State government

This policy brief presents the views of Michigan's local government leaders regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, across the State of Michigan, and across the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide...

MPPS

MPPS Policy Brief: Despite two-year trend of improvement, most Michigan local officials continue to say the state is on the wrong track

May 17, 2023

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’ concerns about U.S. democracy at state and federal levels ease somewhat, but remain grim

November 16, 2022

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. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in...

Policy Reports

Former Michigan Legislators Overwhelmingly Favor Reforming or Abolishing Term Limits

October 31, 2022

Rusty Hills, Delaney Walsh, Thomas Ivacko

To learn more about the views of former state legislators—many of whom were term-limited out of office—a survey was conducted in 2020 and 2021. This policy brief highlights key findings about the former legislators’ lessons from serving in Lansing...

MPPS

Local leaders’ pessimism about Michigan’s direction continues, but eases slightly from last year

July 6, 2022

MPPS

The lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Michigan communities and local governments

October 27, 2021

This report presents local government leaders’ views on the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan in 2021, including overall impacts on local communities, evaluations of governmental coordination and resource provision, and...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...