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The Overton Window on K-12 education had been firmly set in place in the 1980s. Outside of some students in religious schools, elitist enclaves, and a handful of homeschool households, everyone went to assigned public district schools based on where they lived.

Senate Bill 458: Require governor notify legislature when traveling out of state: Passed 20 to 16 in the Senate

To require that when leaving the state and on return, the governor must notify the lieutenant governor, and require this person to notify legislative leaders in writing within 12 hours.

It is well known that COVID-19 is significantly more dangerous for older populations. Data from Michigan shows that about 83% of the deaths associated with the disease in 2020 were of people 65 or older. But how does the risk of dying from COVID-19 compare with other risks, especially for younger populations? Turns out that this risk is not different from others faced on a regular basis.

The state of Michigan and its local governments are awash in cash – buoyed by a strong economy and an influx of federal funds. Lawmakers are looking to appropriate this money and, unfortunately, many are exploring risky new government-run programs.

Government-owned broadband networks are near the top of the wish list for many cities, counties and schools. There is certainly a need for better high-speed internet in parts of the state. The good news is that the Michigan Legislature passed a bill last year that set some guidelines to ensure those areas are being helped, without resorting to unnecessary overspending or unfair practices. It’s Public Act 166 of 2020, which lays down rules for distributing federal funds meant for broadband deployment. It prohibits government-owned networks from receiving the funding and ensures broadband grants go to private providers expanding in unserved areas, rather than those which already have companies in operation.

In the three decades of the modern school choice movement, 2021 has no rival. This Year of Educational Choice has broadened opportunities for students and families more than any other. But these opportunities have not penetrated everywhere. Without a bold strategy, Michigan is one place where students and families will be left in the dust.

House Bill 4448: Prohibit limiting government open records disclosures during emergency: Passed 21 to 15 in the Senate

To establish that an executive order, proclamation, or directive issued under the law that authorizes the governor to declare an emergency may not lengthen the required government agency response times or otherwise limit the scope of a public body's duties to provide records requested under the state Freedom of Information Act. Such an order was imposed in April 2020 and rescinded that June.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ditched her short-lived and ill-conceived “Vacc to Normal” plan and announced expedited changes to the state orders regulating public interactions. Lost in this good news, though, is a policy the governor did not change and remains in effect until at least July 1: the mandatory, weekly testing of healthy teenagers who play youth sports.

Two Michigan House and Senate committees have endorsed legislation that would prevent local governments from banning short-term rentals, and it awaits approval by the full chambers of the Legislature. Though local governments could not ban the rentals under the proposed law, they could still regulate them under noise and other ordinances, similar to how they regulate long-term rentals and single-family homes.

March and April saw two news events involving Michigan’s now-defunct prevailing wage law. The first involved legislation introduced March 25 that would reinstate the costly wage mandate on government contracts in the Great Lake State. The second involved a court decision not to retry a former state representative who had been charged with attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe in exchange for voting against a bill to repeal the law. Interestingly, both stories cross paths with an Indiana-specific paper the Mackinac Center has repeatedly criticized.

For three years, the cities of Farmington and Farmington Hills have explored the idea of a joint government-owned broadband service. This is despite the fact that the residents of these cities are blanketed with high-speed internet options from private providers, and despite a recent study estimating the cost of doing so will exceed $100 million and be a “fairly risky” investment for these cities to operate.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in The Hill on May 8, 2021. 

It may be hard to believe, but there is a policy reform that unites a wide range of people, including conservatives, liberals and libertarians. Business groups and think tanks on the left agree with it, as do President Biden and former President Trump.

Editor's Note: This article was first published in The Hill on April 24, 2021.

President Biden released his plan to fix American infrastructure by spending trillions. The federal government has an important role to play in infrastructure, but it shouldn’t be the piggy bank for every state and local project.

Both politicians and public administrators seem to think they can change the direction of the economy by handing out money to a handful of businesses: There is a competition for jobs and they’re going to win it. A look at the scope of what is necessary to accomplish what they want done, however, ought to get them to reconsider whether business handouts can drive economic growth.

