Beginning March 21, 2019 watercraft users in the state are required to take steps to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Anyone fishing with live or cut bait or practicing catch-and-release fishing will need to take precautions to limit the movement of...

New York City now joins the states of California, Washington, and Oregon in offering the “X” option on birth certificates. Similar legislation took effect February 1 in New Jersy.  In New York City you have the right to affirm your gender identity. All New Yorkers...

A concurrent solution to call on the Michigan Veterans’ Facility Authority to ensure plans for the new state veterans homes included signed smoking areas. The state of Michigan has committed to the process of updating its system of veteran’s homes to create a...

As of January 1, 2019, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, And Washington have Death with Dignity statutes. In Montana, physician-assisted dying has been legal by State Supreme Court ruling since 2009. Death with dignity laws, also...

Michigan Senate Bill 40 – border employees: This new law will allow businesses in border counties to count employees who live in other states as a “qualified new job” for taxpayer incentives through the Michigan Business Development Program. The legislation was...

The signing of Senate Bill 1171, now Public Act 368, will slow the gradual income of Michigan’s minimum wage from $9.45 in 2019 to $12.05 by 2030. The Michigan One Fair proposal called for raising the wage to $12 by 2022.

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the most substantial changes in a generation to the tough-on-crime prison and sentencing laws that ballooned the federal prison population and created a criminal justice system that many conservatives and liberals view as costly...

Michigan’s new Economic Development Incentive Evaluation Act will require the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget to hire a contractor to periodically evaluate business development and tax incentives. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expecting to evaluate...

A long-sought measure by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration will let suburban employers voluntarily register to withhold Detroit’s city income tax for employees who live in the city.  With more than half of Detroiters reverse-commuting to the suburbs each...

Michigan’s marijuana industry is in full swing after voters legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. Now the Legislature has created the legal framework for marijuana’s – hemp – to be industrialized. This legislation signed by Snyder will create an industrial...