Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills Monday that will expand unemployment benefits for people who are out of work.

Over three years, the maximum benefit will increase from $362 per-week to $614 weekly. Also, the maximum time period to collect benefits would increase to 26 weeks from 20 weeks.

“With winter just around corner, Michiganders are still juggling high costs and a competitive job market,” Whitmer said in a statement released by her office. “These bills will put money back in people’s pockets so they can keep a roof over their heads, pay the bills, get a good-paying job, and put food on the table.”  

Whitmer said Michigan is one of just a dozen states that offer unemployment benefits that are capped at less than 26 weeks.

Then-Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature rolled back the cap to 20 weeks in 2011, and business groups say this will encourage more people to delay returning to work during a worker shortage. This legislation would not likely have gotten to Whitmer’s desk after this term as Republicans will take control of the House next year.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber cheered the new laws.

“This victory for working people has been over a decade in the making,” he said in a statement released by the governor’s office. “… Finally, Michigan’s unemployment benefits will be restored to full strength after years of lagging behind our midwestern neighbors and practically every other state in the country.”

Business groups that did not support the legislation said they are concerned about the impact of the benefits expansion.

Small Business Association of Michigan President Brian Calley – who was Snyder’s lieutenant governor when the benefits rollback was signed – said an emergency order extending benefits during COVID-19 had the unintended effect of keeping people out of work longer then necessary.

“The extended higher unemployment level made it much more possible for jobs to go unfilled for longer periods of time,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “So, there is some concern, and we will be watching labor force participation very closely.”

Calley said he also would have preferred to see a longer recovery period for the trust fund that finances unemployment benefits. Employers pay into the trust fund. Calley said he also would have liked to see the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency complete a technology upgrade before a decision was made to increase benefits.

The Michigan Senate gaveled out for the year Thursday following a marathon 30-hour session that wrapped up the Legislature’s work for the year — as well as Democrats’ complete control of the state Capitol.

And not without a fight. Republicans complained that Democratic leaders added items to the agenda at the last minute and without the standard practice of holding committee hearings. The GOP lawmakers responded by forcing the Senate to a near-standstill using a rare procedure that required clerks to read bills out loud in their entirety.

GOP lawmakers also complained about a lack of urgency on some business priorities, including making changes to minimum wage and banked paid sick leave initiatives that take effect next year.

The Senate, often on party-line votes, sent dozens of bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. The legislation includes toughening Michigan’s hate crime laws, expanding access to contraceptives, requiring the state to come up with best practices for storing firearms, and requiring police departments to destroy guns that were seized or turned in as part of buyback programs.

Read more: Democrats, Republicans kill lame duck in Michigan House

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton) said the Legislature under Democrats adopted a lot of progressive bills and ignored issues at the expense of businesses and taxpayers.

“So I think there’s a lot of failures that they’re trying to cover up with papier mache and happy talk after they lost the election in November after a bunch of failures over the last year and a half,” Nesbitt told reporters shortly after session ended.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said the dynamic at the Capitol will change next year when Republicans take control of the state House, but she thinks the stage is set for bipartisan cooperation.

“We saw the beginnings of some conversations about road funding, other things,” Brinks said after the session. “We should be able to find things where we can come together, and I am serious when I say I am willing to work with anyone who’s willing to work productively and honestly towards solutions for the big problems that we face.”

So, next year, the Legislature will be divided between a Senate controlled by Democrats and a Republican-led House. Whitmer, a Democrat, still has two more years in office in her second and final term as governor.

Democratic control of the state Capitol for the first time in four decades fizzled to a close Thursday, as House leaders were unable to muster a quorum to conduct business and adjourned until next year — when Republicans will take over the House.

Fifty-four Republicans plus one rogue Democrat, Karen Whitsett of Detroit, brought the House to a standstill.

House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) made a last-ditch attempt to force Republicans and Whitsett to return by issuing a “call of the House,” requiring lawmakers to be in attendance.

“Sergeants, please bring members back to the chamber and bar the doors,” said House Speaker Pro Tempore Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia), who was presiding over the chamber. The order was approved on a voice vote and with no Republicans on hand to object.

But the effort to bring in the recalcitrant Republicans was for naught and Democrats called it quits, ending the Democrats’ two-year reign over the lower chamber.

“The bottom line is this: they refused to do their jobs and stifled the voices of their constituents who elected them to represent them.”

