Setting
Energy Rates
House
bills 5476 and 5612
were signed by Governor Snyder Tuesday in an attempt to make energy rates
reflective of the service cost for all customers. HB
5476 will set a timeline with an emphasis on customers being rewarded for
having “smooth” energy use for the Public Service Commission. HB
5612 will provide funding to residential rate advocates.
Unemployment
Rate Rises Slightly In May
The Department of Technology, Management, and
Budget announced that the unemployment rate rose by .1 percent, bringing
unemployment to 7.5 percent, on Wednesday. Unemployment was not the only thing
that rose however as the labor force saw a rise of 3,000, total employment rose
by 1,000 and total unemployment rose by 2,000.
State
Hits More Than 300,000 Enrollees Under Medicaid Expansion
The Healthy Michigan plan, Michigan’s
expanded Medicaid eligibility plan, which launched April 1st, has
over 300,000 enrollees. On Wednesday the Department of Community Health
announced that the program had reached an enrollment of 301,645. The plan
allows for people to enroll if their income is up to 133 percent of the federal
poverty level. Passage of the expansion through the legislature was one of the
toughest fights in 2013.