinations in Dearborn, including Ford Field Park, The Henry Ford museum complex, and the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. Rep. Alabas A. Farhat, D-Dearborn, sought $3 million for The Henry Ford museum complex for what an official document called an ”integrated operations center.” The facility requires more robust emergency preparedness and operational coordination for its 1.7 million annual visitors, Farhat said. The museum complex received no state or federal grants in the past five years, Farhart noted in a document required for earmark requests. However, the complex received a 2025 state grant worth $819,200, according to Click on Detroit, as well as a $250,000 federal grant in 2024. Farhat did not respond to an email seeking comment. Rep. Erin Byrnes, D-Dearborn, requested $900,000 for Friends of the Rouge to develop recreational access at Ford Field Park, part of a planned 29-mile water trail along the Lower Rouge River. The nonprofit received a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy in 2020. Friends of the Rouge reported that 22% of its annual income came from federal funding, according to a 2025 Fox 2 Detroit report. The completed form Byrnes submitted to House leaders as part of the budgetary request gave an answer of ‘not applicable’ to the question of whether the nonprofit had received any government grants in the past five years. Byrnes also requested $5 million for the Ford Performing Arts Center, which received $1.5 million in state funds and $292,167 in federal funding over the past five years, according to the legislative spending request. Byrnes did not respond to a request for comment. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation sued the state in 2025 over two grants issued through a similar mechanism. The lawsuit argues that the grants were unconstitutional because they did not receive a two-thirds vote of the Legislature as required by the Michigan Constitution. The case is currently before the Michigan Court of Claims.

Michigan fell 13 spots in an annual ranking of economic competitiveness — the third worst fall for any state since reporting began in 2008. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/michigan-…

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's proposed 2026-27 fiscal year budget includes $150 million to spend on new public infrastructure for megasites. Read story: michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/whitmer-s…

Portage residents will decide in a May 5 election whether to restore their competitive market for trash service. The vote could undo the city government’s decision to make Waste Management Portage’s only trash-hauling service. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/portage-r…

A recent article from a major teachers union used a highly selective reading of spending data to argue for more public money and obscure the relationship between spending and student success. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/mea-makes…

Michigan electricity customers can expect a $1.50 per-meter charge on their monthly bills in September, thanks to a recent decision by state utility regulators. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/hike-comi…

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer exceeded her executive authority with an April 2 emergency order on gasoline prices, according to an expert on separation of powers in Michigan government. The emergency order temporarily suspends state-level requirements on Reid vapor pressure — used to reduce the amount of ozone created from gasoline — for gasoline sold in Michigan. The suspension aligns with an earlier waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Whitmer noted in her order that fuel prices have increased by 30% since the start of the Iran war. “Michigan families, already facing rising prices due to inflation and tariffs, now have to pay more to get to work and school, while businesses must absorb higher costs to operate,” the governor wrote. “By expanding the fuel supply available for distribution, this action will help alleviate upward pressure on prices.” But the spike in oil prices does not justify an emergency order, Michael Van Beek, director of research at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Whitmer is stretching the limits of her emergency powers, just as she did during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote. Michigan’s energy emergency law allows the governor to take emergency action in response to “danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of this state due to an impending or present energy shortage,” which the law defines as a lack of adequate energy resources. “The governor’s executive order declaring the emergency makes no mention of a threat to the supply of gasoline in Michigan; it only references relatively high gas prices,” Van Beek wrote. “That is not the same thing as an energy shortage.” Van Beek cited 2022 gas prices, which exceeded $3.89 per gallon. Whitmer did not issue an order then, and she vetoed a bill that would have suspended a 27.2-cent gasoline tax. High gasoline prices are not new to Michiganders. Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in 2025 that residents pay some of the highest gas taxes in the nation. During the 2022 price hike, the state maintained both its per-gallon excise tax and a percentage-based sales tax on gasoline. Whitmer has taken steps in the past to raise gasoline taxes. One of her first acts as governor was to propose a 45-cent per gallon tax hike. The Legislature did not approve that increase. Whitmer did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Gov. Whitmer pushes new $150M megasite funding after $261M project cleared homes but failed to land a buyer. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/whitmer-s…

The Royal Oak Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a request on March 12 to accommodate a 45-unit affordable housing development for downtown. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/royal-oak…

The state House district of Rep. Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township, is in line to get $29.94 million under the proposed Michigan state budget, should all earmarks get approved. The grants for 10 projects in the House district 76 would be used for public safety, infrastructure and education initiatives. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/state-bud…

Though Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized utility regulators March 27 for approving a rate increase for Consumers Energy, she also supports clean energy mandates that some experts say increase the price of electricity. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/nessel-bl…

Though Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized utility regulators March 27 for approving a rate increase for Consumers Energy, she also supports clean energy mandates that some experts say increase the price of electricity. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/nessel-bl…

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer exceeded her executive authority with an April 2 emergency order on gasoline prices, according to an expert on separation of powers in Michigan government. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/whitmers-…

A recent article from a major teachers union used a highly selective reading of spending data to argue for more public money and obscure the relationship between spending and student success. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/mea-makes…

Mississippi’s literacy policies have brought success for students and families in the state, and they provide important lessons for Michigan and the rest of the country, a new study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy finds. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/mississip…

A state representative is seeking $8.8 million in demolition funding from the 2027 state budget for Flint Community Schools. The Flint district received $156 million in COVID relief funds in 2021. michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/flint-sch…