(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Simon D. Schuster
Bridge Michigan
LANSING — Legislators agreed to formally overhaul Michigan’s earmark process last Thursday, forcing lawmakers to publicly disclose proposed spending on individual projects 45 days before final budget votes.
The reforms come on the heels of several scandals over allegedly misspent or embezzled funds awarded during spreading sprees by the Legislature. In recent years, billions of dollars in earmarks were added to state budgets, often shortly before late-night votes.
The two chambers had been at something of an impasse over how much advance notice to require. The Democrat-controlled Senate had initially proposed a 10-day disclosure period, while the GOP-majority House wanted 90 days but most recently had approved a 60-day plan.
They settled on 45 days, and allowed legislators who submitted earmark requests in the first year of a legislative session to use them the next year without resubmitting the requests.
The compromise bill passed the both chambers unanimously on Thursday, although nine House members did not vote. The measure now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature.
“This is the most important ethics, accountability and transparency legislation to pass through the Legislature and be signed by the governor in years,” House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., told reporters after it passed, calling it “the hardest thing I think that I’ve done as a legislator.”
Hall said it was “it was very difficult to get the politicians to agree to real transparency.”
In prior budgets, earmarks were often included at the eleventh hour in the budget’s final version, leaving effectively no time for public review of what was in some years more than $1 billion in spending, without any information about who sponsored the grants and who will receive the money.
Under the bill, future earmark requests will have to include:
• All the sponsors’ names
• Who will receive the money
• The purpose of the grant
• The amount of the request
• Information about the organization that’ll receive the funds, if a nonprofit. For-profit businesses couldn’t receive grants.
The requests would be posted online for the public to view.
Earmarks, also known as pork-barrel spending and formally called legislatively directed spending items, are individual grants to specific projects, typically within an individual lawmaker’s district.
The process has received increased scrutiny in recent years amid a series of scandals.
One wayward earmark in 2022 led to criminal charges, another is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and others have come after the eventual recipient of the cash donated prolifically to lawmakers.
In the former case, David Coker, a former aide to then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, allegedly used a nonprofit he created during 2022 budget negotiations to embezzle more than $100,000 of a $25 million earmark for a health and fitness park in Clare.
A preliminary exam in Coker’s criminal case was scheduled to begin Wednesday.
A separate $20 million grant in the same budget bill also remains under investigation after revelations emerged, first reported by The Detroit News, that the money was awarded to a nonprofit created by a Michigan Economic Development Corporation board member and Whitmer ally, Fay Beydoun, who spent large sums on air travel, lodging and an expensive coffee maker.
The legislation approved Thursday would prohibit grants to newly formed nonprofits like those created by Coker and Beydoun. Only nonprofits that had operated in the state for three years and had a physical office could qualify.
For years, there were no public reporting requirements for earmarks. That changed under the Democrat-controlled state government trifecta in 2023 and 2024, when legislators promised to voluntarily disclose information about earmarks — but only months after the budgets became law.
“I think these bills are a huge improvement from the current process, which has historically been corrupt and terrible,” said Rep. Jason Morgan, an Ann Arbor Democrat. He called the amount of earmarks in past budgets “obscene and simply too much.”
The Legislature struggled to pass a budget this year by the Oct. 1 deadline established by the Michigan Constitution. The process was complicated by a House requirement that all earmarks comport with rules they passed this year, forcing lawmakers to pass a stop-gap spending bill after a new fiscal year began without a completed budget.
Part of the budget deal ultimately forged with Whitmer included an agreement to codify in state law a new earmark disclosure process that both legislative chambers will have to follow, according to Hall.
The budget Whitmer signed last month included about $160 million in earmarks, down significantly from more than $600 million in the budget passed in 2024 and more than more than $1 billion in 2023.
Morgan said fewer earmarks allowed policymakers to focus state resources elsewhere.
“Because we did less earmarks this term or this budget, we were able to invest in local roads and public transit and make sure we had an adequate school budget,” Morgan said.
