Posted by: jgomori Posted date: September 2, 2021

The 2020 census was finally released this month and shows Michigan’s population has grown by two percent in the last decade, but not enough to prevent the loss of a U.S. Congressional seat, dropping the number of seats from 14 to 13; A newly created Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission has begun the work of drawing electoral boundaries for the U.S. House, State Senate, and State House districts; The State Legislature will return to Lansing after the holiday to complete their work on the state budget. For now, the agreement does not include the estimated $10 billion in federal emergency aid or any unexpected tax revenue coming to Michigan; The State Budget Director sent out a letter last week to State Department Directors urging them to begin contingency planning for a state government shutdown in the event the state does not have a signed budget by Sept. 30, 2021; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer outlined a proposal to spend $2.1 billion of federal COVID aid money to support more small businesses, fund education/job training, and build 2,000 new housing units; The Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld that the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services does have the authority to issue mask mandates to control the COVID-19 pandemic; The House Workforce, Trades, & Talent committee returned to Lansing during the summer break to debate House Bill 4471, which would prohibit employers from terminating an employee who refuses to get vaccinated or wear a mask. The bill would create the Informed Consent in the Workplace Act to prohibit discrimination against an employee or volunteer who declines or has yet to receive certain vaccinations, including COVID-19. An employer also could not require the employee/volunteer to wear a mask in the workplace or disclose that the employee/volunteer has declined or not received a vaccination; Under legislation introduced this month by Representative Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), a state, county, or city could install cameras along streets and intersections to crack down on speeding motorists. House Bill 5284 was introduced to crack down on drag racing down major streets and prevent speeding in residential neighborhoods and provide another avenue for overworked and understaffed law enforcement agencies.

For more on the latest legislative news, please click on the August 2021 Karoub Report below.

 August 2021 Karoub Report