MLC Insider Intelligence: April 17, 2026
Michigan Legislative Consultants
Weekly Recap: Both House and Senate sessions and committees were held Tuesday – Thursday this week.
Budget Update: House and Senate Subcommittees will continue holding hearings on the areas within their purview. Some Senate and House subcommittees have begun reporting budgets to the full Appropriations Committee. In the Senate, a few bills were reported by the full committee to the floor.
House Passes Voter ID: This week, the House voted along party lines to require proof of United States citizenship when registering to vote. The bill changes current laws that allow a person to provide their driver’s license or state ID when registering to vote.
Key Points: Introduced by Representative Jason Woolford (R-Howell), the bill requires individuals to verify their U.S. citizenship using approved documentation when registering to vote. The bill details a number of items that could be used to prove citizenship, including a birth certificate, passport, American Indian card issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with KIC classification, Bureau of Indian Affairs card number, or naturalization documents, among others. It also requires voters to present a valid ID when casting a ballot.
Importance: The bill was referred to the Senate Government Operations Committee for consideration.
Mental Health Report Approved: The House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security voted this week to approve a new report outlining shortfalls in the state’s mental health system and providing recommendations for solutions. Last May, the subcommittee launched an investigation into Michigan’s behavioral health system, holding hearings to allow testimony from key stakeholders. The report looked back to when Michigan shut down a dozen state psychiatric facilities in 1997 without a mechanism in place. In the years since, a lack of flexibility at the state level, as well as staffing and crisis personnel shortages, were common themes heard throughout testimony.
Key Report Findings: Michigan ranks 47th in psychiatric bed space availability. Without reforms to prioritize staffing and retention, doctors or correctional officers have to serve as pseudo psychiatrists, which creates safety issues. Rigid bureaucratic requirements and a lack of administrative support make actions such as increasing the number of beds in a facility, relocating beds from one site to another, or acquiring and operating a new facility difficult. Additionally, the needs in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula are great.
Recommendations: Recommendations include freeing providers from certain policies and allowing experts to treat aggressive or severe behavioral health cases as needed. It calls for increasing state funding for staff training to help grow the number of behavioral health professionals. Lastly, it recommends creating a dedicated Northern Michigan Behavioral Health Campus to assist an underserved population.
Monthly Revenue Declines Year Over Year: According to the latest report by the Senate Fiscal Agency, March 2026’s major taxes and net lottery revenue declined 11% from the prior year, totaling $1.8 billion. Additionally, total collections were $18.1 million below January’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference projections.
Fund Collections: General Fund (GF) collections in March came in $25.7 million above prior projections. The year-to-date GF collections were $276.7 million above projections. School Aid Fund (SAF) collections were $54.1 million below estimates last month. While year-to-date SAF collections were also below projections, specifically $71.1 million less than prior estimates.
Revenue: Net income tax revenue last month totaled $503.9 million, a decline of 27.7% from the prior year. Sales and use tax collections combined totaled $919.4 million, a 4.4% decline from the prior year. Specifically, sales tax collections declined 9.8% from March 2025, while use tax collections increased 18.1% year-over-year.
Michigan Dems Endorsing Candidates: On Saturday, April 18, members of the Michigan Democratic Party will gather in Detroit to endorse candidates for various offices in this year’s midterm election. The races for Secretary of State and Attorney General are open, as both current officeholders are term limited. Additionally, they will make endorsements for the State Board of Education and university boards.
Secretary of State: Three candidates are running, the first is Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, who also served in the Michigan House of Representatives. Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist is running for the office, as he is term limited out of his current role. Prior to public office, he was a software engineer and served as the City of Detroit’s director of innovation. Lastly, Suzanna Shkreli is in the race, who most recently served as the Michigan State Lottery Commissioner. She’s also held roles as deputy legal counsel in Governor Whitmer’s administration and assistant prosecuting attorney in Macomb County.
Attorney General: There are also three candidates in this race. The first is Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. Before her current role, she was an Oakland County Circuit Court Judge, an Oakland County assistant prosecuting attorney, a civil and family law attorney, and a high school English teacher. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit is also running. Prior to his current position, he worked as senior legal counsel for the City of Detroit and as a public school middle school teacher. Bill Noakes is the third and final candidate running for the Democratic endorsement.
Michigan Supreme Court: Two current Justices are running for reelection for two spots. Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh is running for another term. She was first elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2018 and currently serves as the Chief Justice. Prior to that, she practiced appellate law and worked as a consultant evaluating environmental risk and property development. Justice Noah Hood is running for a full term after being appointed by Governor Whitmer in May 2025 for a partial term. Prior to his appointment, he served on the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Third Judicial Circuit Court. Prior to his roles on the bench, he was a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Toledo and practiced commercial litigation in Detroit.
Spotlight on Senator Ed McBroom: Senator McBroom (R-Vulcan) is serving his second term in the Michigan Senate. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives. Outside of elected office, Senator McBroom is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and operates his family’s 100-year-old farm. He holds bachelor’s degrees in music education and social studies secondary education from Northern Michigan University.
District: He represents the 38th Senate District, which includes Alger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, and Schoolcraft counties and contains portions of Chippewa and Mackinac counties.
Committees: Senator McBroom serves as minority vice chair of the Oversight Committee and sits on the Elections and Ethics and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
Next Week: The House and Senate are scheduled to hold their typical Tuesday – Thursday session schedule. The Michigan Democratic Party is hosting its convention on Saturday, April 18, in Detroit. Lastly, April 21 is the filing deadline for partisan and nonpartisan candidates in the August primary election, along with candidates for various courts.