MIDLAND — Legislators looking for bipartisan free-market policy solutions can turn to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s newly released 2019 Policy Recommendations guide. Additionally, the Center plans to engage and equip the public, local lawmakers, and other stakeholders interested in learning more about the potential impact of these reforms through a series of events hosted in Lansing and around the state throughout 2019.

In this guide, experts from the Mackinac Center offer recommendations on critical policy issues at the core of public debate on spending, transparency and regulation, education, energy and the environment, labor, criminal justice, and health care reform. The guide features actionable, timely recommendations on issues that are likely to be brought before the Legislature (and some that already have). As session continues, the Center’s policy and government affairs staff will look forward to working with legislators and Gov. Whitmer’s administration to pursue these important reforms.

Listed below are five examples of the priorities the Mackinac Center will advance this year:

Prioritize Road Funding: Fixing Michigan’s roads was a major platform of Gov. Whitmer’s campaign, but these improvements will come at a high cost. Rather than shifting more of the expense to taxpayers, lawmakers can look to save money by cutting ineffective programs, duplicative spending and unnecessary expenses.

Reform Auto Insurance: There’s no doubt that there are substantial problems with Michigan’s auto insurance laws. Michigan is the only state in the country that requires all drivers to purchase an unlimited amount of personal injury protection. Michigan legislators should allow motorists to choose a level of coverage that better meets their needs.

Eliminate Civil Asset Forfeiture: Michiganders’ property can be seized and forfeited to the government without ever being convicted of or even charged with a crime. Law enforcement agencies should only be able to forfeit someone’s property to the government after they have been convicted of a crime. There is current legislation before the House and the Senate that would implement these reforms.

Reduce Occupational Licensing Burdens: Michigan should make it easier for former offenders to work by allowing them to obtain an occupational license. The state should also join five other states that have initiated a review process to regularly evaluate the necessity and propriety of all state occupational licenses.

Defend Medicaid Work Requirements: Work or community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults who receive benefits through the Healthy Michigan Medicaid-expansion program were passed last year and should remain. These requirements help to enrich the lives of able-bodied adults and protect the individuals that Medicaid was originally intended for.

“The new political dynamic of an executive branch and a legislative branch controlled by opposing parties does not have to produce a policy stalemate,” said David Guenthner, senior strategist for state affairs at the Mackinac Center. “Many of these proposals have natural support across the political spectrum if we don’t get bogged down by partisan or tribal considerations. We will work with anyone to enhance Michiganders’ quality of life and economic opportunities through these important policy reforms.”

The Mackinac Center will also begin to take these ideas on the road in the coming months, hosting events in Lansing and in legislative districts across the state to engage directly with constituents concerned about these important issues. On Wednesday, the Center held an event, "How Criminal Justice Works in Michigan," which helped educate policymakers and the public about how our criminal justice system works. A new Mackinac Center publication, “A Primer on Criminal Justice in Michigan,” by director of the criminal justice reform initiative, Kahryn Riley, was featured. Future events will be announced over the course of the year.

You can view the complete list of 2019 Policy Recommendations here.

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