The earmark rules adopted earlier this year by the House also required all legislative requests to be discussed in a public committee hearing. That is not part of the bill heading to Whitmer’s desk.
Hall had called the Senate’s original plan to require 10-days advance notice on earmark requests “a joke” and vowed to block any Senate bills in his chamber until a deal on the reform plan, which he called part of his Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency plan — “HEAT.”
Shortly after the Senate approved the 45-day disclosure requirement last Thursday, the House took up and passed a slew of Senate-originated legislation.
Attorney General Dana Nessel and Whitmer had also called for earmark reforms, though Whitmer had suggested only five days’ advance notice. In a recent podcast appearance, Whitmer called the current earmark process “gross” and pledged to ensure it was changed.
By Simon D. Schuster
Bridge Michigan
LANSING — Legislators agreed to formally overhaul Michigan’s earmark process last Thursday, forcing lawmakers to publicly disclose proposed spending on individual projects 45 days before final budget votes.
The reforms come on the heels of several scandals over allegedly misspent or embezzled funds awarded during spreading sprees by the Legislature. In recent years, billions of dollars in earmarks were added to state budgets, often shortly before late-night votes.
The two chambers had been at something of an impasse over how much advance notice to require. The Democrat-controlled Senate had initially proposed a 10-day disclosure period, while the GOP-majority House wanted 90 days but most recently had approved a 60-day plan.
They settled on 45 days, and allowed legislators who submitted earmark requests in the first year of a legislative session to use them the next year without resubmitting the requests.
The compromise bill passed the both chambers unanimously on Thursday, although nine House members did not vote. The measure now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature.
“This is the most important ethics, accountability and transparency legislation to pass through the Legislature and be signed by the governor in years,” House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., told reporters after it passed, calling it “the hardest thing I think that I’ve done as a legislator.”
Hall said it was “it was very difficult to get the politicians to agree to real transparency.”
In prior budgets, earmarks were often included at the eleventh hour in the budget’s final version, leaving effectively no time for public review of what was in some years more than $1 billion in spending, without any information about who sponsored the grants and who will receive the money.
Under the bill, future earmark requests will have to include:
• All the sponsors’ names
• Who will receive the money
• The purpose of the grant
• The amount of the request
• Information about the organization that’ll receive the funds, if a nonprofit. For-profit businesses couldn’t receive grants.
The requests would be posted online for the public to view.
Earmarks, also known as pork-barrel spending and formally called legislatively directed spending items, are individual grants to specific projects, typically within an individual lawmaker’s district.
The process has received increased scrutiny in recent years amid a series of scandals.
One wayward earmark in 2022 led to criminal charges, another is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and others have come after the eventual recipient of the cash donated prolifically to lawmakers.
In the former case, David Coker, a former aide to then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, allegedly used a nonprofit he created during 2022 budget negotiations to embezzle more than $100,000 of a $25 million earmark for a health and fitness park in Clare.
A preliminary exam in Coker’s criminal case was scheduled to begin Wednesday.
A separate $20 million grant in the same budget bill also remains under investigation after revelations emerged, first reported by The Detroit News, that the money was awarded to a nonprofit created by a Michigan Economic Development Corporation board member and Whitmer ally, Fay Beydoun, who spent large sums on air travel, lodging and an expensive coffee maker.
The legislation approved Thursday would prohibit grants to newly formed nonprofits like those created by Coker and Beydoun. Only nonprofits that had operated in the state for three years and had a physical office could qualify.
For years, there were no public reporting requirements for earmarks. That changed under the Democrat-controlled state government trifecta in 2023 and 2024, when legislators promised to voluntarily disclose information about earmarks — but only months after the budgets became law.
“I think these bills are a huge improvement from the current process, which has historically been corrupt and terrible,” said Rep. Jason Morgan, an Ann Arbor Democrat. He called the amount of earmarks in past budgets “obscene and simply too much.”