To many of the people living near the failed Edenville and Sanford dams, it seems like last year’s flood was only yesterday and, at the same time, almost a lifetime ago. On the evening of May 18, residents began receiving emergency text messages, warning that runoff from several days of extreme rain was threatening the stability of the Edenville Dam.

Senate Joint Resolution G: Ban banning state employees from communicating with a legislator: Passed 35 to 0 in the Senate

To place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment establishing that a state department or agency may not take disciplinary action against an employee because the employee communicates with a member of the legislature or a member's staff. The proposal would also ban restricting a nonpartisan employee of the legislature from communicating with a lawmaker or their staff. This requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate to go on the ballot.

Listening to the partisan political debate, some people may think that the only way for government policies to change is to elect the right people. While elections are important, they are not the only way that policies get changed. Another possibility is that the Overton Window shifts when some ideas become more popular, and the change can make previously unthinkable policies possible. I spoke with the Mackinac Center’s director of research, Michael Van Beek, to talk about how the Overton Window changes. We looked at the new ways policymakers thought about taxi regulations and what caused them to rethink their approach.

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles examining the effect of repealing prevailing wage mandates. The first one can be read here and the second can be read here.

Indiana policymakers repealed that state’s Common Construction Wage Act in 2015. The law imposed a prevailing wage mandate on construction firms, which now have more flexibility to determine employee compensation. Since the repeal, observers have attempted to understand the consequences for employees. And not just for construction workers in general, but also for those who do similar work in the public sector.

Lansing lawmakers are debating the conditions under which Michigan public schools will be funded next year. The Senate has approved a proposal to ensure all districts reopen classrooms for face-to-face instruction. But given the weaknesses exposed in the public school system and the challenge of helping students who fell behind during the pandemic, it isn’t enough to simply return schooling to normal.

If a shooting takes place at an apartment complex — which, unfortunately, is not uncommon — should government officials start talking about ways to ban apartment complexes? Or, say a crime was committed at an apartment building. Would it make sense to ask whether a website that renters use to find apartments was involved or complicit in the crime?

Over and over again, we see satirical stories that poke fun at silliness in politics and in the media coming true. But if you had planned to satirize the current energy debate in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s refusal to even pause her demands to close the Line 5 pipeline would seem too extreme and unrealistic, even for satire. Rather than appearing steadfast, in the light of recent fuel shortages on the East Coast and widespread predictions of massive job losses and energy restrictions, Gov. Whitmer’s dogged commitment to closing the pipeline now is no laughing matter.

Editor's Note: This is the second piece in a series of articles examining the effect of repealing prevailing wage mandates. The first one can be read here. 

The effect of repealing prevailing wage mandates, which require governments to pay union pay rates for construction projects, remains hotly debated. While many observers express concern about the implications for workers, others wonder if (and how) repeal affects the cost of public sector construction projects. Some advocates claim that repeal lowers the cost of infrastructure projects, including school construction.

Throughout her 2 1/2 years in office, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has rarely agreed with the Michigan Legislature on policy issues. The governor's unilateral approach to handling the state's COVID-19 response not only locked out the Legislature but also damaged this relationship. Now with the possibility that one-person governance will be over, the governor and Legislature need to determine what policy changes they'll focus on when they return to the normal lawmaking process.

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in The Hill on April 10, 2021. 

Recent media reports lit up with news that the oil and gas industry has agreed to endorse a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. Several weeks ago, the American Petroleum Institute (API), one of the nation’s largest oil and gas trade associations, voted to support the tax as a replacement for current greenhouse gas regulations. Readers should realize that the API’s support for the carbon tax is based on at least four big myths.

Editor's Note: This piece first appeared in The Detroit News on April 24, 2021.

Just last month, the Whitmer administration was praising the public for its role in driving down the number of COVID-19 cases. At a March 10 press conference, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive, said Michigan residents "have by and large followed public health recommendations: wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding gatherings.”

Senate Bill 128: Impose same expanded hours mandate on both new and used car dealers: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate

To impose a new mandate on both new and used auto dealers that they must be open for 30 hours per week during at least 48 weeks a year. This would likely have no effect on new car dealers, whose generally larger operations and costs make them likely to keep long hours already, but the additional burden could force some used car dealers to go out of business.