–House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) 

“Everything that was on the agenda today in the House is dead and the 55 members that did not attend should feel free to own that,” said Pohutsky.

Tate, in a statement, said Whitsett and GOP lawmakers let down voters by not showing up.

“The bottom line is this: they refused to do their jobs and stifled the voices of their constituents who elected them to represent them,” he wrote in a message that also named House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp).

The unfinished business includes expanding Michigan’s open records law to include the governor’s office and the Legislature, as well as gun control measures including a ban on bump stocks.

Hall, the Republican leader who will take the speaker’s gavel next year, was unapologetic. He said Republicans walked out over issues that Democrats refused to take up and says those will be at the top of his to-do list in 2025.

“We’re going to try to help our restaurant workers save the restaurant industry,” he said. “We’re going to fight for good sick leave policies that work for people, and we’re going to try to fix the roads.”

Republicans and restaurant industry lobbyists have been fighting to stop a planned minimum wage hike for tipped workers. They claim — without evidence — that 40,000 restaurants would go out of business if workers make $15 an hour.

The Republicans and Whitsett boycotted sessions, saying the Democratic leadership ignored their demands. Republicans have been particularly adamant about preserving the state’s tipped wage to keep it lower than the minimum wage and gutting the new law that guarantees workers banked sick leave.

Whitsett said Democratic leaders had broken promises on taking up legislation.

But Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) said no one had been offered guarantees and, instead, it was Whitsett and Republicans who bargained in bad faith and then refused to show up for work.

“Goal posts kept moving and the conversations fell apart, but we are disappointed and, quite frankly, shocked,” he said.

In an interview with WDET, Aiyash said one of the priorities for Democrats — water affordability legislation — was scuttled not by Whitsett, but another Democratic colleague.

“Representative [Peter] Herzberg from Westland killed our water affordability package, which was a very critical piece of the puzzle to keep Rep. Whitsett engaged in the conversation in order for us to pass legislation,” Aiyash said. “Unfortunately, he (Herzberg) opposed the legislation. Couldn’t really explain why, and we are now here where our agenda was thwarted as a result of inaction by my colleagues.”

Listen: Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash speaks on boycott in Michigan House

Where’s Whitmer?

In past lame duck sessions, governors will work directly with legislative leaders to sort out priorities. This was how Republicans — and then-Gov. Rick Snyder — were able to gut paid sick leave and pass right-to-work legislation.

However, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has largely been absent from the end of the democratic trifecta.

“I have not had any engagement with her since this entire lame duck period,” Aiyash said. When asked by WDET if that was the case for other Democrats, Aiyash wasn’t sure if other legislators had a similar experience.

Curtis Hertel, a Whitmer ally who is running to be the Michigan Democratic Party Chair, sees it differently.

“I think sometimes you have to not do the easy political thing, but you actually have to do the thing that’s hard, which is work in a room, and after trying to solve problems and not air your negotiations in public,” Hertel said. “To me, that actually is how you actually get things done.”

Still, with dozens of bills needing a vote in the House, nothing got done.

The House has one more official day scheduled on Dec. 31, but “sine die” is simply a formality to close the session. The House will reconvene in January with Republicans at the helm, along with the opportunities and headaches that come with it.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ordered criminal election fraud cases to go forward against two men accused of orchestrating misleading political robocalls to Detroit voters.

The charges are related to automated calls during the 2020 election campaign that falsely claimed mail-in ballots would be used to track people with outstanding arrest warrants, for debt collection and to force people to get COVID-19 vaccines.

“Don’t be finessed into giving your private information to ‘the man,’’’ said the message. “Stay safe and beware of vote by mail.”  

The Court of Appeals held in the majority opinion that using fear tactics with made-up consequences to discourage people from voting by mail meets the standard for intimidation.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in June that misinformation on the consequences of voting by mail could amount to voter intimidation and sent the case to the appeals court to determine if these charges met the threshold.

“Voter intimidation infringes upon the fundamental right to vote,” said Nessel in a statement released by her office. “I am grateful the Court of Appeals saw this conduct for what it was — a gross misrepresentation of voting procedures meant to scare voters from participating in our elections. We look forward to continuing with the criminal case and bringing this matter to trial.” 

Nessel charged Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, two far-right operatives who created Project 1599, with voter intimidation and other crimes related to the messages sent to almost 12,000 Detroit voters.

