The state government faces a possible shut-down soon unless lawmakers come to an agreement on a new budget. The House and Senate are billions of dollars apart in terms of their spending and policy priorities, says Speaker of the Michigan House Matt Hall

Republican proposals align with much of Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s agenda. But critics say the budget plan passed by House Republicans cuts too many programs.

It slashes funding for the Michigan State Police, hospitals and revenue shared with cities and counties among other cuts.

Without an agreement on a new budget, the state government will shut down in about a month.

Additional headlines from Tuesday, September 2, 2025

New restrictions on COVID vaccine access

It may be harder for many Michigan residents to get the new COVID vaccine this fall.

The Food and Drug Administration has limited shots to people 65 and older, and those with certain medical conditions. Others might be able to get the shot with a prescription.

The state health department encourages everyone over 6 months old to get the vaccine, including pregnant women and very young kids. 

Syphilis on the rise for infants in Michigan

Syphilis cases in Michigan are decreasing – for adults. But Bridge Michigan reports diagnoses for infants are up 38% since 2021.

Health officials estimate between 50 and 60 newborns will test positive for syphilis this year. 

Sphinx Organization releases album, holds applications for musicians of color

The Sphinx Organization released its latest album last week. “American Mirror” shares new works by Black, Indigenous and other composers of color.

The organization has also opened applications for the 2026 Orchestral Partners Auditions. The program offers classical musicians of color a chance to connect with a national professional network and to compete for up to 3500 in cash prizes.

Applications close on October 6^th and are followed by a round of recorded submissions in November and live auditions in Detroit in January. 

Wayne State hosts early childhood education conference 

The Project Launch Early Childhood Conference is later this month. The one-day seminar will focus on social emotional learning in early childhood education.

The event is free to educators and can be used to meet required training hours. The Centers for Family Development will host the conference at Wayne State September 20^th.  

The industry for materials key to American manufacturing could receive extra government support under proposed legislation from a Michigan congresswoman.

The bill, called the “Unearth America’s Future Act,” would create new federal loans, tax credits, and programs to spur the domestic production and refining of critical minerals like copper, magnesium and aluminum.

“What this bill is, is focused on public-private partnerships, supply chain opportunities, as well as recyclability, which is something that’s gaining a lot of traction in the critical materials space right now,” U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) said about her pending legislation.

Stevens estimates her plan would invest around $10 billion in the industry. It would cover loans, tax credits, partnerships and the creation of a new national center to oversee research and development.

The policy proposal is a response to concerns about China’s dominance in the market for precious metals, especially those used in goods like smart phones or vehicle batteries.

Stevens said that makes both the country’s and Michigan’s current situations untenable.

“Leaving Michigan’s entire manufacturing base on the hook for materials coming from minerals that are refined in China, that’s a risk. And that’s not working,” she said.

The Trump administration has already issued executive orders aimed at increasing the country’s mining capacity, despite environmental concerns. Separately, existing bipartisan bills in Congress are also trying to address that issue.

Stevens, however, said her way of addressing the matter is by taking a similar approach to how the bipartisan CHIPS Act addressed a shortage of American semiconductor chip makers: increasing the capacity for processing and refining already-mined minerals.

“This will increase our resilience here in the United States of America, but it will also increase our domestic production capabilities, which means lowering costs, lowering costs, lowering costs — we need to lower costs, and that’s what this bill’s going to be about as well. And job creation,” Stevens said.

A state House committee voted Wednesday to advance legislation to blunt the impact of a Michigan Supreme Court decision on automatic life-without-parole sentences for young adults.

The bills could allow for longer sentences for 19- and 20-year-olds convicted of first-degree and felony murder, among other serious crimes, and allow prosecutors more time to review cases for potential resentencing.

“Life without parole was not given out lightly to begin with,” said Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and sponsored the bills. “You have to remember these people are murderers.”

The court ruling released in April struck down automatic life without parole for 19- and 20-year-olds convicted of first-degree and felony murder as unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. It followed a similar ruling applying to defendants 18 years old and younger.

Now, people who already got mandatory life sentences are being resentenced. Sometimes, that will be to multiple shorter prison terms. The current default in Michigan is for sentences to be served concurrently.

Lightner said concurrent prison terms are not tough enough. “There’s only justice given to the first victim,” she told Michigan Public Radio. “There’s nothing in law that says you have to stack the sentences consecutively, because we have concurrent sentencing.”

Consecutive years-long sentences would effectively be life in prison in some cases.

Deborah LaBelle, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said the Michigan Supreme Court decision is clear on young lifers. She said sentences of life with no chance of parole for young defendants should be rare.

“They should, when they have had the opportunity to mature and grow, be looked at again and determined whether in fact they have been rehabilitated and should be able to at some point rejoin the community,” she said.

LaBelle says the legislation would probably be found unconstitutional if signed into law because it would force consecutive sentences automatically without court hearings.

The bills, which now go to the House floor, were adopted on party-line votes.