As the July 1 deadline approaches, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled and passed a budget for K-12 schools. In this week’s episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what’s inside the proposal and the next steps.

Plus, former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian Calley, joins the show to talk about the state of small businesses in Michigan and the insurance cost crisis.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• How are insurance costs affecting small businesses?
• What’s in the K-12 budget that Michigan House Republicans just passed?
• What direction is the Michigan Small Business Association leaning during this major election year?

Calley said the cost of healthcare has been taking a major toll on small business owners.

“Four out of five of business owners tell us it’s getting in the way of expanding the business. Three out of four said it’s an impediment to hiring,” he said. “As you look at the overall economic performance of the state, there are subtle changes that could be damaging over time”.

He said the increased cost is coming from health systems and pharmaceuticals.

Hear the full episode on all major podcast platforms.

So-called “ghost guns” could become illegal in Michigan under new bills in the state House.

Those are firearms often 3D printed or assembled in kits that don’t have serial numbers, making them very hard for law enforcement to track.

One bill in the package would require owners of existing ghost guns to get them serialized within 18 months. Anyone who builds a firearm, unfinished frame, or receiver at home would have 10 days after finishing their project to get it serialized.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Morgan Foreman (D-Pittsfield Twp) said it’s a public safety issue more than it is a Second Amendment issue.

“No one needs an untraceable ghost gun. These weapons are designed to avoid detection, responsibility, and justice. These are tools for people who intend to do harm and get away with it,” Foreman said during a press conference Wednesday.

But critics of the bills say they don’t believe there’s a need for them.

Representative Phil Green (R-Millington) chairs the Michigan legislative Second Amendment Caucus. Green said it’d be better to have tougher enforcement of existing laws.

“We’re dealing with situations where we’re outlawing basically possession of something and then if they do something wrong, now there’s three or more crimes that you’ve committed. How about we just deal with what you did wrong?” Green said.

Under the legislation, building, selling, or having a firearm, frame, or receiver without a serial number would become a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Democrats introduced similar bills last term when their party controlled the entire legislative process but failed to pass. The bills are likely to have a tougher time now that Republicans run the House again.

Similar legislation in the Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate, however, is scheduled for a committee hearing in that chamber Thursday at noon.

A Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House is introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

The articles accuse Benson, a Democrat, of exceeding her authority, failing to secure elections, and not being transparent.

State Representative Jim DeSana (R-Carleton) said the effort is about holding Benson accountable.

“Her job is to run the Secretary of State’s office and to run elections. We make the law that determine[s] what is the authority over the election. She cannot make that law,” DeSana said during a press conference Tuesday morning.

DeSana laid out several complaints against Benson, including a decision to talk to reporters inside the lobby of a state office building while announcing her gubernatorial campaign. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office found that was likely a campaign finance law violation but said she didn’t have the authority to pursue the matter any further.

Benson had said it wasn’t an improper use of state resources since she said other candidates were welcome to use the lobby as well.

The impeachment resolution also makes multiple references to Benson’s handling of the 2020 presidential election. Dozens of audits since have confirmed President Donald Trump’s loss to former President Joe Biden.

In a written statement, Benson derided the impeachment threat.

“I believe in oversight and I believe in transparency. This isn’t it.

“This is Republican lawmakers abusing their authority to access sensitive election information that would allow them — or any conspiracy theorists they share it with – to tamper with election equipment, interfere with the chain of custody of ballots, or impersonate a clerk on Election Day.

“I continue to call on Speaker Hall and his caucus to work with us and a judicial mediator to help us reach a resolution to this matter.

“But let’s be clear: this clown show he is leading is no way to govern. It is not how we solve problems. It is not how we make government work for everyone. And every taxpayer dollar wasted on these shenanigans is a waste of time and money.

“I remain committed to the security of our elections and to the people of Michigan. I work for them. I suggest the House Republicans start doing the same,” a press release from Benson in her capacity as secretary of state said.