Efforts to reach attorneys for the two men were not successful.

Burkman and Wuhl, who are from Virginia and California, have been found guilty of similar crimes in other states.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a report Monday outlining allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in the Lansing Diocese of the Catholic Church. In some cases, the allegations date back to the 1950s.

There have been three criminal convictions among the 56 clergy named in the Lansing diocese report. But, Nessel said, it is not possible to pursue criminal charges in most cases because clergy suspected of abuse have died, the statute of limitations has expired, or victims don’t want to pursue cases.

But Nessel said it is still important to investigate these allegations and compile the available information as a service to the public and to victims.

“By publishing these reports, we are sharing their stories and validating their experiences,” she said in an online news conference. “We hope this report provides a voice to those who have suffered in silence for so long and shines a light on those alleged offenders whose actions allowed them to evade true accountability.”

The Lansing diocese issued a statement apologizing to victims.

“Having read this long and detailed report, my heart breaks for all those who have suffered due to the evil of clerical sexual abuse which is a great betrayal of Jesus Christ, His Holy Church, the priesthood, and, most gravely, those victims – and their families – who were harmed physically, emotionally, but above all spiritually when they were so young,” said Bishop Earl Boyea. He has led the Lansing diocese since 2008.

But the focus of the statement was that documented instances of abuse peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, noting that more than half of the 152 allegations of abuse from the 1950s to the 2010s happened during those two decades.

The report names 48 priests, three monks from Catholic religious orders, one apparently former religious brother and four deacons, who are laypersons who can perform some of the functions of priests.

The Lansing Diocese includes Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Shiawassee and Washtenaw counties.

Nessel said the diocese cooperated with the inquiry and, in some cases, shared information on misconduct uncovered in its own investigation.

“And we feel like things are going to really change, I hope, moving forward,” she said, “and I think that’s reflected by the significant cooperation that we’ve received, especially from the Lansing Diocese.”

This is the fourth of seven Attorney General reports on clergy sexual misconduct in Michigan’s Catholic dioceses. Previous reports were released on the Marquette, Gaylord and Kalamazoo dioceses. The final report on the Detroit Diocese is expected in 2026.

Inmates could see their time in prison reduced if they earn education credits or complete job training or other approved activities under bills approved by the Michigan Senate. The credits would go toward helping inmates become eligible for parole more quickly.

The bills were adopted with bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition.

Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), a bill sponsor, said the program would help felons prepare for life outside prison and something constructive to occupy their time before that.

“So, allowing folks to be productive in prison and have some sort of benefit from that creates an incentive structure that creates more safety in the prisons and it gets more folks doing the programs that will help them be successful on the outside,” he said.

Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp.), also a sponsor, said the bills would offer hope and encouragement for convicted felons to prepare for life after prison.

“What incentive can we offer someone behind bars that’s stronger than the opportunity to get out from behind those bars?” McBroom asked. “There is no stronger incentive available.”

But Sen. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) said the bills, while well-intended, go too far.

“Supporters may say that this package will help inmates prepare to become functioning members of society by helping them learn key skills,” he said. “I say we have and can continue to do that without provisions that would allow their minimum sentences to be reduced.”

Albert said the state has already dramatically reduced the number of inmates held in prisons, which is saving taxpayers money. Also, he said the bills would be unfair to victims who expect offenders will serve out at least the lower end of their sentences.  

Opponents also say the bills may run afoul of Michigan’s truth-in-sentencing law, which ended good behavior credits that could reduce set mandatory minimum prison time before becoming eligible for parole.

The bills now go to the state House, where they would have to be voted on this week to be adopted before the end of the legislative session.

A state Senate committee adopted legislation Tuesday that would implement new firearm restrictions meant to make it easier to trace homemade guns assembled from kits or 3D-printed parts. The bills would also ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic guns to behave much like automatic weapons, firing multiple rounds with one continuous trigger squeeze.

The bills cleared the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on party-line votes and were sent to the Senate floor.

The homemade or 3D-printed guns that are the subject of the legislation are often called “ghost guns” because they are so difficult to identify and track. The proposed regulations would require gun parts to be printed with serial numbers so they can be tracked if they are recovered after being used in a crime.

“It is simply too easy for criminals and other prohibited people to access ‘ghost guns,’” said Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak). “They turn to these firearms because they know they can’t buy them legally or because they know they intend to use such weapons to commit crimes and they wish for these weapons to be untraced.”

