Michigan Republicans are taking swift action at the start of this year’s legislative session to gradually phase out Michigan’s income tax.

The Legislature’s 2016 lame-duck session was marked by both bipartisan agreement on tough policy issues as well as contentious attempts to solve ongoing state problems that nonetheless split along party lines.

The Michigan Legislature on Thursday passed a pair of sweeping, bipartisan energy bills that just days before had divided business groups over whether the policy changes would negatively impact ratepayers.

LOWELL — The early excitement built up over a renewable energy facility in Lowell had begun to fade roughly a year ago, and formally ended on Dec. 1 when local officials moved to permanently cut ties with its operator.

LANSING — Sweeping energy policy reform that has taken nearly two years to move through the state Legislature could face a contentious debate during the remaining days of the post-election lame duck session.

For the past two and half years, Hilary Dulany has been traveling between Oregon and Michigan to grow her small businesses amid the transformational change happening with the legal marijuana industry.

While considering buying an all-wheel-drive Tesla Model S electric vehicle in 2014, Jim MacInnes had to drive roughly four hours to Windsor, Ontario to give it a test drive.

Eight years after voters approved the use of medical marijuana, Michigan lawmakers have agreed to a regulatory framework for the commercial growing and selling of marijuana to qualified patients.

As Jackson-based Consumers Energy looks to build a statewide electric vehicle charging network, other companies in the sector have raised concerns about maintaining competition in the marketplace, both for vendors and drivers.

At least two Republican-controlled state House seats in West Michigan are expected to be competitive in the Nov. 8 election as Democrats set lofty goals to retake a majority in the lower chamber.

Fraudulent scams have grown ubiquitous across the legitimate marketplace, leaving a much more complex network of victims and challenging incorrect public perceptions about who is most at risk.

It’s an oft-heard line that you can be fired in Michigan just for being gay.

Earlier this month, the state Legislature adjourned for most of the summer so lawmakers can focus on constituent issues in their home districts, as well as this year’s election. 

Even though a pair of sweeping energy reform bills advanced in the state Senate late last month, key business groups stood opposed to the plans. 

In 2009, Michigan State University economist Charles Ballard met with then-gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder to discuss tax policy at an Applebee’s off I-96 near Okemos.

West Michigan’s business community says it has a vested interest in how well third-graders can read. 

Detroit-based DTE Energy is in the middle of a five-year, $2.5 billion gas and electric infrastructure upgrade that will have the utility investing millions into projects in West Michigan. 

JACKSON — Michigan’s second-largest electric utility says it is developing a program to meet the needs of large energy users who want more of their electricity to come from renewable sources

Midwest energy analysts say Michigan could leverage a $105 million public investment into roughly $3 billion in private clean energy development under what’s known as a “green bank.”

Gov. Rick Snyder is asking state lawmakers to increase funding for the popular Skilled Trades Training Fund program as part of his budget for the 2017 fiscal year.

State lawmakers remain focused on passing energy policy this year that preserves Michigan’s limited electric choice market and abandons renewable energy standards in favor of comprehensive planning requirements.

As the state grapples with the Flint water crisis and a long-term funding solution for Detroit Public Schools, business advocates hope lawmakers will still be able to tackle policies that keep health care costs down, add transparency and help companies attract talent. 

Advocates in West Michigan have spent nearly two years pitching Property Assessed Clean Energy financing to Kent County officials as one more tool in the Grand Rapids region’s economic development toolbox.

While a competitive tax structure was important, Las Vegas-based Switch Communications Group LLC had a different prerequisite before even considering opening a cloud-based data center in Michigan: reliable, renewable energy. 

As the price of wind and solar energy declines and even falls in line with fossil fuels, some policymakers have started to wonder if it’s time to expand Michigan’s renewable energy mandates.

Despite a growing number of plug-in electric vehicles on display at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, industry analysts say the segment has failed to reach the “aspirational” levels many had hoped.

Business advocates in Michigan are applauding the Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder over changes made late last year to the state’s abandoned and unclaimed property process.

Television stations around Michigan and nationwide are considering auctioning off valuable broadcast spectrum for potentially tens of millions of dollars to make room for mobile wireless development.