Last month, House Republicans voted to censure her for not fully complying with records requests from the House Oversight Committee.

Those efforts seem to be where House Republican leadership is focused instead of the impeachment resolution.

Gideon D’Assandro is spokesperson for House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp).

“Speaker Hall is working with Oversight Committee to enforce the House’s subpoena against Benson and finalizing a budget plan that will hold her department accountable for its many failures,” D’Assandro said in a text message.

Meanwhile, Democratic leadership in the House minority are calling the entire Benson saga a distraction from meaningful issues like passing a new state budget.

“We’ve talked about, at length, about everything that’s at stake right now. What’s coming our way from the federal government and the budget that’s being done in D.C., and that should be our singular focus right now,” Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) said.

Northern Michigan school districts forced into an extended shutdown due to massive ice storms this spring will have a waiver from attendance mandates under a law signed Monday by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“Many Michigan families are still reeling from the effects of the ice storms that devastated northern Michigan earlier this year,” said Whitmer in a statement released by her office. “I’ve been committed to supporting recovery efforts, protecting Michigan families from additional disruptions to their daily routines. That’s why I’m proud to sign this bill that will remove unnecessary penalties and obstacles for students and schools who are just trying to get by.”

This is one of several storm recovery bills sent by the Legislature to Whitmer’s desk with wide bipartisan support. This measure means school districts will not have to choose between losing state funding or forcing students and staff to stay in school into the heat of summer. That would have added unplanned utility costs as well as the expenses of paying staff salaries and for transportation.

“Had we not passed this legislation, the financial burden to our schools would have been yet another blow to our communities that have already been struggling following the disastrous ice storm,” said Senator John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs).

The ice storms in late March left many districts unable to meet the state’s 180-day school day requirement without extending the school year. The new law allows forgiveness of up to 15 days from the state’s mandated instruction time.

Schools in a dozen counties were forced to close due to ice-covered roads, power outages and other storm-related damage. The waiver applies to schools in counties covered by Governor Whitmer’s ice storm emergency decree. Whitmer has also asked for federal storm recovery assistance. 

The annual Mackinac Policy Conference has wrapped up for 2025. In this episode of MichMash, reporter Elena Durnbaugh joins Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben from Mackinac Island to recap this year’s conference.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Budget negotiations during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reactions to the Trump administration’s pardon considerations
• 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference themes

Durnbaugh shared that both Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and Republican Speaker Matt Hall publicly criticized each other at the conference over budget negotations. She also shared that after speaking with Speaker Hall, it appeared that the budget wouldn’t be passed until after the July 1 deadline.

“Conversations of the budget are happening, just not between the leaders of the Senate and the House,” she said. 

Durnbaugh also noted the most important conversations seemed to be happening off the stage.

More from WDET:

• Detroit Evening Report: The Mackinac Policy Conference is underway
• Whitmer ‘not happy’ about possible pardons for men involved in her kidnapping plot
• Critics: Medicaid cuts in House GOP budget plan will burden Michigan health system

This week on MichMash, Democratic House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) joins the show to talk about ongoing tensions between parties within the Michigan Legislature.

Before that, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow discuss news this week that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson violated campaign finance laws when announcing her bid for governor inside a state-owned building.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Michigan AG finds Jocelyn Benson violated campaign finance act
• ‘Political theater’ creating gridlock in the Michigan Legislature
• Puri’s working relationship with House Speaker Matt Hall

In a determination released by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office on Monday, Dana Nessel found that Benson violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by holding a press conference in the lobby of a state office building to announce her bid for governor.

Benson has denied the violation, saying she had planned to make the announcement outside the building after filing her paperwork, but moved it to the lobby because it was freezing cold. 

“The law does exist for a reason,” said Gorchow. “[To] prevent government officials from using taxpayer resources for political purposes. Benson’s campaign should’ve rented a facility to hold this press conference. The cost to taxpayers was zero…but Republicans will argue that Benson conveniently ignored the law she’s supposed to enforce, when it came to her own activities.”

