Aric Nesbitt

A Michigan proposal detailed Monday, February 6, would provide one-time $180 checks to residents, cut taxes on pensions, and increase tax breaks for low-and moderate-income earners.Michigan Democrats are celebrating the plan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer says her inflation relief checks are the best way to help residents right away.

A bill sent to the Michigan Senate Wednesday, January 25, would phase out taxes on public pension benefits and provide certain deductions for private retirees.The plan gives pensioners the choice to opt into a tax structure that existed before the system changed in 2011.

Michigan’s Senate approved around $220-million in spending Wednesday, January 18, in the first bills passed this legislative session.Similar legislation came up last month. But lawmakers adjourned for the session without getting it across the finish line. That left budgets including human services and environmental protection unfinished.

The Michigan Senate is preparing to welcome its first woman as majority leader in state history.Democratic Senator Winnie Brinks emerged out of her party’s caucus room Thursday morning ready to take over the reins of the chamber next year.Brinks says Democrats have a lot of “pent up policy” after being in the minority for nearly four decades.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s third State of the State address takes place Wednesday. In it, she's expected to outline her agenda for the coming year,…