The bills were taken up by the committee less than a week following the shooting death of a health insurance executive on the streets of Manhattan by an assailant who, according to the criminal complaint, used a 3D-printed gun and silencer.

“Ghost guns are crime guns,” said Jessica Ojeda with the Giffords Law Center. “These firearms bypass critical background checks and serialization requirements, giving access to those who should be prohibited from owning a gun, including minors, traffickers, domestic abusers and violent criminals.”

Representatives of gun rights organizations say the requirements of the legislation would be easy to evade and are probably unconstitutional.

Tom Lambert of Michigan Open Carry said the bills would not have stopped the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, which is known for tight gun laws.

“So, are we saying that if that person had to put a serial number on that firearm that none of that would have happened?” said Lambert. “Is that the argument we want to advance here today? Is that really the complete absence of logic that we’re operating under?”

Lambert, an attorney, said he thinks the bills would also be open to constitutional challenges if signed into law. Many of the legislation’s requirements would be phased in over time to avert illegal seizure complaints.

The Legislature is in the final days of the “lame duck” session and no decisions have been made on taking up the bills before its end. Gun restrictions will have a tougher slog in the Legislature next year, when the Michigan House will shift from Democratic control to a Republican majority.

The Michigan Legislature returns Tuesday to the state Capitol with a long shot possibility of adopting a road funding plan on its to-do list.

House Republicans are hoping to compel House Democrats to take up a GOP-backed plan to fund roads with taxes that currently go to other priorities. The House GOP wants to take the sales tax portion of state levies at the pump and move that toward road improvements.

The proposal would raise a lot of money for roads, which has been a hot-button issue even before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer coined “fix the damn roads” eight years ago as her campaign slogan.

But Robert Schneider, a budget expert with the non-partisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said the House GOP plan would, sooner or later come a cost to other spending priorities.

“Three quarters of that goes to Medicaid and human services, higher education, revenue sharing and corrections,” he told Michigan Public Radio, “so a big component of the cuts that will be needed would have to come out of those areas.”  

But Schneider also said the state could be getting more from the money it is already spending on roads. A July 2024 report from his group ranked Michigan 30th in the nation in what it spends on roads but 40th in the quality of pavement.

“Other states that have similar revenue problems seem to do better in terms of getting results from their road work than we do, so it suggests there are some other things that we may be needing to reform in terms of the way that we deal with the roads,” he said.

Whitmer’s initial proposal to increase the fuel tax tanked in the Legislature during her first term. Lawmakers in 2020 approved a bonding proposal. But there is still no long-term plan for funding road projects.

In the final weeks of the session and about to lose their House majority, Democrats have introduced legislation proposing a variety of options, including raising the state gas tax to 49 cents per gallon, adding toll roads and increasing vehicle fees. All are considered long shots in the closing days of the session.

Four state universities do not owe students refunds for tuition, room and board and other costs after cancelling in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s under decisions released Thursday by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

The issues in these cases date back to 2020 and the peak of the pandemic. Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University and Ferris State University closed their campuses to in-person learning and activities and moved classes online. In some cases, students were allowed to remain in dormitories while taking classes remotely.

The families in these cases claim the schools didn’t hold up their end of the bargain and demanded full or partial refunds. The schools argued they did the best they could to provide educational and other services and lived up to their agreements with students.

The decisions in all four cases were unanimous and very similar in their reasoning. Appeals Judge Stephen Borrello wrote in the MSU decision that the school did the best it could under difficult circumstances.

“It is undeniable that courses were initially offered as in-person classes and that on-campus events were canceled due to an unexpected global crisis, the pandemic,” he wrote. “Despite the pandemic, MSU successfully maintained the core of its educational mission—providing instruction and various services for students— throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, there was never an agreement stipulating that education and services had to be delivered in a specific format. Therefore, it is wholly fair and just for MSU to retain the tuition and fees it collected.”

The court dismissed most of the claims in the Western Michigan University case, but did return it to the Michigan Court of Claims to determine whether the plaintiffs have any grounds to argue there was a breach of contract.  

The families could take their cases now to the Michigan Supreme Court. But the state’s highest court has already refused similar cases and these decisions could very well be the final word.

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case filed against the state by an immigrant rights organization that claims its resources are being drained for representing undocumented workers who were denied benefits for on-the-job injuries.

