Prominent business families own jet reportedly linked to Whitmer Florida trip
Michigan Governor s Office
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won t divulge details of an out-of-state trip she took to visit her ailing father.
The private jet reportedly linked to a much-criticized trip Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to Florida in March is owned by well-known names in metro Detroit business.
Neither the governor nor the jet s operator are answering questions about whether Whitmer used the plane co-owned by the Nicholson, Cotton and Moroun families in mid-March to visit her father in Florida.
Since revelations last month that Whitmer briefly left the state for a previously undisclosed trip to see her elderly father amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the governor and her office have steadfastly refused to say where she went, when she went and whose plane she took.
House panel debates financial disclosure bills that wouldn’t make sitting lawmakers’ finances public
Updated May 04, 2021;
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A Michigan House committee took up a proposal that would require lawmakers to disclose their personal finances Tuesday, debating the merits of a plan that would subject elected officials to new disclosure requirements without allowing the public to see it until they’re out of office.
The legislation, House Bills 4680 through 4686, would compel lawmakers to submit financial information for themselves and immediate family members including income sources over $5,000, properties valued over $50,000 excluding their primary residence, and stocks, bonds and annuities valued at $10,000 or more to a new, permanent legislative ethics committee in their chamber.
Proposed financial disclosure bills wouldn’t make current lawmakers’ finances public
Today 10:00 AM
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A new proposal in the Michigan House would compel lawmakers and state officers to disclose their personal financial interests for the first time but that information wouldn’t be public until after they leave office, an arrangement that if signed into law, would diverge significantly from the 48 other states that currently require financial disclosure.
Michigan has long been an outlier when it comes to identifying and regulating potential financial conflicts of interest for elected officials. It’s one of two states – and the only one with a full-time legislature – with no requirement for state public officials to disclose basic financial information, including income sources, business investments, gifts and travel compensation.
Republican leaders suggest expanding metrics for lifting COVID-19 restrictions if vaccination rates plateau
Updated 8:33 PM;
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Legislative Republican leaders said Friday they appreciated Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to provide metrics for lifting COVID-19 restrictions, but expressed concern that basing it solely on vaccination rates could pose issues should rates plateau before 70% of the population is vaccinated.
During a Detroit Regional Chamber panel featuring the four members of Michigan’s legislative quadrant Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, and House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township Shirkey and Wentworth said they would like more discussions on additional metrics for easing pandemic-related restrictions.
“What if we don’t ever get to 70” percent, Wentworth, R-Clare, said Friday in a virtual roundtable hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber. “That’s a possibility, so how do we give some more sense of hope and certainty in that plan?”
Wentworth acknowledged polling that suggests Republican voters are less likely to get the vaccine, but he cautioned against “vaccine shaming,” arguing the state should stay focused on ensuring accessibility for those who choose to get the shots.
“I think as we do that that trust and confidence continues to build, and I think some groups that may be hesitant to get the vaccine would start getting that,” he said. “But if we just focus on these groups, and we just focus on separating us into camps, that creates a problem.”