Government

Bill would compensate wrongfully convicted prisoners

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — There’s no way for a state to give back time — sometimes decades — to people who served in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. Most states do offer money to compensate people who manage to prove their innocence — but Michigan isn’t one of them. Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, aims to change this. Thirty states across the country compensate people who are wrongly convicted. But Michigan exonerees not only go uncompensated, they also are denied access to services available to parolees who were rightfully convicted.

Business & Economy

Drones are everywhere — here’s why

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — Seems like every day we’re hearing something new about drones, whether it’s military use of drones overseas, Amazon floating the idea of creating a drone delivery system, journalists using drones to report stories — or even just a neighbor down the street who bought a drone for fun. In Washington D.C., a drone recently crashed onto the lawn of the White House. In Michigan, lawmakers were concerned enough about drones to pass a law preventing people from using drones to hunt or to bother hunters. “The future of drones is absolutely astonishing, as to what they’re going to be able to accomplish for us,” said Ryan Latourette, a recreational drone user from Grand Ledge. Drones are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, but they’re still not well understood.

Business & Economy

Will Proposal 1 fix roads? Only the voters know

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — By now you’ve seen the ads on TV, heard them on the radio or read the op-eds in your local paper: Proposal 1 is either a devastating tax increase on all hardworking Michiganders or a crucial investment in our crumbling infrastructure. So what exactly does Proposal 1 do? One of the common criticisms of the Proposal is that it’s too complicated. It does more than just fix roads. Here’s what the proposal would do if approved by voters, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency, a nonpartisan government agency that provides analysis of legislation:

— Change the 19-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax to a 14.9 percent tax per gallon of gasoline.

Business & Economy

Explaining the gender wage gap

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — More than 50 years after Congress first acted to address the gender wage gap, many women across the country are still earning less than their male coworkers. Democrats in Michigan recently introduced a 12-bill package aimed at eliminating this disparity. Michigan ranked tenth worst in the nation when it comes to the gender pay gap, according to the American Association of University Women. Understanding how and why this gap exists is critical in addressing the issue. What is the gender wage gap?

Business & Economy

State groups strengthen police, community ties

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — As communities across the country confront mistrust between police and citizens, organizations across Michigan are working to build relationships that officials hope can avoid unrest when something goes wrong. For two decades, parts of the state have formed trust-building initiatives to ensure lines of communication are open to address incidents such as police shootings in Ferguson, Missouri, or North Charleston, South Carolina. “It’s very important that these relationships are being built and maintained, because it’s very challenging to build a relationship in the midst of a crisis,” said Patrick Miles Jr., a U.S. attorney who serves as co-chair on the Grand Rapids Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust. “It can be detrimental if no relationship is there.”

The group, one of five so-called ALPACTs across Michigan, includes law enforcement officials, prosecutors, local government officials, faith-based leaders, advocacy groups and individuals from the local community. Other regions with ALPACTs are Detroit, Saginaw, Flint and Benton Harbor.

Business & Economy

Michigan ‘religious freedom’ act concerns business leaders

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — Business leaders in Michigan are wary of proposed legislation that could lead to discrimination against those in the LGBT community. The passage of a similar Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana resulted in a backlash not only from gay and lesbian activist groups, but also business and even some religious leaders. “Economically, it would not be good for Michigan,” said Jennifer Kluge, CEO of the Michigan Business and Professional Association. “It won’t be good for anybody if the economy goes in a negative direction after all the work our legislature and governor have done to move it forward.”

This legislation would provide legal protections for people in Michigan who refuse to provide services to individuals based upon religious beliefs. Opponents of the legislation say it would allow businesses to discriminate against individuals, particularly those in the LGBT–lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender– community.

Elections & Politics

Gerrymandering in Michigan, explained

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — By all accounts, 2014 was a good election year for Republicans in Michigan. They increased their majority in the Michigan House of Representatives by three seats, now holding 63 to Democrats’ 47. Out of the 14 congressional races, Republicans won nine. You may assume Republicans across the state received substantially more votes than Democrats. However, that assumption would be wrong.

Education

Door ‘boots,’ 911 apps among uses for school security grants

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — With $4 million to spend in grants from the Michigan State Police, school districts across the state are opting to buy a wide variety of improved school security systems and devices. These improvements include increased door and window security, new emergency alert applications on electronic devices and reinforced classroom doors to keep out intruders. “Each district will take a different approach. Some will use electronics, some will use the boot, some will use video cameras — they’re not mutually exclusive,” said Mike Borkovich, Leelanau County Sheriff. “All of these things add up to more security for kids.”

School districts, private schools, charter schools and sheriff’s offices across the state requested more than $46 million in funding.

Business & Economy

Bill would speed tracking of missing people’s cell phones

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — Turn on any crime show, such as CSI, and you’ll see a scene like this: The police identify a suspect, and within seconds a tech expert has traced the cell phone to the perp’s exact GPS coordinates. “I’ve had several people ask me, ‘You can already do that, right?’” said Terry Jungel, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association. “But it’s not that easy.”
While federal legislation allows cellular providers to turn over a user’s location information, it does not require them to do so, unless the police have a warrant. In some cases–such as an abduction or a wandering Alzheimer’s patient– the time taken to obtain a warrant may mean the difference between life and death. Across the country, 17 states have passed what is commonly referred to as “Kelsey Smith Acts,” designed to expedite cellular location tracking.

Government

Lawmakers, agencies consider police body cameras

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By COLLIN KRIZMANICH
Capital News Service
LANSING — The shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer and similar incidents across the country have led to calls to equip police officers with body cameras that can capture video of their actions. The idea is simple: When camera-wearing police clash with civilians, there will be no debate about what happened because the footage will tell the story. Legislation has been introduced by House Democrats that would require any law enforcement officer who carries a firearm to be equipped with a body cam. The bill is currently stalled in the Criminal Justice Committee. Many Michigan law enforcement agencies are not waiting for a state law and are introducing body cameras themselves.