Mike Shirkey

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Sunday a court opinion that she exceeded her authority with a series of COVID-19 emergency orders will not be the final word on the issue.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s expanded stay-at-home order has passionate supporters and ardent critics.  It’s being challenged in federal court.  And foes of the order are planning a rally today at the state Capitol.  Their plan is to have a caravan of cars and trucks drive around the four blocks that surround the building.  That will allow them to register their objections without violating the order.  We have more from Michigan Public Radio’s Rick Pluta. 

The state Senate leader says he wants to start planning now to allow some businesses to resume operations amid the coronavirus crisis.  Rick Pluta reports.

The Legislature convened Tuesday to adopt a resolution extending Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency authority to address the COVID-19 health crisis.  We have more from Rick Pluta.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she’s ready to go-it-alone to come up with money to pay for road repairs.  That’s if Republicans won’t support her proposal for a fuel tax increase.  That was the message Whitmer delivered in her second State of the State speech last night.  We have more from Rick Pluta.

Trust – or the lack of it – is holding up a deal to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts to rural hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and not-for-profit organizations.  A deal seemed close Thursday, but the state Senate Republican leader says he’s lost faith that Governor Gretchen Whitmer would hold up her end of any bargain.  And so, he wants a new state law to seal the deal.  We have more from Rick Pluta.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to fix the state’s roads in a single budget is getting pushback.  The head of the Republicans in the Senate has his own ideas for how to handle a new roads policy.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to stop using school aid fund dollars for higher education could hit a roadblock.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer set some big goals in her first State of the State Address Tuesday night.  She’s calling for major investments in infrastructure, education, and clean water, among other things.  But Republicans are skeptical about the costs of her ideas.  As Jake Neher reports, the speech represents a bold vision for Michigan that’s already sparking partisan divisions.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plans to restructure the state Department of Environmental Quality could be over.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order to restructure the Department of Environmental Quality could be overturned before any changes are made.

Lawmakers in Lansing are contemplating ways to help furloughed federal employees get by until the government reopens.  There are thousands of federal employees in Michigan that haven’t been paid since December.

The state Department of Civil Rights is now accepting complaints from people who say they’ve faced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.  It’s also getting ready to defend its right to do so.

State lawmakers continued to push work requirements for Medicaid recipients through the Legislature.  The bill was voted out of committee Wednesday, and it passed a full Senate vote the next day.

A state Senate committee debated the merits of making people work for their Medicaid benefits.  The committee passed that bill Wednesday.

The state Legislature began discussions Wednesday on the newest plan to make people work for Medicaid.

Lawmakers will be moving forward on possible changes to Michigan’s energy policy.  

Hearings open this week at the state Capitol on a proposal to lift Michigan's cap on electricity companies competing for customers. A 2008 law says no more than 10 percent of the state's electricity can be directly provided to consumers by an alternative to a region's major utility.