The final days of the current iteration of the Michigan Legislature are upon us as the Republican majority in the House begins in January. Education and the environment are two of the many topics circulating these legislative sessions. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow sit down with Jane McCurry from Clean Fuels Michigan to discuss biofuels, carbon capture and electric vehicles. Then, they switch gears and chat with Chalkbeat’s Hannah Dellinger about charter schools. Finally, Zach reports live from the Michigan State Capitol where all of these topics come together in this exciting, jam-packed episode.

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In this episode:

• The legislative sessions before the end of lame duck session.
• Electric vehicles and their future in Michigan.
• Democrats want transparency from charter schools

McCurry shared that the among all the bills going through legislative sessions, there are some that are top of mind and show the most potential to pass.

“We know there are various priorities and opportunities in lame duck. The bill that we see the most opportunity for is that sustainability fuel bill,” McCurry said.

Electric vehicles are another topic that has occupied the headlines. McCurry hopes that EVs are included in future vehicle options for Michiganders.  

“I think it’s unfortunate that EVs became a political football, because I really do believe that automotive innovation transcends political boundaries, especially in Michigan,” she said. “There is no EV mandate. Plainfield, Mich. is a strong proponent of vehicle choice, and we want to make sure that consumers have access to all of the fuels, including electrification.”

Charter schools are another topic being discussed during these legislative sessions. Dellinger said that Democrats are not dismissing charter schools, but just want more transparency with how they operate.

“The hearing that they had, they were not arguing about the efficacy of the charter schools or the performance of students at the schools,” she said.

Dellinger added that although the data questions if charter schools are performing at the same level as public schools, those discussions on performance aren’t happening legislatively.  

More from WDET:

• Legislative FOIA bills reach new ground
• MichMash: The environmental dilemma of Michigan’s ‘low carbon fuel standard’ bill
• Electric vehicles, mobility trends shape the future of revamped Detroit Auto Show

Hundreds of schools and day care centers will receive grants for water filters. The filters are to protect children from lead exposure. While lead was banned from use in plumbing in the 1980s, there could be lead in older pipes and fixtures in schools, such as drinking fountains.

The action stems from a law referred to as Filter First.

$50 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act money is being distributed among public and private schools and daycare centers.

“The goal is to make sure that we are protecting the children from the risk of lead exposure in drinking water at schools and childcare centers,” said Holly Gohlke, a school drinking water specialist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

She said drinking fountains are going away.

“They need to be replaced with a filtered bottle-filling drinking station. And many people see those out in the public already. You know, where you just put a bottle to fill there or you can get a drink without a bottle.”

Additionally, all sink faucets will be filtered.

Michigan is still making changes in light of the Flint water crisis, which resulted in elevated blood lead levels in many children across the city. That prompted Michigan’s “strictest-in-the-nation” Lead and Copper Rule which is intended to eliminate lead in public water supplies.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to Michigan’s constitutional ban on direct or indirect public financial support for non-public schools.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation represents five families who argued the 1970 ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. The parents would like to be able to claim a tax break for private school tuition savings accounts.

A central element of the Mackinac Center’s case was an argument that the amendment is rooted in religious bigotry and animus toward Catholics in particular. That is despite the fact that the amendment is silent on religion.

“The time period that it was passed, 1970,  it was written facially neutral, but the way that it was campaigned upon was very anti-Catholic, and so there is this stigma that has remained with and we were hopeful that the court would recognize that stigma,” said Patrick Wright, the foundation’s legal director.

Lower federal courts held the voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution does not violate religious freedom protections. The Supreme Court refused the appeal without comment.

Douglas Pratt with the Michigan Education Association said that was the right call because, otherwise, the door would be opened to indirect diversions of money from public education.

“Michigan’s Constitution is very clear on public money not going to private schools,” he said. “Voters have stood up against efforts to change that over the years. Taxpayer funds should rightly go to our public schools, where the vast majority of our students attend.”