#FactsMatter, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan podcast

In episode 8 of a series previewing what a constitutional convention (con-con) - a question on the November 2026 ballot - might address, hosts Guy Gordon and Eric Lupher of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan discuss Article VI - Judicial Branch. Michigan voters are asked every 16 years whether to hold a con-con. The overall takeaway: Article VI works reasonably well structurally, but judicial selection, the partisan/nonpartisan fiction, and especially court funding are issues a convention would almost certainly need to address. The 1963 Constitution Did Well Here The framers get high marks for creating a unified "one court of justice" — a clear hierarchy from district courts up through the Court of Appeals (which didn't exist before 1963) to the Supreme Court, with the Supreme Court given real administrative authority over lower courts. It was a major improvement over the previous patchwork with no clear appeals process. Key Reform Opportunities Judicial selection is broken. Supreme Court justices are nominated by party caucuses but run on a "nonpartisan" ballot — something both hosts call transparently hypocritical. Other states use bipartisan vetting committees before gubernatorial appointment, which could reduce political gamesmanship, including governors rushing to fill vacancies before leaving office. The nonpartisan/partisan contradiction also bleeds into how vacancies get filled strategically, mirroring federal Supreme Court dynamics. Age limits (currently 70) may be worth revisiting given longer lifespans, though cognitive fitness concerns remain valid. Judicial pay is underfunded and uneven — tied to a politicized compensation commission, with some Supreme Court justices earning less than circuit judges in wealthier counties. County clerks serve two masters — local government and the courts — creating administrative confusion. Courts may be better served hiring their own staff. Court funding is the most contentious issue. The state was always intended to be the primary funder of the unified court system but currently covers only 2–4% of costs, leaving local governments to fill the gap. This creates stark inequities between wealthy and poor counties, and pushes courts to raise revenue through fees and fines, which can be barriers to justice and have been ruled unconstitutional. A constitutional amendment explicitly assigning funding responsibility to the state may be necessary to force change.

Guy chats with the Research Council’s Detroit office director Doug Ortiz and Citizens Research Council President Eric Lupher about the Detroit February revenue estimating conference (REC) and what it portends for Mayor Sheffield’s first executive budget. Detroit’s fiscal year begins on July 1, 2026. Detroit, like many cities, counties, and townships in Michigan, is looking at relatively flat revenue growth as it begins to craft its budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. The small increase in revenue estimates was largely due to higher wagering/casino tax revenue than in the September 2025 REC. Annual growth in wagering taxes has been volatile in recent fiscal years and is expected to plateau in the forecast period with no real growth. Annual revenue growth in the forecast from FY2026 to FY2030 is expected to be flat-to-modest. Property and income tax revenues lead forecasted annual growth, but when adjusted for inflation, income tax revenues had virtually no real growth It is a good sign that there is talk of some level of tax reform coming from Lansing. Detroit and many local governments throughout Michigan will be watching.

Eric Paul Dennis, research associate for infrastructure at the Citizens Research Council, joins Guy Gordon for the first podcast of 2026. Earlier this week, Dennis’ research brief, How the 2025 Transportation Funding Package Accidentally Cut Road Funding in FY2026, contrasted the promise of new funding in the current fiscal year with the reality. Guy and Eric pick up where their conversation left off in late 2025 — at the start of fiscal year (FY) 2026 — when the Michigan Legislature passed and Governor Whitmer signed Michigan’s 2025 transportation funding package, billed as delivering more than $1 billion in new road funding for FY 2026. But the reality is that Michigan road agencies have seen a more than 15 percent decrease in state funding distributions in the months following the adoption of the package. This discrepancy between a promised funding increase and a realized funding decrease is largely due to differences in formal state accounting and the timing of funding distributions to road agencies. Additional delays and uncertainties are imposed by statutory details and bureaucratic complexities related to new funding sources provided by the 2025 transportation funding package. Road agencies will see funding increases beginning in April 2026 (the second half of the fiscal year). However, the increases in the final six months of FY2026 are likely to be smaller than the decreases seen in the first six months. Although the official state budget may reflect an over $1 billion increase in road funding in FY2026, road agencies may receive less funding than in FY2025. The promised FY2026 funding increase will likely be distributed to agencies in FY2027, with some disbursed in the final months of FY2026. However, the exact timing and amount of this funding remain unclear.

Guy sits down with Karley Abramson, research associate for health policy, to talk about the seriously high level of poor health among Michiganders, a level showing increasing signs of further deterioration. Citizens Research Council just released exhaustive research, authored by Abramson, that drills down to root causes of why Michiganders suffer from worse health outcomes than residents in similar, neighboring states and even across the U.S. The paper, Social Determinants of Health: Pathways to a Healthier Michigan, clearly translates what Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) mean for Michiganders and how they directly affect the state’s economy and our collective ability to prosper. Interconnectedness – All Policy is Health Policy This report unpacks SDOH by focusing on the evidence-based fundamental resources that are necessary for individual health: Financial Resources; Health Care; Food and Nutrition; Safety; and Social Support. Abramson explains that all the evidence and data point to two broad themes: the interconnectedness of the social determinants of health and the centrality of financial resources in the story of Michigan residents’ lagging health outcomes. “In every area of public policy, there is a nexus to health and well-being,” the report notes. “The centrality of financial resources – education, employment, and income – is the story of Michigan’s lagging health outcomes.”