The case is not about the substance of the argument over the benefits, but whether the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center’s (MIRC) case should be thrown out for missing a deadline to file.

The state argues MIRC failed to follow a rule that required it to file its lawsuit within a year of learning about the problem. MIRC said the state is leaning too heavily on a technicality to avoid legal culpability for denying benefits to workers based on their immigration status.

MIRC’s argument is that the clock started running every time a worker was wrongly denied benefits for on-the-job injuries. Attorney John Philo, who represents MIRC, said the court should not allow a time limit on stopping state officials from violating the law.

“There’s no way we can say the state is free to commit unconstitutional acts or continue to implement unconstitutional policies in perpetuity in the future with no ability of citizens who are impacted to remedy that,” he said.

Spokespersons for Whitmer and the Michigan Attorney General’s office did not respond to a request for comment. But the state has argued in court that it has complied with state and federal laws.

Philo said the case will affect the work of other civil rights organizations that file legal actions.

“This will impact organizations’ broadly in their ability to protect the constitutional rights of clients or members,” he said.

The Michigan Supreme Court has not set a hearing date.

The open carry of guns in and near polling places and absentee ballot counting boards will be outlawed under bills signed Tuesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“Today, I am proud to sign commonsense legislation that protects voters and election workers and cuts red tape for local small businesses,” said Whitmer in a statement released by her office. “Together, we are creating a safe environment for voters to make their voices heard.

There are exceptions in the new law for law enforcement officers and people with concealed carry permits. But otherwise, guns will be forbidden within 100 feet of entrances to voting locations as well as inside polling places. That will also apply to early voting locations and ballot drop boxes during the 40-day period before an election. It will also apply to the period of time when people can drop off absentee ballots at clerks’ offices.

The final versions of the bills were adopted by the state House last month on party-line votes and sent to Whitmer’s desk.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson tried to enact a ban on guns at polling places via a 2020 directive, but it was struck down in court as outside her authority. The decision said that power rests with the Legislature.

Gun rights groups opposed the legislation and it is possible they might try to challenge the new law prior to next year’s elections.

The mother of the Oxford High School shooter is asking a judge to dismiss her felony convictions because the prosecutor withheld cooperation agreements with two school officials who testified.

Jennifer Crumbley, along with her husband James Crumbley, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, for providing the weapon used by their son in the mass shooting that left four students dead and six other students and a teacher injured.

But, attorney Michael Dezsi, in a motion filed Monday with the Oakland County Circuit Court, accused the prosecution of skirting the rules and ignoring tenets of criminal law.

“For as much talk as there has been about the charges in this case being unprecedented and the first of its kind in the country, this should come as no surprise given there is no legal basis to charge, convict, or sentence Mrs. Crumbley for the intentional crimes committed by her son,” he wrote. “This was a sham prosecution grounded in prosecutorial overreach.”

The filing makes a number of claims that Dezsi said denied his client a fair trial and justifies dismissing the convictions. At a minimum, he said, Crumbley deserves a new trial. It is expected James Crumbley’s legal counsel will file a similar request.                 A central argument is that prosecutors did not share cooperation agreements made with key witnesses against Crumbley.

Dezsi said the agreements were an incentive for school officials with an understanding that their cooperation could affect charging decisions.

“So clearly, those witnesses had a motive and a bias to testify in a way to shift responsibility away from the school and away from what they failed to do and to put that blame on the parents and onto Mrs. Crumbley, in particular,” he told Michigan Public Radio.

He said knowledge of those agreements with the school employees might have made a difference in the trial. But, Dezsi also said, the involuntary manslaughter charges should never have been filed in the first place after the shooter pleaded guilty to the murders as an adult. He said that should have absolved his client of criminal culpability.

“The prosecutor charged the shooter as an adult, sought to hold him accountable as an adult, and ultimately he was held accountable as an adult,” said Dezsi. “He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.”

Chief Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor David Williams said that makes no difference.

“James and Jennifer Crumbley shouldn’t get off the hook because their son committed the worst crime possible,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “I’d argue that where their son committed an adult crime like a murder, that actually weighs more in favor of holding them accountable, not less. More than one person can be responsible for a crime.”

Williams said Crumbley’s defense counsel was not entitled to know about the agreements because school officials were never promised anything in exchange for their testimony. He said there was never any promise of immunity from prosecution.

