Michigan lawmakers are frustrated after the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected a request for financial aid to fix damages from flooding in the Upper Peninsula between April and May. State Reps. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, and Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River said the flooding caused millions in damages to the UP. The request for a major disaster declaration would have brought public assistance and hazard mitigation to the Upper Peninsula to assist people who were directly impacted by the flooding – whether that be health, home, business, a broken road or more.

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United Auto Worker Union President Shawn Fain gave the Big Three Detroit Automakers a noon deadline on Friday to strike a deal or more workers will walk out of factories. It’s the first UAW strike in history hitting Ford, Stellantis and General Motors simultaneously. But this time, the strikes target specific plants, dubbed the “stand-up strike,” in which they’re striking about 12,700 of their workers.

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 A Michigan lawmaker wants Auditor General Doug Ringler to investigate state prison staffing practices. Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, sent a letter to Ringler requesting a review of staffing shortages and alleged violations of federal and state labor regulations within the Michigan Department of Corrections. The MDOC has more than 13,000-full time positions as of fiscal year 2023. Lightner represents Jackson County, home to several state prisons and a large population of corrections employees.

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Some Republicans and Democrats agree Michigan's Freedom of Information Act should be reformed and will propose legislation later this year. Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Southfield Democrat, called FOIA reform a “good government” issue. A 2015 report gave Michigan an ‘F’ grade for government transparency and accountability.

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over alleged PFAS contamination. The lawsuit claims the airport authority is liable for previous releases of PFAS-containing firefighting material known as aqueous film-forming foams, under Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, as well as for violations of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, PFAS are man-made chemicals often used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1940s, including in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets and some cosmetics.

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When Michigan voters passed Proposal 1 in November 2022, they required the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state and each lawmaker to file an annual financial disclosure report with the Department of State. The report must disclose assets, income sources, liabilities, positions held, gifts received, and more, a House Fiscal analysis says. But the Legislature must enact the provisions. If not enacted by Dec. 31, a Michigan resident could sue the Legislature and the governor in the Michigan Supreme Court to enforce the provisions.

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia by filing an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing Title IX exemptions established by the Trump Administration hurt gay and transgender students. The brief is part of Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education. The case began in response to Trump Administration exemptions to Title IX, Other groups, such as Christian universities, argue the legal exemption is necessary under the First Amendment.

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 A new bill aims to protect public access to government communications under the Freedom of Information Act by preventing the government from speaking in code to thwart records requests. State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, introduced the legislation after a lawsuit claimed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration used encrypted Greek letters to discuss the Benton Harbor water lead crisis to avoid public scrutiny.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed enacting a paid family leave program, a 100% clean energy standard and codifying the Affordable Care Act in her "What's Next" speech that outlined the fall agenda Wednesday. The second-term Democratic governor outlined her priorities as state Democrats control the governor's office, House and Senate in Michigan for the first time in 40 years.

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Michigan will spend $5 million to survey replacing the state’s waning gas tax revenue with a miles-traveled tax as more electric vehicles drive on roads but pay less to fix them relative to gas- and diesel-fueled vehicles. The newly signed $82 billion 2024 budget directs state officials to apply for grant funding “under the national motor vehicle per-mile user fee pilot program” under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Upon awarded grant funding, Michigan must establish a pilot program to determine the feasibility of road usage charges to replace motor fuel taxes for transportation funding.

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