In November 2018, the citizens of Michigan passed Proposal 2, which amended the Michigan Constitution to place congressional and state legislative redistricting in the hands of a new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC)...
Federal funds intended to stabilize the budgets of local communities have proven a daunting task to take down for multiple reasons, a recent policy survey by the University of Michigan found. Cities, villages and townships trying to spend the $4.4...
A new report presents local government leaders’ views regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, the State of Michigan, and the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders...
Voters around the country will be making decisions on an array of candidates and issues in the 2022 midterm election on Nov. 8. One viral Instagram post urges Michigan voters to vote against a ballot proposal that it characterized as a threat to...
As voters in Michigan consider a ballot measure to change the state’s legislative term limits, a survey of former legislators shows overwhelming support for reforming or abolishing the limits. The survey, conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills, a...
A total of 68% of 110 former state lawmakers said they would serve in the Legislature again if given a chance, according to a University of Michigan study published today. Some of them may soon get that...
A survey of 110 former legislators shows overwhelming support for changing or abolishing term limits. The survey, which was conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills, a longtime Republican strategist now a lecturer at the University of Michigan Ford...
A new policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on Michigan’s new approach to electoral redistricting and the performance of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). These findings are based...
Support among local leaders for the concept of an independent redistricting commission has waned over time, according to a study published by the University of Michigan's Center for Local State and Urban...
Michigan township and city officials are now even more confident in their jurisdiction’s election security and ability to administer an accurate election than when asked a similar question in 2020, when confidence was already high, according to...
In the 2020 presidential election, there were upwards of 150 poll workers in Detroit. Then came the onslaught of right-wing conspiracy theories and lies that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump – and the baseless claim...
In the 2020 presidential election, there were upwards of 150 poll workers in Detroit. Then came the onslaught of right-wing conspiracy theories and lies that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump – and the baseless claim...
IPPSR's State of the State podcast had Debra Horner on to review findings from the Spring 2022 MPPS survey on local leaders' views about the upcoming November 2022...
The University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) surveyed 1,856 local governments in Michigan about confidence in midterm election security. 85% of respondents said they are “very confident” that their jurisdiction’s...
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor reported in a new survey of Michigan’s local government leaders that the top spending priorities for the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding are on capital improvements, infrastructure, and public...
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor reported in a new survey of Michigan local government leaders that the top spending priorities for federal American Rescue Planning Act (ARPA) funding are on capital improvements, infrastructure and public...
A new University of Michigan survey shows more than half of local governments in Michigan plan to spend federal COVID-relief funds on public buildings and parks. Michigan towns, counties and cities are receiving billions of dollars from the federal...
A new report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature. These...
In 2002, three academic researchers proposed applying eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to state and local government financial reporting to make municipal data more digestible and publicly available. Now 20 years later, the University...
XBRL US, a nonprofit standards organization, and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, announced the publication of digital financial data standards for local...
XBRL US, a nonprofit standards organization, and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, announced the publication of digital financial data standards for local...
Michigan State University recently launched the Partisan Advantage Tracker, a user-friendly tool that helps the public assess election fairness and track election outcomes. MSU Professor of Economics and Political Science Jon X. Eguia collaborated...
The turmoil surrounding the city of Flint-most notably stemming from its lead-tainted water crisis-has become a cautionary tale for other Rust Belt cities struggling to balance their budgets, provide services and attract new...
The turmoil surrounding the city of Flint-most notably stemming from its lead-tainted water crisis-has become a cautionary tale for other Rust Belt cities struggling to balance their budgets, provide services and attract new...
Leaders of Michigan communities both large and small overwhelmingly agree recycling remains important, but they face challenges to implement recycling programs for their residents.
A recent University of Michigan public policy survey showed...
Michigan has had its share of disasters. Dams collapsed after heavy rains, flooding Midland. A sinkhole the size of a football field was caused by a sewer collapse in Macomb County. And in Flint, children were exposed to lead-contaminated...
