Legislation

Under state law, school board positions are explicitly nonpartisan. House Bill 4588, introduced by Rep. Jason Woolford, would tweak the law to require candidates for local school boards to declare a party affiliation.

A state senator from Lowell wants Michigan to follow the lead of some other states and require users of certain websites and apps to provide proof they are 18 or older. The proposal, which raises some privacy and free speech concerns for the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation, would also give parents more control over their children’s use of social media.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is moving to roll back rules on greenhouse gases and exempt oil refineries, chemical manufacturers and others from clean air regulations.

The Michigan Supreme Court refuses to bypass a lower court in a suit that pits the Legislature’s Senate Democratic majority leader against the Republican House speaker.

Local government officials are calling for a change in how the state shares sales tax money. Municipal governments are never sure how much statutory sales tax they’ll get, if they get anything at all. Representatives of cities, townships, and counties called for a change and held up 500 letters from their colleagues, urging the passage of legislation that would help make municipal funding be more stable.

The legislation would make it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison to create and share sexual deep fakes without permission.

Taking part in education or work programs could allow Michigan prisoners to reduce their sentences under bills introduced Tuesday in the state Senate.

Michigan lawmakers introduced two bills this week that would strengthen the state's polluter pay laws.

Legislation to support crime victims made it out of the Michigan Senate on Thursday. The package would give crime victims the right to testify remotely and have their faces blurred during court streams.

Federally subsidized crop insurance made record-high payouts last year. While climate change is making farming more risky, the federal program often shields producers at taxpayer expense. Some argue it’s time that the fast-growing program encourages farmers to mitigate their risks.