gretchen whitmer

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature’s Republican leaders met Thursday. They are trying to find common ground this week following the governor’s sweeping line-item budget vetoes.

No agreements were reached, but all parties say the fact that the talks are continuing is a good sign. However, there is a growing sense of urgency among the people who run programs that are affected by the budget cuts. Those include local jails, human services, and charter schools.

All state employees are expected to show up for work Tuesday. That’s because Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign budget bills Monday and avert a partial shutdown of state government at midnight.

The Democratic governor pressed the Legislature’s GOP majorities to increase the gas tax and put more money toward roads and schools. Republicans said no and sent her budget bills last week to sign or veto by Monday. The standoff led the Whitmer administration to notify state employees that layoffs could be on the way.

In a turn-around from earlier this week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she’s ready to veto budget bills that don’t raise new money for roads. Republicans in the Legislature have teed up budgets to be adopted and sent to Whitmer’s desk as soon as next week.

That’s after talks between the Democratic governor and GOP leaders broke down this week. The rhetoric tossed between the Democratic governor and Republican leaders has grown increasingly tense.

Whitmer says, “They gotta do what they gotta do. Then I’m gonna do what I gotta do.”

Thousands of Michigan schools are starting a new year under a cloud of uncertainty as they wait for state lawmakers to hammer out the final K-12 education budget. 

School districts have been waiting since the end of June to learn how much state funding they’ll get this year.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says it’s possible to support the Second Amendment and be in favor of gun control, and she wants the state Legislature to act in the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

State health department officials say the state of Michigan should keep a psychiatric center in the Thumb open, but scrap plans for a major expansion.

The Caro Center has been operating for more than a century in Tuscola County. Hundreds of people are employed at the center which provides psychiatric care to dozens of patients in a collection of aging buildings.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’ll take a close look at a proposal that would create a graduated income tax in Michigan.

A graduated income tax would increase the tax burden of wealthier Michiganders. 

The state Legislature won’t hold a session for at least the next two weeks, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer is not happy about it.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed a spending bill worth more than $28 million. The money will be distributed to a variety of areas. That includes funding for implementing parts of the new Lead and Copper Rule for drinking water. The three million dollars for the Lead and Copper Rule will be used for things like water filters and drinking water investigations in homes.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan’s education advocates need to put pressure on state lawmakers. That’s in order to make sure schools are properly funded.

Whitmer joined more than one thousand education advocates that were protesting on the Capitol lawn Tuesday. The state school aid budget is still being worked out by lawmakers in the state Legislature. But protesters at the Capitol want to make sure that the final product has enough money for K-12 schools.

Caro residents tried to make the case to keep their local state psychiatric center open at a town hall meeting Thursday.

Earlier this year, the Whitmer administration halted work on a new $115 million facility in Caro.   

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she's open to renew talks with Enbridge Energy about the future of its oil pipeline through the Mackinac Straits.

Last week, Enbridge – which is a Michigan Radio sponsor – asked the state Court of Claims to consider the legality of agreements it reached with former Governor Rick Snyder to build an oil pipeline tunnel.

Michigan’s attorney general has until June 27 to respond to Enbridge’s lawsuit.

Chanting “Save our school,” Benton Harbor parents, students and elected leaders brought their campaign to keep the city’s high school open to the governor’s office Tuesday.

The state is proposing shutting down Benton Harbor’s high school as part of plan to eliminate the district’s multi-million dollar debt.

Members of the school board for Benton Harbor Area Schools say they plan to submit a plan to Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday to try to save the city’s high school.

The governor’s office says the district is $18.4 million in debt. She says closing the high school will save money and keep the entire district from dissolving. 

Governor Whitmer is expected in Benton Harbor this afternoon for a town hall meeting about the city’s school district. Whitmer’s administration says Benton Harbor High School must shut down to keep the district out of financial insolvency.

Hundreds gathered in the city last night to oppose that plan.

Some drove in from around the state where schools have closed in the past.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gary McDowell, announced on Monday that land enrolled in the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program can be used for commercial solar arrays.

The policy change includes a provision to make sure the land is returned to a state that allows for agriculture production after the panels and other equipment are removed.

Attorney General Dana Nessel is planning to file a brief "advocating for a fundamental right to an adequate education" in support of Detroit students in a lawsuit filed in 2016 against the state of Michigan.

The lawsuit alleges that students in Detroit were denied access to literacy because of the state's negligence of Detroit schools. Nessel’s communications director, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, says Nessel is keeping her options open.

"She's retaining her options but did not choose to continue to have her name affiliated with it," says Rossman-McKinney. "So the attorney general's office itself continues to represent the state, the Michigan Department of Education and a majority of the Board of Education."

The Michigan Legislature is holding a rare Friday session as negotiators make progress on a deal for changes to the state's auto insurance laws.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican legislative leaders have been trying to cut a deal in closed door talks.   

A Republican Senate caucus spokeswoman says progress is “progressing."

A new report says Michigan needs to spend billions of dollars during the next decade to make significant improvements to the state’s county roads and bridges.

The report, entitled the County Road Investment Plan, comes from the County Road Association of Michigan. The association is made up of county road officials who oversee about 75% of Michigan’s roads. 

The state Legislature’s Republican leaders say they will delay sending bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to change Michigan’s auto insurance system.

Republicans were poised to send the bills to Whitmer’s desk despite her vow to veto them, but Republican leaders say they’re still hopeful a deal can be reached that’s acceptable to all sides.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is concerned that escalating tariffs on Chinese goods may end up hurting Michigan’s economy.

Whitmer worries that Michigan’s exporting industries could be affected.

“Our international trade policy needs to be thoughtful… Not capricious and punitive,” says Whitmer. “I’m very concerned about what it’s going to mean for Michiganders and our ability to strengthen our economy.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is defending her decision to line-item veto legislation removing $10 million to compensate people wrongfully convicted. The money is needed to replenish the nearly depleted compensation fund.

The money was in legislation to improve transparency and reporting for the compensation fund.