State joins $7.4B opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma
Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced Michigan’s participation in a $7.4 billion national settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, who are being held accountable for their role in the opioid crisis. Michigan could receive up to $154 million from the settlement over the next 15 years, with the bulk of funds distributed in the first three years.
Local governments will soon be asked to join the settlement, pending bankruptcy court approval. This participation is crucial to ensure local jurisdictions receive their share of funds to support opioid prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery initiatives.
This is the largest opioid settlement to date and follows a series of agreements secured by the Michigan Department of the Attorney General totaling over $1.6 billion for Michigan.
Local governments are encouraged to prepare for the sign-on process and monitor upcoming guidance. MAC will continue to provide updates as the sign-on process progresses.
For more information, contact Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.
Minimum staffing bill advances out of Senate committee
A bill to require minimum staffing levels as a mandatory subject of collective bargaining between a public employer and the representative of its employees was passed out of the Senate Labor Committee this week. Senate Bill 319, by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Macomb), is a reintroduction of legislation from the previous legislative term, after MAC’s efforts stopped the bill from passing during the 2024 lame duck session.
SB 319 would amend the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) and specifies that “other terms and conditions of employment” would include minimum staffing levels within the bargaining unit and consider minimum staffing levels a condition of employment with respect to a bargaining representative’s collective bargaining responsibilities. SB 319 would limit its application to only Public Act 312 employees, which was expanded to include corrections officers in 2024.
Making minimum staffing levels a mandatory topic of collective bargaining could increase staffing costs for counties. In addition to the potential for increased costs, many counties are facing staffing shortages. Implementing minimum staffing requirements when local governments are struggling to maintain fully staffed facilities will add to the difficulties counties already face when recruiting and retaining employees.
MAC opposes this legislation, as do the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Townships Association and the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.
For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
Podcast 83 discusses health care challenges with Blue Cross
In a special episode of Podcast 83, host Stephan Currie interviews an executive with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan about the insurer’s new affordability campaign.
“It’s an attempt to engage and meet people where they are right now, in terms of how they think about the cost of health care,” said Andy Hetzel, vice president of communications for BCBSM. “And what are our customers concerned about? Across the board, people are really concerned about the affordability problem that is in health insurance, and that stems from cost problems that are upstream in the system, in terms of how much health care costs, because anybody that has any type of insurance, it could be property insurance or health insurance or otherwise, the cost of that product is impacted by the cost of claims upstream in the system.
“We’ve seen hospital prices increase by 250 percent since 2000; that is five times greater than inflation,” Hetzel continued. “Over that period, we have seen the cost of medical care rise 40 percent, which is far greater than the rate of inflation. And last year, Blue Cross paid 15 percent more in pharmacy claims than we paid the year before, which again is five times the rate of inflation.
“Those extraordinary cost pressures upstream in the system are being felt now downstream. Last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan paid $1 for every $1 we took in in premiums.”
To learn more about how BCBS is countering prices on pharmaceuticals such as Humira and avoiding rehospitalizations and other strains, watch the full episode, recorded on June 4, by clicking here or on the image above.
Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.
Podcast 83 is now available on Apple Podcasts.
White House hosts state leadership conference
About 70 Michigan elected officials, a mix of county commissioners and state legislators, attended a leadership conference Tuesday, June 17 sponsored by the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Attendees spent Tuesday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, alongside representatives of MAC and the National Association of Counties, in briefings from several Cabinet-level officials within the Trump administration.
Secretaries Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Health and Human Services, Scott Turner of Housing and Urban Development and Linda McMahon of Education provided departmental overviews and answered questions. The event also included material from the National Economic Council and a surprise visit from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Michigan is the third state to be hosted at the White House this year, following Ohio and Georgia.
Act by July 17 to reserve CDBG funds for housing projects
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) is pleased to announce another round of its streamlined process to reserve Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds. MSHDA is now accepting Letters of Intent (LOI) for funding from eligible Units of General Local Government (UGLG) for proposals that align with the housing objectives of the CDBG Program.
Submitted LOIs will be used to determine project eligibility. If approved, grantees will receive a designation memo reserving funds, pending completion of a formal application and CDBG compliance requirements. To be considered for funding, please submit a LOI form online via the MI Neighborhood CDBG page at www.michigan.gov/mshdacdbg or print and send it by overnight mail to:
MSHDA Neighborhood Development Division, 735 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI 48912.
All submissions need to be date-stamped/submitted prior to 11:59 p.m. on July 17, 2025.
After submission, you may be contacted for a consultation prior to reservation of funds.To learn more about this process, join a digital Q&A session on June 24:
MI Neighborhood CDBG Letters of Intent Q & A Session
June 24 | 2 p.m.
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 284 779 100 073 4
Passcode: RX3Dx9tM
Submit any questions to MSHDA-CDBG@michigan.gov.
Staff picks
- Majority of Michigan counties now have more seniors than children (MLive)
- Osceola County opposes plan for competitive procurement of PIHPs (Manistee News Advocate)
- Federal reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): What counties should know (NACo)
- A Michigan bear roamed the woods for two years with an awful lid on his neck. Not anymore. (Associated Press)