State government

MPPS

Local leaders' concerns about Michigan’s direction spike, while evaluations of state leaders sink over the past year

July 6, 2021

This 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...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders' views on state's new approach to electoral redistricting

February 22, 2021

This report presents local government leaders' familiarity with Michigan’s new approach to redistricting by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, as well as their perspectives on potential "Communities of Interest" in the areas...

MPPS

The functioning of democracy at the local level: a compendium of findings from the Michigan Public Policy Survey of local leaders

December 14, 2020

The Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has released a new resource that summarizes Michigan local government leaders’ views on democracy and democratic governance. The findings come from the Michigan Public Policy...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders say local democracy is strong, as their trust in government and citizens rises

October 27, 2020

This 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, as well as their levels of trust toward the federal, state, and other local...

Policy Reports

The Role of Communities of Interest in Michigan's New Approach to Redistricting: Recommendations to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission

August 31, 2020

John Chamberlin, Alissa Graff, Sarah Gruen, Safiya Merchant, Nick Najor, Gerson Ramirez, James VanSteel

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) was launched at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy in 2001 to provide public service to the people and communities of Michigan. Over the years, CLOSUP has...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders expect mixed impacts from expanded voter registration and absentee voting reforms

July 28, 2020

This report presents the experiences and opinions of Michigan’s local government clerks and other city and township leaders regarding three statewide voting and election reforms: 1) voter registration up to 15 days before an election via mail,...

MPPS

Local leaders' evaluations of Michigan's direction and Governor's performance during the COVID-19 pandemic's arrival

July 16, 2020

This 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...

MPPS

The initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Michigan communities and local governments

June 24, 2020

This report presents local government leaders' views on the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan through May of 2020, including impacts on the state and its communities, expectations for how long negative impacts would persist, evaluations of governmental...

MPPS

New Governor, new evaluations of the direction Michigan is headed among local leaders

August 1, 2019

Student Working Papers

Ethics & Transparency in Michigan: A State Falling Behind

March 1, 2019

Nick Guisinger

The United States Government and the various state governments all have laws establishing rules around government ethics and transparency. These are put in place to avoid conflicts of interest or corruption among public officials and to ensure that...

MPPS

Rising confidence in Michigan’s direction among local leaders, but partisan differences remain

July 1, 2018

This 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 Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

IEEP

Federalism and California’s Role in Vehicle Emissions Standards

July 1, 2018

This paper and its analyses were commissioned in order to support a paper written by Barry G. Rabe for the Academy of Arts and Sciences Project on Durability and Adaptability in Energy Policy entitled “Leveraged Federalism and the Clean Air Act: The...

Student Working Papers

Virginia’s Road to RGGI: A Case Study of State-Level Cap-and-Trade Adoption

June 1, 2018

Joe Cianciola

In the global fight against climate change, cap-and-trade programs remain one of the most effective means of greenhouse gas mitigation at policymakers’ disposal. Within the United States, several sub-national cap-and trade programs have emerged with...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders’ views on state preemption and how to share policy authority

June 1, 2017

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding concerns over state government preemption of local decision making and preferred areas of shared and separate policy authority between local and state government. The...

MPPS

Improving communication, building trust are seen as keys to fixing relationships between local jurisdictions and the State government

April 1, 2017

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the relationships between their local jurisdictions and the State government, including particular factors that affect State-local relations, how those relations...

MPPS

Local leaders more likely to support than oppose Michigan’s Emergency Manager law, but strongly favor reforms

February 1, 2017

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state’s Emergency Manager law, officially known as Michigan’s Local Financial Stability and Choice Act (P.A. 436 of 2012). This law is targeted at local...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders say property tax appeals are common, disagree with dark stores assessing

October 1, 2016

The issue of property tax appeals has been increasingly important in Michigan recently as “big box” stores (e.g. Lowe’s, Costco, etc.) have been able to significantly decrease their taxes by arguing property assessments should be based on the value...

MPPS

Local officials say Michigan’s system of funding local government is broken, and seek State action to fix it

September 1, 2016

This report presents views of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state’s system of funding local government, whether it needs to be reformed, and what reforms they prefer. It also includes their preferences for raising additional...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders' doubts continue regarding state's direction

July 1, 2016

This 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 Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

MPPS

Confidence in Michigan's direction declines among state's local leaders

August 1, 2015

This 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 Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders see need for state and local ethics reform

March 1, 2015

This report presents Michigan local government leaders' views on a variety of issues regarding ethics at the state and local levels, including how ethical they believe Michigan's state and local government leaders are, what types of ethics policies...

MPPS

Confidence in Michigan’s direction holds steady among state’s local leaders

August 1, 2014

This 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 Rick Snyder, the Michigan Legislature, and 14 individual...

MPPS

Local leaders evaluate state policymaker performance and whether Michigan is on the right track

August 1, 2013

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, and their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings are...

MPPS

Local leaders support reforming Michigan’s system of funding local government

January 1, 2013

This report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding both the state’s system of funding local government and their jurisdictions’ ability to provide public services in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The findings are...

MPPS

Local leaders support eliminating Michigan’s Personal Property Tax if funds are replaced, but distrust state follow-through

November 1, 2012

As state lawmakers consider reform and partial elimination of Michigan’s Personal Property Tax (PPT), this report presents local government leaders’ assessments of the PPT and its impact on their jurisdictions, as well as their views on potential...

MPPS

Michigan’s local leaders are divided over the state’s emergency manager law

September 1, 2012

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state’s emergency manager law, officially called the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (Public Act 4 of 2011). This law provides for...

MPPS

Michigan’s local leaders more positive about Governor Snyder’s performance, more optimistic about the state’s direction

July 1, 2012

This 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 Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

MPPS

State funding incentives increase local collaboration, but also raise concerns

March 1, 2012

In 2011, the state of Michigan implemented major policy changes in its statutory revenue sharing program, through which it distributes funding to a subset of Michigan's 1,856 local governments. The new policy replaced formula-based funding with an...

MPPS

Local officials react to state policy innovation tying revenue sharing to dashboards and incentive funding

January 1, 2012

MPPS

Despite increased approval of state government performance, Michigan's local leaders are concerned about the state's direction

August 1, 2011

This 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 Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...