The Legislature struggled to pass a budget this year by the Oct. 1 deadline established by the Michigan Constitution. The process was complicated by a House requirement that all earmarks comport with rules they passed this year, forcing lawmakers to pass a stop-gap spending bill after a new fiscal year began without a completed budget.
Part of the budget deal ultimately forged with Whitmer included an agreement to codify in state law a new earmark disclosure process that both legislative chambers will have to follow, according to Hall.
The budget Whitmer signed last month included about $160 million in earmarks, down significantly from more than $600 million in the budget passed in 2024 and more than more than $1 billion in 2023.
Morgan said fewer earmarks allowed policymakers to focus state resources elsewhere.
“Because we did less earmarks this term or this budget, we were able to invest in local roads and public transit and make sure we had an adequate school budget,” Morgan said.
The earmark rules adopted earlier this year by the House also required all legislative requests to be discussed in a public committee hearing. That is not part of the bill heading to Whitmer’s desk.
Hall had called the Senate’s original plan to require 10-days advance notice on earmark requests “a joke” and vowed to block any Senate bills in his chamber until a deal on the reform plan, which he called part of his Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency plan — “HEAT.”
Shortly after the Senate approved the 45-day disclosure requirement last Thursday, the House took up and passed a slew of Senate-originated legislation.
Attorney General Dana Nessel and Whitmer had also called for earmark reforms, though Whitmer had suggested only five days’ advance notice. In a recent podcast appearance, Whitmer called the current earmark process “gross” and pledged to ensure it was changed.
Business Leaders Unveil Blueprint for Growth
Business leaders from across the state have released a comprehensive strategy to position the state to compete and thrive amid rapid technological, economic and demographic change.
The plan from Business Leaders For Michigan, dubbed “Michigan in a New Era,” calls for transforming education, making Michigan the easiest place to build and grow, and activating the state’s full economic potential.
“As the pace of change accelerates, we need to build a more adaptive and competitive state - standing still now only widens the gap,” said Jeff Donofrio, president and chief executive officer of Business Leaders For Michigan. “Michigan in a New Era focuses on changing what’s within our control - three areas that, when working well, have the greatest power to change our state’s trajectory.”
At the core of Michigan in a New Era are three priorities that cut across education, talent and the economy:
• Transform Education as Michigan’s Defining Mission - Ensuring every child can read by third grade, tackling chronic absenteeism, setting a high standard for a high school diploma, and seamlessly connecting students to apprenticeships, college and careers.
• Make Michigan the Easiest State to Build and Grow - Removing barriers to growth through a culture of customer service, streamlined regulations, and support for communities ready to innovate.
• Activate Michigan’s Economic Potential - Modernizing Michigan’s economic development system, empowering regions, and creating a consistent approach to attracting and retaining talent.
Michigan in a New Era draws on extensive research and benchmarking that reveal how decades of slow growth, industrial disruption, talent outmigration and inconsistent policies have limited the state’s ability to sustain momentum — even during periods of national expansion.
• Michigan ranks 50th in household income growth over the past 25 years.
• Over the last two decades, high-wage professional service jobs have grown 35 percent nationally, but Michigan has remained flat.
• Over the last 30 years, Michigan has fallen from 16th to 44th in fourth grade reading and now has one of the highest chronic absenteeism rates in the nation.
“Michigan’s challenge isn’t ideas or effort - it’s consistency and follow-through,” Donofrio said. “When priorities shift, progress stalls. We need a long-term strategy that endures beyond election cycles. Other states have shown what’s possible when that happens.”
The plan emphasizes what must be different in this new era: a shared agenda that extends beyond any one governor, party or interest group — championed by the state’s governor, built with the legislature, and sustained beyond political terms to create lasting change. It calls for reforms anchored in accountability that are designed to stick and supported by strong public engagement and broad coalitions where Michiganders feel the urgency, see the progress, and trust their leaders to deliver.
Business Leaders For Michigan is a statewide, nonpartisan organization driven by CEOs from the state’s leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making Michigan a Top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy. Guided by research and diverse perspectives, they develop strategies, shape public policy and drive initiatives that bring people and ideas together to ignite change – for growth, shared prosperity, and lasting progress.
