MLC Insider Intelligence: January 9, 2026
Michigan Legislative Consultants
Weekly Recap: The 2026 session has not yet kicked off; as such, neither session nor committees were held during the week.
AG Issues Opinion on Clawing Back State Funding: This week, Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a formal opinion concluding that a “disapproval” mechanism, which allows one legislative committee to unilaterally terminate funding previously appropriated by the full Legislature and the Governor, is unconstitutional. The opinion was requested by Senator Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) following a December 2025 vote of the House Appropriations Committee to disapprove nearly $645 million in state funding that had already been enacted into law. Specifically, asking the Attorney General to review the disapproval mechanism contained in the Management and Budget Act.
Key Points: The statute allows funding approved by the Legislature and the Governor for a prior fiscal year to continue to be used for its intended purpose for a new fiscal year. The State Budget Director is authorized to approve this continued use of previously approved funding. These are referred to as “work projects.” The same statute also authorized either the Senate or House Appropriations Committees, acting alone, to disapprove those work projects. In her opinion, the Attorney General concluded that this disapproval mechanism violates both the Separation of Powers and Bicameralism and Presentment requirements in the Michigan Constitution. She found the mechanism amounts to an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers because it impermissibly allows a single legislative committee to exert control over the executive’s implementation of enacted laws. Furthermore, the Attorney General determined that this constituted a violation of the Constitution’s bicameralism and presentment requirements because the committee veto doesn’t comply with the constitutional requirement that legislative action be approved by both Legislative chambers and presented to the Governor. Attorney General Nessel also concluded that the unconstitutional legislative committee veto disapproval mechanism is severable from the rest of the Act. Therefore, the remaining portions of the statute pertaining to work projects remain intact and enforceable.
Next Steps: An Attorney General Opinion is legally binding; as such, the departments can proceed with spending the $645 million appropriated to them in the FY25 budget. Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) has stated he intends to challenge the opinion in court.
Michigan Unemployment Data Released: Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point between September and November. Employment receded by 6,000, and the number of unemployed fell by 7,000, resulting in a workforce decline of 13,000 during this period. The information was late and doesn’t include October-specific data due to the Federal government shutdown last fall.
Key Points: The total number of unemployed people fell by 2.7% between September and November, whereas the national unemployment level rose by 3%. Total employment in Michigan decreased by 0.6% over the year, while the national employment level advanced by 1.6% since November 2024. Monthly job gains in Michigan were led by the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, as well as private education and health services, with employment increasing by 2,000 in each industry. The industries with the most pronounced over-the-year numerical job gains included private education and health services (+12,000), government (+11,000), and construction (+10,000).
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the area rose by 0.1% between September and November to 4.7%. Employment fell by 12,000, and total unemployment edged up by 1,000. Over the year, the jobless rate decreased by 0.3%, and the labor force was nearly unchanged, edging down by 1,000.
Lottery Contributes Over $1 Billion to Education: In the 2025 Fiscal Year, the Michigan Lottery contributed more than $1 billion to the School Aid Fund for the seventh consecutive year. With the latest contribution of $1.16 billion, the total contribution since its inception in 1972 surpassed $30 billion. Under state law, all profits from the Lottery go to the School Aid Fund, which supports public K-12 education in Michigan.
Key Points: For each dollar spent on a Michigan Lottery ticket, approximately 63 cents went to players as prizes, 25 cents went to the School Aid Fund, 9 cents went to commissions for retailers and vendors, and 3 cents funded the Lottery’s operations and administrative costs.
Sales: Lottery products are sold at more than 10,000 locations across Michigan, including both independently owned businesses and large chains. In FY25, more than 700 retailers sold $1 million or more in Lottery games.
Acting Chief Information Officer Named: Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Eric Swanson will serve as acting chief information officer at the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB), following the resignation of former CIO Laura Clark. While serving in this role, he will continue to serve in his role as the director of the Center for Shared Solutions (CSS) within DTMB. Mr. Swanson began his career as a student intern, where he has steadily built the CSS. One of the first of its kind, the CSS provides cost-effective, state-of-the-art, shared solutions to all State of Michigan agencies and external partnership programs.
DTMB: The department supports the business operations of state agencies through a variety of services, including building management and maintenance, information technology, centralized contracting and procurement, budget and financial management, space planning and leasing, construction management, motor vehicle fleet operations, and oversight of the state retirement systems.
Importance: “In our changing world, it’s more important than ever to protect Michigan’s people and state government from cyber threats,” said Governor Whitmer. “Michigan’s cybersecurity division does just that and has been consistently ranked among the best in the nation. That is in part due to Eric Swanson and the entire team at DTMB who work to make sure government services are accessible and secure for Michiganders. I am proud to name Eric as our chief information officer. We will continue getting things done to make people’s lives easier.”
Spotlight On Representative Cynthia Neeley: Representative Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint) is serving her third full term in the Michigan House of Representatives. She won a partial term to the House in March 2020 due to a special election. Prior to elected office, she was a small business owner. She graduated from Mott Community College, where she received her cosmetology license.
District: Representative Neeley represents the 70th House District, which includes Flint, Burton, and Flint.
Committees: She’s a member of the following committees: Finance, Health Policy, and Regulatory Reform.
We asked Representative Neeley a few questions to learn more about her:
What’s your favorite travel destination outside of Michigan?
A – Paris, France
What’s your favorite hobby other than politics?
A – Watching football
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
A – I wanted to run a Fortune 500 company.
What’s your favorite game to play or sport to watch and/or play?
A – Basketball.
Next Week: The House and Senate are scheduled to hold their first session days of the year on Wednesday and Thursday. The biannual Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference will be held on Friday, January 16 in Lansing.
Congratulations to MLC’s Communication and Social Media Manager, Liz Gullett, on her 17th anniversary with the firm!