Speaking with Roth and Gorchow, Rep. Puri said the Michigan Legislature is “at a crossroads for what the vision of Michigan could be,” calling much of what the governing body accomplished this year unproductive and “political theater.”

“For things to get done there needs to be true bipartisanship,” he said. “Until that changes we will continue to see the gridlock we’ve been seeing.”

Roth noted the strained relationship between Puri and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township). Puri said he attempted to have a handful of conversations with Hall early on to encourage healthy bipartisanship, but it hasn’t led to meaningful dialogue.

“I’m not a reporter, I’m not President Trump, I don’t think [Hall] has much interest in talking to me,” Puri said. “But jokes aside, you know I think, again, Speaker Hall is engaged in being an actor of political theater. I am taking a much more pragmatic approach here; I understand that we are in split government.”

Puri said with billions of dollars in federal cuts looming over the state, it’s more important than ever for state legislators to work together to find bipartisan solutions.

“There’s a whole host of things that we should be doing to protect Michiganders, from the tariffs, the economic uncertainty…there’s a lot of problems headed Michigan’s way, but here we are continuing to talk and fill the room with distractions and just an unserious approach,” he said.

–WDET Digital Editor Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• MichMash: Michigan House comes to dramatic close, adjourning early
• GOP oversight chair wants Benson to testify on disclosure site glitches
• House GOP, Dems at odds in chaotic budget fight

Michigan bills to further prevent the use of ticket-buying bots received a House committee hearing Wednesday.

Ticket bots are often used to snatch up event tickets by getting around purchase limits, waiting periods, or other safeguards.

In high profile cases, like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, they led to exorbitant prices on the resale market.

State Representative Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) is a package co-sponsor. He says bots are a problem the state needs to address.

“This harms the entertainment industry and harms consumers by creating an unnecessary financial barrier. Our bills would provide the attorney general with the necessary tools to investigate and act against those who are misusing bots to excessively purchase tickets,” McFall said during the House Judiciary Committee hearing.

The federal government has already outlawed using ticket bots to scam the system. But supporters of the Michigan bills say they’re necessary to ensure scammers quickly face consequences.

“The problem is, sometimes at that federal level there’s so many things going on, it’s hard to rein this in, which is why we kind of want to deal with it here in the state of Michigan, so the AG’s office has a little more teeth than we can act within our state,” said Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford), another package co-sponsor.

Under the bills, using bots to abuse the ticket-buying process could lead to a $5,000 fine per ticket gained.

Similar bills were introduced last legislative term but didn’t make it to the governor. 

A new study highlights the importance of removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.

What are PFAS?

PFAS are chemicals that take a long time to break down in the environment. They can also build up in the human body and cause a variety of health problems.

Researchers took blood samples from people living near a contaminated site in southwest Michigan. They compared PFAS levels in those who drank city water to people who have private wells.

Courtney Carignan is an environmental researcher at Michigan State University. She says PFAS turned up in people’s blood three years after officials cleaned up the water.

“We still saw higher levels of PFAS in the blood of our participants who drank higher levels of contaminated water compared to those who had much lower levels in their water,” she said.

Scientists have been evaluating the impacts of PFAS for years. Carignan says this study is the first of its kind.

“No other studies really have looked at exposure from other sources like paper mills,” she said. “There are a lot of other types of industries that have used PFAS in the past, or may still currently be using PFAS, and there just really aren’t a lot of studies looking at those kinds of communities and releases.”

EPA proposes looser restrictions

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind Biden-era limits on four kinds of PFAS and delay enforcement of limits on two other kinds.

Carignan says that’s not the right approach.

“These interventions to reduce PFAS in drinking water are really important,” she said. “The higher the level is in the drinking water for these PFAS, the more kinds of health effects you would see in the population.”

State lawmakers propose testing

Michigan has its own PFAS standards and is taking steps to protect people.

