Gongwer News Service Michigan

06/01/2026

Some conference attendees walked away from the feeling like they achieved the common ground the Detroit Regional Chamber set out to find last week. Gongwer News Service asked a handful of legislators what policy conversations or legislation they’re taking back to Lansing to work on.

05/27/2026

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz is leaving his position at the university and expected to be hired as the president of Clemson University in South Carolina, sources told Gongwer News Service this morning.

The Clemson Board of Trustees is meeting at 10 a.m. and has the selection of its 16th president on its agenda. Guskiewicz joined MSU in March 2024.

Guskiewicz’s exit comes a week after the MSU Board of Trustees approved an almost $1 million increase to his base salary.

https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/breaking-news/guskiewicz-leaving-msu-clemson

05/21/2026

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is ending his independent bid for governor in a shocking announcement that completely recasts the race to become Michigan’s 50th governor.

Sources, speaking on background, said those inside the Duggan camp are reaching out to allies to confirm he is dropping out of the race. Polling recently suggested Duggan was failing to catch on, or even seeing a dip in support, and sources said Duggan had concluded the Democratic momentum is too strong and that he no longer saw a path to victory.

https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/breaking-news/duggan-in-stunner-to-end-bid-for-governor

03/24/2026

GRAND RAPIDS – A proposal from House Speaker Matt Hall to cut property taxes by nearly $5 billion is impossible to analyze without more detail, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday.

The proposal from Hall, R-Richland Township, would create property tax cuts equating to almost $5 billion, eliminating the state education tax, personal property tax, the real estate transfer tax and the pop-up tax when a home is sold. Hall proposes replacing most of that by applying the sales tax to services, though he has yet to detail the exact services that would be covered to recoup most of the revenue.

Hall also has said his plan will require utilities to cut their rates.

Whitmer previously has said she is open to discussions on property tax relief when it comes to Hall’s proposal. Monday, she sounded less optimistic when asked about the speaker’s proposal.

https://bit.ly/4c2R7AV

03/20/2026

The Air Force is under pressure to get fighter jets to Michigan by the end of 2028, Major General Paul Rogers a House panel on Thursday, but the state needs to help.

Rogers presented the executive budget recommendation for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs before the House Appropriations Military and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Thursday, but he also spent time giving an update on the Selfridge Air National Guard base.

In the next five years, there is $800 million in federal funds scheduled to come into Selfridge, Rogers said. That money will be used to build new hangars for the fighter jets, new hangars for the refuelers and different aircraft, a simulation center for training and an operation center.

“We’re having ongoing discussions with our federal legislators to get (the funding) into the right year,” he said.

https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/politics/selfridge-air-base-construction-timeline

02/24/2026

The state’s bottle deposit law should be retired, a business group said on Monday, calling on the governor to float the idea of repealing the state’s decades-old law and to move toward other methods of recycling during her final State of the State address.

On Monday, the Midwest Independent Retailers Association put out a release urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to move the state away from the bottle deposit law, which it said is outdated and expensive.

“We commend Governor Whitmer for her broader efforts to improve Michigan’s recycling rate and invest in a modern recycling infrastructure,” MIRA CEO Bill Wild said in a statement. “The governor’s final State of the State address is a great opportunity to start the transition away from this outdated law and move more quickly toward a modern curbside recycling system, something MIRA will fight for in 2026.”

https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/environment/retire-bottle-deposit-law

02/15/2026

In a year without much legislation, social media dominated Michigan politics, with the real action often taking place on X, BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. For a most unusual year, Gongwer News Service has a most unusual selection as Newsmaker 2025: the chronically online politician.

https://bit.ly/463MPWS

01/29/2026

Individuals who end up with medical debt aren’t in debt by choice and should be offered some protection from aggressive debt collection efforts and being saddled with high interest rates on their debt, senators were told on Wednesday.

The Senate Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee took up a pair of bills for testimony that would prevent large health care providers or medical debt collectors from charging a patient interest or a late fee on medical debt for at least 90 days after the due date of the final medical debt invoice.

Several other provisions were contained within SB 701 and SB 702, which had bipartisan sponsorship as well as support from multiple organizations who offered testimony.

Senate committee reviews bills to shield individuals from aggressive medical debt collection and high interest rates.

01/07/2026

BREAKING: AG Dana Nessel released a formal opinion declaring the unilateral disapproval mechanism used by the House Appropriations Committee to cut $645 million in work projects in December is unconstitutional.

Following a request from Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, to review the move through the Management and Budget Act, Nessel said in her formal opinion that the mechanism violates the Separation of Powers and Bicameralism and Presentment requirements in the Michigan Constitution.

She said the law “impermissibly” allows a legislative committee to control the executive’s implementation of already enacted laws.

Attorney General Dana Nessel released a formal opinion declaring the unilateral disapproval mechanism used by the House Appropriations Committee to cut $645 million in work projects in December is unconstitutional. Following a request from Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, to review the move through th...

12/31/2025

It was a newsy year.

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