Guy Gordon and Bob Schneider, Citizens Research Council’s senior research associate for state affairs, look at what is in the final state budget, signed into law this week by Governor Whitmer, from both the 30,000 foot level and the nitty gritty level, digging into some of the elements that didn’t receive much attention. Calling it the Michigan ‘Potholes and Pot’ budget, Guy and Bob discuss how the budget finally tries to start addressing how Michigan funds roads by removing the confusing sales tax on gasoline, so those dollars now go directly where they belong: fixing roads. But that change also cuts off money that used to flow to schools and local governments. Backfilling the School Aid Fund Schools were mostly held harmless, but because some of their funding was shifted to universities, K–12 districts end up about $400 million short. No Backfill for Cities, Villages and Townships Local governments weren’t so lucky — they’re losing around $93 million, which could mean tighter budgets for public safety and local services. This equals a 5–10% reduction, depending on the community. Impact varies: Townships may be more affected since revenue sharing can be a large portion of their budget. Some public safety grants (~$42M) were added, but they’re targeted and don’t offset the broader cuts. Budget Gimmicks and Sustainability The good news? No budget gimmicks this year. It’s considered honest and sustainable, with no major short-term gimmicks like early payments or delayed obligations, even as COVID-era one-time funds fade away. Michigan budgeted one-time funds carefully. While some lawmakers claim the budget is smaller, it’s actually slightly larger once you count all spending — around $84 billion total. On the process side, there was real progress: lawmakers made earmark requests public and transparent. But the process was still rushed, and there was a big miss — the state skipped the usual public revenue estimate, leaving a major transparency gap. In short: Michigan’s budget is cleaner, more sustainable and fixes old problems than in past years. But leaves a few new ones to deal with in coming years. The budget solves long-standing issues around fuel taxes and revenue use. Schools were protected, but took a secondary hit from a university funding shift. The budget is sustainable, transparent, and returns to normal size relative to the state’s economy.

Guy speaks with Senior Research Director Craig Thiel about his recent issue brief looking at Michigan’s efforts to improve early literacy among low-income students, with increased funding and accountability measures. Unfortunately, while the data is still relatively new, the state’s efforts are not yielding hoped-for results. While Michigan student test scores in several other grades and subjects have shown important (albeit gradual) improvements since the COVID-19 pandemic, the reading proficiency rates for third- and fourth-grade students continue to decline. A recent reminder of this concerning trend was brought to light when the Michigan Department of Education released the Spring 2025 statewide assessment results, showing that fewer than four in ten third graders tested proficient in reading. The new analysis of third-grade reading results for at-risk students shows that fewer than half of all Michigan school districts have demonstrated improvement in “at-risk” student reading proficiency rates since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. These district-level improvements, however, varied based on a district’s socioeconomic status. “We found that 50 percent of high-poverty districts saw improvement in third grade reading proficiency rates among “at-risk” students, compared to just 37 percent of low-poverty districts,” Thiel said.

Guy Gordon chats with Citizens Research Council president Eric Lupher about his study examining how an admissions tax on sports and entertainment venues could help offset some of the costs of providing public services that support these venues and their visitors. The study, commissioned by the City of Detroit’s Legislative Policy Division, focuses not only on Detroit but also on several other Michigan cities that could benefit from revenues generated by an admissions tax. These revenues could be used to provide benefits such as property tax relief and to invest in attracting future national events to Michigan. Among the many issues the report, Evaluating Local-Option Admissions Taxes in Michigan, examines are the economic impact of events, admission tax revenue estimates, tax design and policy considerations, revenue generation from comparable cities, the advantages and disadvantages of local-option taxes, and the viability of Michigan having an admissions tax. In a Nutshell: Detroit is one of the few major cities in the U.S. that does not levy an entertainment/amusement/admissions tax. While this means the city is not taking advantage of a revenue source commonly used by other cities, it also means that the city can learn from the processes and experiences of others. Depending on how an authorizing state law would define the base and the tax rates authorized, Detroit could yield upwards of $50 million from an admissions tax. Revenue from an admissions tax could be used to enhance city services, diversify the city’s revenue streams, provide property tax relief, and put into a fund that could be used to draw major national events to the city. “Several Michigan cities serve as regional hubs for culture, commerce, sports teams, concerts, and conventions,” said Eric Lupher, president of the Research Council, adding there are even more that host events that, relative to their size, similarly incur service costs. “Detroit stands alone as the largest city in this role, with four major professional sports teams, concert halls, theatres, and other venues that attract attendees from throughout Southeast Michigan and beyond.” The study concludes that while a new state law would be needed to authorize local admissions taxes, the state legislature should consider allowing cities to impose an admissions tax to enhance revenue streams, help cover costs associated with hosting events, and provide property tax relief.

Put on your tick spray because we are headed into the weeds! Announcing “In the Weeds,” a new occasional podcast from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan Universe. As described by our host, broadcast giant Guy Gordon, In the Weeds is for “those who are a little wonkier, a little nerdier, and who want to dive deeper” into public policy issues discussed on our regular #FactsMatter podcast. Joining Guy in the weeds for this first podcast is Research Council infrastructure analyst is Eric Paul Dennis. Eric and Guy piggyback off their conversation in the most recent #FactsMatter podcast on why so many Michigan roads are so bad, road funding dysfunction and why Michigan hasn’t been able to solve this problem for decades. They discuss the outrageous level of complexities involved in accessing the conditions and funding of Michigan’s roads and how Michigan roads stack up, apples-to-apples, against other states. They also discuss badly needed reform of Act 51, a 74-year-old “zombie” bill that is the primary funding mechanism of Michigan road program. Guy presses Eric on whether Act 51 is fair (“no”) or needs-based (“no”). Eric also makes the case that real reform of Act 51, which could take several years and cost millions, could guarantee that all agencies currently receiving Act 15 funding are held harmless, ensuring that their current level of funding would never decrease under any new road funding formula.