Additional Resources

www.michiganinbrief.org
Michigan in Brief: 1998-99, prepared and published by Public Sector Consultants, Inc., provides useful information about the state and an objective look at 65 public policy topics of current concern to Michigan residents and their elected representatives. The issues are treated in sufficient depth to be useful to the well informed, yet written plainly enough to be understood by non-experts. Each has three parts: background information; discussion of proposed policy options, including a balanced, nonpartisan presentation of various viewpoints; and sources of additional information, including FAX numbers and Web sites where available. (E-mail contact information seldom is included because personnel and addresses change too frequently.) Cross-references will lead the reader to related issues. Other chapters of Michigan in Brief provide general, historical, and economic information about the state:

"An Economic and Political History of Michigan" recounts events from 1600 to the present.

"About State Government" profiles the executive branch (including brief descriptions of the 18 state departments), legislative branch (with a sketch of the lawmaking process), and judicial branch (with an explanation of the various courts' jurisdictions) and also summarizes state governments' checks and balances.

"About Local Government" describes the basis, evolution, and organization of local government in Michigan and briefly summarizes certain issues of concern to local units.

"The State Budget" outlines the process by which Michigan's annual financial plan is determined.

michiganlegislature.org
Michigan Legislative Information Web Server, a service of the Michigan Legislative Council, the Michigan House of Representatives, and the Michigan Senate. It has a copy of all bills introduced, committee meeting schedules and language for all bills introduced.