State Sen. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) and Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) proposed bills to test children for PFAS. They are SB 298 and HB 4499.

Carignan says people can learn more at the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team website or PFAS Exchange.

This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss bills introduced both in the Michigan House and Senate aimed at curbing distractions in the classroom by limiting cell phone use in class.

Also, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox stops by to talk about his motivation behind running for governor.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Competing bills in the state Legislature to restrict cell phone use in schools
• Former Michigan AG Mike Cox joining the gubernatorial race
• Cox’s recent comments on X about Congressman John James

Lawmakers in Lansing are debating policies to help curb cell phone use by students during school time.

Both the state House and Senate are moving competing legislation to limit cell phone use in the classroom. The Senate bill passed 28-9 last week. In the House, a more restrictive bill advanced out of committee Wednesday that would prohibit cell phone use in schools based on grade level and other factors.

“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called for the Legislature to act on this issue,” Roth said. “What the final versions of these bills look like and what she actually ends up signing — if anything — remains to be seen.”

Cox announced his candidacy for governor last month, joining Republicans U.S. Rep. John James, state Sen. Aric Nesbitt and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson.

The former Attorney General — who served from 2003-2011 — previously ran for governor in 2010 but lost in the Republican primary. He says he was motivated to run again because “there’s a real hunger for leadership and change.”

“The Michigan that I grew up in, that my parents came to, has fallen behind so many other states,” Cox said. “Now my granddaughters in Hernando, Mississippi go to schools that perform better than the schools in my neighborhood in Livonia, Michigan. That’s a civil wrong, that’s immoral, and that’s absolutely wrong to our children and to the residents of our state.”

He also spoke to his growth in experience since he last ran for governor.

“Since then…I started my own business. I went from $400,000 in my first year in business to $30 million now in about 12 years,” he said. “It was fun and a lot of anxiety at first because I have never been in the private sector before. I think it really rounded me out as a candidate.”

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are seeking the Democratic nomination in the August primary. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also running as an independent.  

The general election will be held Nov. 3, 2026.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• The Metro: Should cell phones be restricted in Michigan schools?
• Detroit Evening Report: Former Michigan AG Mike Cox announces bid for governor
• Rep. John James seeks GOP nomination for Michigan governor

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday she does not expect to file any more charges after alleging a former top House staffer siphoned off money for his own use from funds earmarked for a $25 million health facility project in Clare.

The charges allege David Coker, who was an aide to then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, spent $820,000 that was supposed to be used for the project to, instead, buy coins, gold bars and firearm accessories, among other things. At a press conference to announce the charges, Nessel said a dearth of relevant experience by a grant seeker should be a warning signal.  

“They have no track record,” she said. “They can’t show that they’ve done anything in terms of major projects that have been successful of this kind or really even any kind at all. So, that’s a major red flag.”

The earmark was slipped into the 2023 state budget anonymously, which was allowed at the time. Since then, the Legislature adopted rules that require every earmark to have a sponsor, and the House requires those sponsors’ names to be made public before budget votes.

Nessel said ending anonymous earmarks is a step in the right direction.

“I’m very encouraged by these actions to bring more sunshine into the appropriations process and support any further guardrails the Legislature sees fit to prevent fraudsters from stealing our hard-working tax dollars,” she said.

Coker was charged Wednesday with seven felonies alleging he misused public funds. Nessel alleges the fraud was committed using faked invoices from his for-profit consulting firm.

Coker’s not-for-profit organization, Complete Health Park, was paid $9.9 million from the grant before the funding was halted. Nessel said her office is looking into how it might recoup the expended funds.

The not-for-profit paid $3.5 million for the property, which was purchased from state Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare). Nessel said Kunse is not suspected of wrongdoing.

Coker’s attorney said his client was cooperating with the inquiry, and the charges came out of the blue. Joshua Blanchard told Michigan Public Radio his client was trying to bring a major project to build a health services campus to Clare.