The agreement is called a proffer and, more casually in legal jargon, a “queen for a day” deal. It typically promises that statements in court won’t be directly used against a witness. But it does not stop prosecutors from using the statements as the basis for follow-up investigations that could result in criminal charges.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing ahead with criminal cases against Republicans accused of falsely presenting themselves as presidential electors in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The allegations say it was part of a scheme to try to switch Michigan’s 16 electoral votes to Donald Trump even though Joe Biden won the state. The charges allege the false electors sent forged certificates to state and federal authorities.

“The fraudulent certificate of votes was falsely made, forged or counterfeit. First, it was not, as it purported to be, the certificate of electoral votes for Michigan,” says the state’s argument. “The Republican elector nominees for 2020 were not (and never became) the 2020 presidential electors for Michigan.”

The state’s filings, urging a judge to move the cases to trial, take aim at the argument that the false electors were only standing by in case the results of the 2020 presidential election were thrown out by courts. By the time the Michigan’s electors convened at the state Capitol on December 14 that year, there were no legal challenges pending. The filing also relies heavily on recordings and messages shared between the false electors.

The false Trump electors showed up at the state Capitol, where they were turned away. The group also sent signed-but-invalid elector certificates to state and federal officials, which was the basis for the forgery charges.

Messages left with some electors or their attorneys and the Michigan Republican Party were not returned.

This round of motions was filed in the first six cases against a total of 13 defendants, but an Attorney General’s office spokesperson said similar requests should be filed in all the cases before the end of the year. The defendants will also be allowed to file responses to argue why the judge should dismiss the charges.

False electors in other states are also charged with similar crimes. Trump won Michigan in this year’s election. A federal judge has dismissed charges against Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 election because it would be unconstitutional to prosecute a sitting president.

A respected University of Michigan economic think tank has bumped up its projections for wages and salaries in Michigan this year.

Wage growth was slightly higher than expected in the first part of the year, and the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE) expects that trend continued since its September forecast. Therefore, its experts revised upward their prediction for the balance of the year.

“When we were looking at the data previously, we were saying there’s very little growth happening in people’s living standards since the pandemic,” said RSQE Director Gabriel Ehrlich. “Now we are seeing some growth and I think that’s an important point to make.”

The RSQE November forecast rolled out this week anticipates per capita income in Michigan will be $64,000 this year. That’s a $2,500 improvement over its September forecast.

“In most cases, it’s not enough to transform somebody’s life,” said Michigan State University economics professor emeritus Charles Ballard, who was not involved in coming up with the projection. “It’s not going to mean that you’re going to be able to buy a Cadillac, so, it’s an incremental, it’s a small movement in the right direction.”    

But that income growth may be at the expense of job growth, said Ballard.

“It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “Good news – the income numbers have been revised upward, so we’re a little bit more affluent than we thought we were. Not-so-good news – employment growth has slowed to essentially nothing.”

Ehrlich said RSQE’s projections – which are based on federal jobs data — are that wage growth will continue into 2025 but at a slower pace.

Ehrlich said a wild card is how new policies that might be adopted after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January will affect jobs and income.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is asking a judge to refuse the Oxford High School shooter’s request to withdraw his guilty pleas to murder and other charges.

In filings with the court, the prosecution argues the shooter was fully aware of the consequences of his pleas, which resulted in a sentence of life with no possibility of parole.

Prosecutors argue the teenager acknowledged the shootings were premeditated, willful and deliberate and the sentences fit the crimes.

Related: State and county officials not on same page as Oxford shooting victims look for answers

“There was no defect in the plea-taking process; thus, defendant cannot withdraw his plea,” said the prosecution. “Further, defendant testified under oath that he intended to kill; that he acted knowingly; and that his murders were done with premeditation, were willful, and were deliberate…”

Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time of the shootings, pleaded guilty two years ago to murdering four students and injuring seven other people. His defense attorneys argue life without parole is too harsh a sentence, citing a troubled home life and the possibility that fetal alcohol syndrome could be a mitigating factor.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe is now considering the request. There is no specific timeline for a ruling.

The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear a case filed by a business group that wants the state to compensate its members for losses due to state-ordered COVID-19 restrictions early in the pandemic.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves in place a lower court decision that the Macomb County Restaurant, Bar and Banquet Association, unlike its members, was not directly affected by COVID orders and, therefore, does not have standing to sue.

