Local Leaders Support Road Commissions
According to a poll
conducted by the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy,
65 percent of local leaders believe the county road commission did high quality
work, while 67 percent were satisfied by the county road operation. A small
minority of those surveyed wanted to see the work of county road commissions
absorbed by county commissions, something being considered by the legislature.
No-Reason Absentee Bill Introduced
Representative Lisa
Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) introduced legislation to allow for no-reason absentee
ballot voting, on Tuesday. House
Bill 4724 would ensure that absentee ballots could be acquired at the
clerk’s office under the same requirements as when voting on Election Day.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is a strong supporter of the legislation and
testified before the House Elections Committee regarding the bill.
Unemployment Rate Rises in May
Michigan’s seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate increased for the first time in 20 months as more
Michiganders entered the workforce. According to the Department of Technology, Management
and Budget the unemployment rate increased from 5.4 percent to 5.5 percent in
the month of May. 4,000 more people began employment in May bringing the total
number of employed citizens to 4.487 million; however, the number of unemployed
people increased by 7,000 bringing that total up to 264,000.
Revenues Increase 1.9% Since Last May
The state saw an
increase in revenue by $1.5 billion, as increases in the use tax and sales tax
revenue made up for the loss in sales tax revenue. The state has now collected
over $11 billion in School Aid Fund and General Fund revenues since the
beginning of this fiscal year, a 2.7 percent increase in comparison to the
amount raised last year. The revenue collected in May was up 1.9 percent when
compared to May of last year. The state’s insurance tax revenue saw the largest
increase by percentage, as it was up 280 percent, while the sales tax revenue
saw a 4 percent decrease.
Term Limit Changes Introduced
Representative Ed
McBroom (R-Vulcan) introduced three House Joint Resolutions (HJR), which would
alter the current term limit system, Thursday. The resolutions would allow legislators
to serve for a total of 16 years between the House of Representatives and the
Senate. HJR
V, HJR
W, and HJR
X would not only implement the term limit changes, but also would repeal
current term limits and allow legislators to serve terms in non-concurrent
fashion. All of the resolutions were referred to the House Elections Committee.