LANSING, Mich. — The head of Michigan's corrections officers union says state officials plan to reopen the Muskegon Correctional Facility this fall while turning the Ryan Correctional Facility into housing for parole violators. Michigan Corrections Organization executive director Mel Grieshaber told The Associated Press of the changes Thursday. Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan didn't immediately return a call Thursday requesting confirmation. But he did tell Gongwer News Service that Grieshaber was correct. The changes mean more than 1,000 inmates will have to move to other prisons. Grieshaber says the state closed the Mounds Correctional Facility in Detroit early this year, so fewer inmates are being housed in the city. He says that will make family visits difficult. The Tuscola Re-Entry Facility in Caro also will close ... Continue reading →
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican legislative leaders worked out a budget agreement Wednesday that would allow for a small cut in individual income taxes, twice as much money for film credits, a slight increase in education funding and a down payment on school employees' health care costs in retirement.The tax cut would amount to $90 million, but most people might not notice it since wealthier taxpayers may save only around $100 and low-income families may save only $10. The state expects to receive nearly $7 billion in income tax revenue this fiscal year and nearly $8 billion next year.Officials said they hoped to approve the budget by June 1.The cut was proposed by GOP House Speaker Jase Bolger, who said a ... Continue reading →
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — New teachers in Michigan would continue to get hybrid pensions and the state would use more money from the school aid fund to pay down future school employee retirement costs under changes made Monday to a school employee benefits bill. The Republican-led state Senate passed a bill last week requiring all teachers hired after July 1 to be in a defined contribution system giving them money toward a 401(k)-style system but no defined benefit pension. The nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency estimated it would cost the state $1.4 billion over six years to make the switch. On Monday, the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee introduced a substitute to Senate Bill 1040 that would keep new teachers in a hybrid system that's part defined ... Continue reading →
LANSING, Mich.—A visit by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and a video speech by presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, are aimed at building excitement among 2,500 Michigan Republicans gathering in Detroit for this weekend's state convention.Party activists will gather Friday night and Saturday at Cobo Center to choose delegates and alternates to the Aug. 25-30 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla. Not all of the delegates will have voting rights since Michigan Republicans have been stripped of half their votes because they held their presidential primary before March 6.Romney won 16 delegates in the Feb. 28 contest, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won 14. Santorum has since dropped out, and those spots will go to uncommitted delegates who don't have to vote ... Continue reading →