 “He disclosed everything to the state, been aboveboard about every bit of it all along and, for whatever reason, Dana’s office decided they wanted a press conference and so they issued charges,” said Blanchard.

The next step will be for the state to outline the charges and the evidence to a judge  at a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 23.

Nessel’s office is also looking into two other cases of possible earmark fraud, including spending by a not-for-profit formed by businesswoman and major Democratic Party donor Fay Beydoun on a $4,500 coffeemaker and first-class plane tickets and a $2 million grant to fund a study on bringing low-orbit rocket launch sites to Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills Wednesday to give state officials another month to file asset and financial disclosure reports as the state tries to fix its filing website. Without the new law, the filing deadline would be Thursday and many officials would be in violation.

“Michiganders deserve to know how their government is working for them,” Whitmer said in a statement released by her office. “That’s why I’m proud to sign Senate Bills 99 and 100, so we can cut confusing red tape, help more Michiganders run for office, and increase transparency in our government.”

The reports are required under a 2022 voter-approved amendment to the Michigan Constitution, although it’s up to the Legislature and the governor to adopt laws to comply with the constitutional provision. The proposal also made changes to Michigan’s term-limits amendment.

The filing process for the reports has been bedeviled by system crashes and other problems that would prevent lawmakers from meeting the deadline and have made it difficult for the public to access the records.

Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) said the fix is long overdue and complained that the Secretary of State’s office kept making changes to the disclosure forms.

“Let’s not forget as we’re [passing the bills to push back the filing deadline] that the reason we have to is because Secretary of State [Jocelyn] Benson could not read the law, she could not understand the law and she could not manage a department to implement the law and run a basic website that allowed us to plug in the information,” he said in a speech prior to votes to finalize the bills.

A spokesperson for Benson said her department “has been working nights and weekends to make sure the online system is ready” by the deadline.

The new law moves the deadline to June 13, specifies a form to be used and allows filing by email while the problems are fixed.

“Ultimately, we want this to be accessible,” said Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), a bill sponsor who also chairs the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee. “We want legislators to have ease of filling it out and we want the public to have the ease of accessing it.”

Moss said a smoothly operating system is necessary to give the public a view into sources of income and assets that might present a conflict of interest.

“So that if somebody introduces a bill you can easily go into this database, this publicly available database, look up the lawmaker and say, hey, this person is introducing this bill, but they’ve got a financial interest to introduce this bill,” he told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “Then you’d be able to call it out and then voters would be able to make their decision about it.”

But a spokesperson for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the department is concerned provisions in the new law will actually reduce transparency.

“Specifically, these bills do not require officials to describe the value of their assets, investments, and liabilities,” said Department of State Chief Communications Officer Angela Benander in an emailed statement.

“Michigan is behind nearly every other state in requiring transparency from lawmakers and public officials,” she said. “We should be doing everything we can to make our state a leader for government transparency and accountability.”  

In this epsiode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow sit down with State Senator Mallory McMorrow to discuss why she’s running for Michigan’s open US Senate seat.

Plus, people have grown accustomed to remote work since the pandemic, but is it here to stay? We discuss how remote work has affected state government employees and whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have them return to in-person work full time.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Is remote work here to stay for state government employees?
• Discussing the cost of remote work
• State Senator Mallory McMorrow on her run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat

Democrats nationally have been struggling to form an identity since the recent presidential elections. McMorrow said that while establishment Democrats may not be meeting the moment, newer voices could help give the party a stronger sense of direction. 

“My sense is that the Democratic Party needs a shakeup, but that’s not going to come from the party itself,” she said. “It is going to come again from candidates and people, in every state across the country, running the types of campaigns that are going to reshape what this party is, how it presents itself.”

In addition to McMorrow, former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed and 11th Congressional District Representative Haley Stevens are also running for the state’s open senate seat as Democrats. The election will take place Nov. 3, 2026.