The order from the Michigan Supreme Court was unsigned, but Republican-nominated Justice David Viviano wrote a dissent. He said the question of “associational standing” in the case is worth considering. He also wrote a decision from the court could provide guidance on the limits of state powers in future health emergencies.

Viviano wrote there could be some situations where an association can represent members’ interests without requiring individual businesses to file lawsuits.

“Plaintiff has made a persuasive argument that its interest as an association is sufficient for that purpose,” he wrote. “This is a jurisprudentially significant issue that I believe warrants our careful consideration.”

It is more typical for individual plaintiffs to file lawsuits while organizations representing specific interests can file “amicus” briefs with a court.

Sam Backos is a restaurant owner and a board member of the Macomb County Restaurant, Bar and Banquet Association. He told the Michigan Public Radio Network that a legal technicality should not keep the case from being heard.

“We look at it as, what’s the difference?” he said. “We’re filing a collective argument here to seek some relief. Nobody is discussing the merits of our case. They’re saying, no, you don’t have standing, which we disagree with.”

The Supreme Court order effectively upholds a Michigan Court of Appeals decision from October of 2022, which held a lower court “correctly concluded that plaintiff was not the real party in interest and was not the proper party to bring monetary claims on behalf of its members. Plaintiff made no assertion that the executive orders restricting the food-service industry affected the legal rights of plaintiff itself. That is, it failed to identify any actual controversy between itself and defendants.”

Backos said the Michigan Supreme Court order may have wrapped up the case in state courts, but is not the final word. He said his organization plans to take the case next to the U.S. Supreme and will file early next year.

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on a challenge by a chemical manufacturer to the state’s drinking water rules for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.

PFAS are a family of chemicals used in products including clothing, cookware and firefighting foam. PFAS, which are linked to a number of health conditions, are very slow to break down and are often called “forever chemicals.”

The manufacturing company 3M argues the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy did not follow the required process for promulgating rules to deal with PFAS in drinking water. 

3M says the state failed to provide an estimated cost of complying with the regulations for cleaning up groundwater.

The state says 3M is arguing for a needlessly expansive interpretation of the rules. The state is hoping the justices will reverse lower courts when they issue a decision.

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) will step aside as the Democratic leader as Republicans take control of the chamber next year. 

Tate, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer led a Democratic trifecta as their party held all three offices during a consequential session that included strengthening abortion rights and restoring unions’ bargaining power by repealing Michigan’s right-to-work law.

“Come January, we will look for every opportunity to work with our Republican colleagues in a bipartisan manner to put the people of Michigan first,” Tate said in a statement released Wednesday. “We will fulfill our duty as the voice of reason and do our best to make our mark on legislation that moves through the state legislature.”

Tate, who was easily reelected, will continue to represent his Detroit House district.

Representatives Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) quickly announced they will run for the position of House minority leader. Others could still join the race. The decision will be made in a closed-door meeting of members of the House Democratic caucus in the new term.

The current Republican leader, Representative Matt Hall (R-Richland Township), is widely considered the frontrunner to be the next House speaker. But he could face a challenge by Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare) or other Republicans interested in leading the House under a GOP majority.

With so many closely contested races in Michigan, authorities are on the lookout for efforts to meddle with elections or harass election workers.

A new state law creates new penalties for election interference. That includes threats to election workers, disrupting polling places and attempting to interfere with absentee vote counting boards, which happened four years ago in Detroit.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday that state and local law enforcement agencies are ready.

“We’ve done tabletop exercises for a while and I feel confident that we are prepared, and I remain hopeful that all of this preparation is not necessary, but should it be, we will be on top of it,” she told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “We, of course, are living in unique times and that’s why we have done a lot of work with the Secretary of State’s office and the Attorney General’s office as well as local clerks’ offices to make sure that there are severe penalties for people that mess around, that there’s accountability for those who want to undermine the election.”

The U.S. Department of Justice also announced that it will have election monitors in 27 states, including Michigan. The cities include Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Ann Arbor, Warren and Hamtramck where officials will be on the lookout for voting rights violations. The DOJ has done this sort of monitoring in previous election years.

A pro-Trump Michigan attorney faces a criminal trial starting next month for allegedly tampering with voting machines following the 2020 presidential. Another new law in this election cycle also clarifies that local canvassing boards are required to certify election results based on the numbers provided by local clerks.