Roads and bridges to be a focus of the State of the State address
Governor Rick Snyder will deliver his State of the State address this evening. According to the Detroit News,
"Snyder, preparing to lay out a new road funding scheme in his third State of the State address tonight, admitted it will be tough to persuade lawmakers to approve raising $1.6 billion that a bipartisan legislative report says is needed to keep roads and bridges from crumbling faster than they can be repaired."
Snyder approval rating rises
A new poll shows that the controversial right to work legislation that Governor Rick Snyder signed last month did not hurt his approval rating. As the Detroit Free Press reports,
The poll by the Republican firm Mitchell Research and Communications -- released on the eve of Snyder's third State of the State address today -- is sharply at odds with a poll released Dec. 18 by a Democratic polling firm, Public Policy Polling of North Carolina. The Mitchell poll shows Snyder with a 50% approval rating, up 3 percentage points from a poll Mitchell took in December. It also shows 50% support for the controversial right-to-work legislation Snyder signed after it was passed by the Legislature in December. In contrast, the PPP poll found 38% approval of Snyder, down 9 percentage points from an earlier PPP poll just before the Nov. 6 election. The PPP poll found 41% of voters support the right-to-work legislation, and 51% oppose it.
Judge ruling could set precedent for emergency managers
A court ruling today could determine what power the Detroit Public School board has over operations. The district is under the control of an emergency manager. The Detroit Free Pressreports,
"The court hearing could indicate the effect -- if any -- the school board will have on district operations between now and March 27, when a new emergency manager law will strip the board of its limited authority over academic operations. The board will remain in existence under the new law and could seek to remove the emergency manager after 18 months.
