2020 Election

The group petitioning to have abortion rights on the 2022 Midterm ballot says it has submitted 753,759 signatures - the most ever for a Michigan ballot initiative.

The Supreme Court's monumental ruling on abortion has put the spotlight on state governments and the partisan lean they now have following decades of gerrymandering.

Michigan's longest serving U.S. Senator Carl Levin died in July 2021 at the age of 87. He was remembered by many and honored during a memorial celebration on Sunday.

The bill had widescale bipartisan support during its second trip through the Michigan legislature.

"Their alternative is to do nothing," said Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) of the Republicans."Thoughts and prayers are not a substitute for policy."

Term limits in Michigan allow for no more than 14 years in the legislature. Supporters of changing the rule say the length of time in the legislature made law making more difficult.

Mary Cavanagh was stopped by Livonia police after driving on two flat tires with a blood alcohol level of .17 - more than twice the legal limit in Michigan. It was her second instance of drunk driving.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson among only five people to be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

The package of bills is seven years in the making. The mother behind the legislation says it would have protected her son from abuse he suffered at the hands of a convicted abuser.

Mary Cavanagh helped create legislation allowing people to petition a judge to expunge their first-time drunk driving offenses. She will not benefit from that new law, as this is her second drunk driving conviction.

"If you have a complaint against an attorney, you go to the attorney grievance commission, if you have a complaint against a judge - go judicial. If you have a complaint against a legislator where do you go? We have to police ourselves and that gives us that opportunity."

Members of the House Democratic Caucus held a press conference today, calling for the creation of a special committee to investigate the activities of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield.

State Sen. John Bizon was seeking treatment for COVID-19 when he pulled her closer, squeezed her waist with a cupping motion. He later became angry when the nurse wouldn't prescribe a medication he wanted.

"I don’t believe we should be negotiating our national security on the front page of the papers," Dingell said. "Two, when you look at that truck convoy, I had the same reaction everybody did, why aren't we bombing it. But I don’t want boots on the ground in Ukraine and I don’t want a war with Russia."

Months after the state eliminated its tampon tax, lawmakers sought to make raising children more affordable by eliminating the sales tax on diapers.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had already indicated she would veto the bill. However, as the suspended gas tax plan stands, it wouldn't take effect until next year.

The Republican-led Senate approved the vote on a 22-15 party-line vote that would lower the income tax from 4.25% to 3.9%. The Michigan governor has called the cuts unsustainable.

"I do not think the state is being served well by the House of Representatives that is by and large what's a large revolving door today," Duggan said. "We are backing what the people support, and we're reducing the term from 14 years to 12 years."

The bill includes creating a $1 billion school modernization fund and an array of one-time spending plans due to the state's $7 billion balance carried over into the new year.