The plan from Business Leaders For Michigan, dubbed “Michigan in a New Era,” calls for transforming education, making Michigan the easiest place to build and grow, and activating the state’s full economic potential.
“As the pace of change accelerates, we need to build a more adaptive and competitive state - standing still now only widens the gap,” said Jeff Donofrio, president and chief executive officer of Business Leaders For Michigan. “Michigan in a New Era focuses on changing what’s within our control - three areas that, when working well, have the greatest power to change our state’s trajectory.”
At the core of Michigan in a New Era are three priorities that cut across education, talent and the economy:
• Transform Education as Michigan’s Defining Mission - Ensuring every child can read by third grade, tackling chronic absenteeism, setting a high standard for a high school diploma, and seamlessly connecting students to apprenticeships, college and careers.
• Make Michigan the Easiest State to Build and Grow - Removing barriers to growth through a culture of customer service, streamlined regulations, and support for communities ready to innovate.
• Activate Michigan’s Economic Potential - Modernizing Michigan’s economic development system, empowering regions, and creating a consistent approach to attracting and retaining talent.
Michigan in a New Era draws on extensive research and benchmarking that reveal how decades of slow growth, industrial disruption, talent outmigration and inconsistent policies have limited the state’s ability to sustain momentum — even during periods of national expansion.
• Michigan ranks 50th in household income growth over the past 25 years.
• Over the last two decades, high-wage professional service jobs have grown 35 percent nationally, but Michigan has remained flat.
• Over the last 30 years, Michigan has fallen from 16th to 44th in fourth grade reading and now has one of the highest chronic absenteeism rates in the nation.
“Michigan’s challenge isn’t ideas or effort - it’s consistency and follow-through,” Donofrio said. “When priorities shift, progress stalls. We need a long-term strategy that endures beyond election cycles. Other states have shown what’s possible when that happens.”
The plan emphasizes what must be different in this new era: a shared agenda that extends beyond any one governor, party or interest group — championed by the state’s governor, built with the legislature, and sustained beyond political terms to create lasting change. It calls for reforms anchored in accountability that are designed to stick and supported by strong public engagement and broad coalitions where Michiganders feel the urgency, see the progress, and trust their leaders to deliver.
Business Leaders For Michigan is a statewide, nonpartisan organization driven by CEOs from the state’s leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making Michigan a Top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy. Guided by research and diverse perspectives, they develop strategies, shape public policy and drive initiatives that bring people and ideas together to ignite change – for growth, shared prosperity, and lasting progress.
Op-Ed: Family Caregivers Need Relief
By Paula D. Cunningham
AARP Michigan State Director
If you’ve ever helped an aging parent get to the doctor, managed a loved one’s medications or stayed up late worrying about how to pay for home care, you already know what caregiving really means. It’s love in action. And in Michigan, more than 1.6 million family caregivers are doing that work every single day.
They don’t do it for recognition. They do it because family comes first, but too often that care comes at a cost — missed work, drained savings and sleepless nights wondering how to make ends meet. On average, Michigan caregivers spend more than $7,200 a year out of their own pockets to help care for someone they love.
That’s why AARP Michigan is proud to support a new proposal in Lansing — a state tax credit for family caregivers. It’s a simple idea with a big impact. House Bill 5214 sponsored by State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz and supported by a bipartisan group of legislators would allow caregivers to receive a financial credit at tax time to help cover the costs of things like home modifications, transportation or respite care.
It won’t solve every challenge, but it’s a meaningful step toward easing the financial squeeze so many families feel. They’re not looking for a handout — just a little help to keep doing what they need to do: care for the people they love.
As lawmakers debate this bill, I hope they’ll remember the quiet acts of love and sacrifice happening in kitchens and living rooms across our state. Michigan’s caregivers deserve more than our thanks. They deserve relief.
