Michigan in Focus

 The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell, a lawyer aligned with former President Donald Trump who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan. The nation’s top court included no comment with the Tuesday rejection. In 2021, a court levied $175,000 of sanctions against Powell and attorney Lin Wood for submitting court documents based on “theories, conjecture, and speculation..." U.S. District Judge Linda Parker of Michigan's Eastern District Parker wrote.

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Detroit placed the U.S. on wheels but if Motor City wants to go electric it faces fierce global competition. Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD outsold Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023. The foreign automaker said it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles in 2023 compared to Tesla’s 1.8 million. The Wall Street Journal reported BYD wants to build a factory in Mexico to avoid high tariffs and gain a foothold near the United States market. If successful, BYD would likely provide a much cheaper EV than domestic-made ones costing around $65,000.

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the proposed 2025 budget wouldn't raise taxes but it would dump a 1,200% increase in trash fees onto local taxpayers. The budget aims to raise the landfill tipping fee rate for state landfills from 36 cents to $5 per ton – a 1,288% increase. Whitmer posted on social media: “Have you heard? Our new balanced budget does a whole lot. But it doesn't raise taxes.”

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House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, stripped Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, of his committee and office allocation for a social media post. The post claimed that an orchestrated effort called “the great replacement theory” aims to replace White people with people of color through mass illegal immigration. Tate’s spokesperson Amber McCann said Schriver's staff will be reassigned and the $132,000 office allotment will be withheld from Schriver. 

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 A Southfield-based electric vehicle project will receive $60 million of federal funding for battery research seeking wide-scale EV adoption. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC, a collaboration between General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., and Stellantis N.V., will focus on boosting the performance and manufacturing capabilities of batteries. The funding aims to extend the range of EVs – a barrier to adoption along with a sparse charging network and expensive upfront cost, opponents say.

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 House Republican Leader Matt Hall called on Democrat House Speaker Joe Tate of Detroit to “address major issues” including criminalizing fertility fraud. The Richland Township lawmaker called for “balanced committees” to vet bills and claimed the speaker reneged on promised actions on five bills in October. Hall claimed Democrats “rejected” collaboration proposals after adjourning in November.

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The Michigan Court of Appeals will decide the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s lawsuit challenging an income tax rate increase by March 11. Any appeal to that decision would be due to the Michigan Supreme Court by March 25. The lawsuit challenges the Michigan Department of Treasury’s decision to raise the personal income tax rate back to 4.25% in 2024. The rate was lowered to 4.05% last year triggered by a 2015 law.

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A letter urges an investigation into suppliers of a Ford electric vehicle plant in Marshall, Michigan. Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, signed the letter. Lawmakers urge an investigation into four companies allegedly supplying goods and services to the People’s Liberation Army, the government of North Korea, China’s Ministry of Public Security, companies engaged in the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and companies already on the Commerce Entity List.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer targeted lowering household costs for Michiganders in her sixth State of The State address. Whitmer called on lawmakers to offer free preschool for all 4-year-olds, two years of free community college for all high school graduates and an Innovation Fund to subsidize Michigan companies. “Every single Michigander can count on a free public education from pre-K through community college,” Whitmer said. “Let’s get it done.”

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Michigan’s Growing Together Council was funded partly by private groups – a detail omitted in the final report which one lawmaker called an “abuse of the public trust.” State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, told The Center Square in an email Republican concerns continue to grow. “The governor chose to keep over $900,000 in non-profit payments hidden even after strong-arming $2 million in taxpayer funding through the Legislature,” Roth said. “This abuse of the public trust is yet another example of negligence from a governor that has shown no willingness to operate out in the open. Republicans had concerns about the council’s report before, and this lack of transparency is the final nail in the coffin.”

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