LUKE MEERMAN

Legal protections for LGBTQ Michiganders will soon be included under the state’s civil rights law after House lawmakers voted in favor of extending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Senate Bill 4 passed Wednesday, March 8, in a 64-45 vote with eight Republicans voting alongside Democrats to advance the bill. They came alongside other amendments which looked to drop gender identity from consideration in the bill, including requiring individuals use a restroom aligned with their biological sex at birth. “We must also insure that Michigan law does not violate our federal Constitution.”RELATED: The Ann Arbor area is losing LGBTQ spaces. He contended that other states have adopted some form of religious exemptions to their state’s civil rights laws when also enshrining protections for LGBTQ residents, and that Michigan can and should do the same.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has released its final report on what school districts need to keep students, faculty and staff safe.

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI – Incumbent state Rep. Luke Meerman, R-Coopersville, faces a Democratic challenger in the Nov. 8 election for the state House’s 89th District. The district also includes portions of Muskegon County and Kent City in Kent County. Meerman has served in the state House since 2019 and is a fifth-generation dairy farmer and small business owner. Information on other state, county and local primary races can be found at Vote411.org. Incumbent faces 2 challengers in race for Georgetown Township, Zeeland state House seatSix candidates vying for three, six-year seats on the Holland school board

Republican lawmakers on Tuesday delayed until after the November election rules that will tell Michigan election clerks how to match the signatures of people applying for and submitting absentee ballots.

Benson’s proposed election rules would codify the use of the existing online absentee ballot applications and require candidates to pay or settle any outstanding campaign finance fees. Michigan law states a voter’s signature to “agree sufficiently” with the signature already on file. Republicans also suggested limiting online request forms to only those requesting an absentee ballot application. Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to block all GOP election rules bills. READ MORE FROM MLIVE:Court invalidates Michigan rule on how to verify absentee ballot application signaturesHere are all the proposals vying to get on the ballot this year

LANSING, MI — A bill brought before a Michigan House committee Tuesday aims to prohibit election clerks from posting unofficial election results until all precincts in a community are complete. It would change the way voters typically watch unofficial election results come in on clerk’s websites throughout an election night. In the 2020 election, Michigan law prohibited absentee ballots from being counted until election day. I mean, these are unofficial results, they’re not official results, people are clamoring to know what’s going on.”Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, also questioned the need to restrict the public from seeing unofficial results as they are available. “Voters should be informed, for example, that any unofficial results are unofficial and subject to change as additional votes are counted,” the group wrote.

DETROIT Power outages should be expected with damaging wind gusts being forecasted for Wednesday afternoon. Local 4 will be tracking the DTE Energy and Consumers Energy power outages in the link above. WATCH Local 4 News at 114 Fast FactsBe InformedA state representative wants Michigan Gov. Rep. Luke Meerman (R-88th District) wants the top boss of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency removed. Ford is recalling about 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere because of a nagging door latch problem and a brake fluid leak.

LANSING, Mich. A state representative wants Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to completely overhaul the states unemployment agency. Rep. Luke Meerman (R-88th District) wants the top boss of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency removed. He also wants technology upgraded. The call for change comes as thousands of Michiganders continue to have issues collecting unemployment benefits during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.