Join AARP in urging lawmakers to pass this much-needed caregiver tax credit. To add your voice, visit aarpmi.org/care.
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AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. To learn more about AARP, visit aarp.org.
AARP Michigan State Director
If you’ve ever helped an aging parent get to the doctor, managed a loved one’s medications or stayed up late worrying about how to pay for home care, you already know what caregiving really means. It’s love in action. And in Michigan, more than 1.6 million family caregivers are doing that work every single day.
They don’t do it for recognition. They do it because family comes first, but too often that care comes at a cost — missed work, drained savings and sleepless nights wondering how to make ends meet. On average, Michigan caregivers spend more than $7,200 a year out of their own pockets to help care for someone they love.
That’s why AARP Michigan is proud to support a new proposal in Lansing — a state tax credit for family caregivers. It’s a simple idea with a big impact. House Bill 5214 sponsored by State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz and supported by a bipartisan group of legislators would allow caregivers to receive a financial credit at tax time to help cover the costs of things like home modifications, transportation or respite care.
It won’t solve every challenge, but it’s a meaningful step toward easing the financial squeeze so many families feel. They’re not looking for a handout — just a little help to keep doing what they need to do: care for the people they love.
As lawmakers debate this bill, I hope they’ll remember the quiet acts of love and sacrifice happening in kitchens and living rooms across our state. Michigan’s caregivers deserve more than our thanks. They deserve relief.
Join AARP in urging lawmakers to pass this much-needed caregiver tax credit. To add your voice, visit aarpmi.org/care.
—————
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. To learn more about AARP, visit aarp.org.
New License Plate Honoring Michigan's Women Veterans Now Available
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has unveiled a new license plate that acknowledges the service, sacrifice, and contributions of Michigan’s women veterans.
The new license plate features a vignette of a woman veteran preceding the vehicle’s characters and has “Her Service Our Freedom” inscribed. The plate also has “Woman Veteran” below the registration configuration.
Michigan now offers 33 license plate designs honoring past and present military members and their families.
Secretary Benson joined State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) and Lolita Tucker, Michigan’s Disabled American Veterans state commander, at an unveiling ceremony Nov. 10 in Dearborn. Sen. Santana was the sponsor of Senate Bill 788, which authorized production of the new Michigan woman veteran plate.
Benson announced the first Michigan woman veteran plate would be produced for Commander Tucker, a U.S. Army veteran who championed the bill and spoke in front of the Michigan Senate Committee on Veterans & Emergency Services in its support. She served from 1996 to 2003, including deployments to Japan, Kuwait and Iraq. Today, she continues her service by advocating for Michigan’s disabled veterans.
As of September 2025, there are more than 44,000 woman veterans in Michigan, accounting for 9 percent of the state’s veteran population, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.
Eligible Michigan veterans may order the woman veteran specialty plate online at the Michigan Department of State website or by scheduling a visit to a branch office.
The new license plate features a vignette of a woman veteran preceding the vehicle’s characters and has “Her Service Our Freedom” inscribed. The plate also has “Woman Veteran” below the registration configuration.
Michigan now offers 33 license plate designs honoring past and present military members and their families.
Secretary Benson joined State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) and Lolita Tucker, Michigan’s Disabled American Veterans state commander, at an unveiling ceremony Nov. 10 in Dearborn. Sen. Santana was the sponsor of Senate Bill 788, which authorized production of the new Michigan woman veteran plate.
Benson announced the first Michigan woman veteran plate would be produced for Commander Tucker, a U.S. Army veteran who championed the bill and spoke in front of the Michigan Senate Committee on Veterans & Emergency Services in its support. She served from 1996 to 2003, including deployments to Japan, Kuwait and Iraq. Today, she continues her service by advocating for Michigan’s disabled veterans.
As of September 2025, there are more than 44,000 woman veterans in Michigan, accounting for 9 percent of the state’s veteran population, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.
Eligible Michigan veterans may order the woman veteran specialty plate online at the Michigan Department of State website or by scheduling a visit to a branch office.
