January 28, 2021 By Jessica Mathews & Jon King / news@whmi.com
Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her third annual State of the State Address Wednesday night, highlighting both successes and challenges still to overcome during the continuing pandemic.
Speaking from her Capitol office, the Democratic Governor said 2020 was a tough year and acknowledged the more than 14,000 lives lost to COVID-19. She noted that over the past year, people confronted historic converging crises â a worldwide pandemic, the recession it caused, a 500-year flooding event, a nationwide call against racial inequity, and a deeply divisive election. Based on the political environment this past year, Whitmer said people might think Republicans and Democrats in Lansing canât find common ground on much of anything but the reality was that they took real bipartisan action to get things done â noting she signed two balanced, bi-partisan budgets that prioritized p
December 17, 2020 By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com
A local lawmakerâs plan to improve mental health services has passed the state House, marking his final bill passage before the end of his term.
A bill introduced by Republican State Representative Hank Vaupel of Fowlerville creating a uniform Community Mental Health Services credentialing process was approved Wednesday by the Michigan House of Representatives. Credentialing is the process of obtaining, verifying and assessing the qualifications of a practitioner to provide services for a Community Mental Health organization. The need for uniform credentialing was recognized by the bi-partisan House C.A.R.E.S. Task Force, which identified it as a way to improve the process for providers and make it easier to accept Medicaid patients.