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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* 

December 18, 2025 

Contact: [email protected]  

  

*Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Order Reorganizing Michigan’s Boards, Councils, and Commissions, and Streamlining Government* 

 

*LANSING, Mich. —* Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that she has signed an executive order reorganizing Michigan's boards, councils, and commissions. The order builds on the work accomplished in Executive Order 2024-5, which restructured an initial twenty-six boards and commissions to better serve the people of Michigan.  

 

This order will minimize inefficiencies and redundancies in an additional sixteen boards. Many boards are being adjusted to reflect the current landscape of the area they serve or are being united with departmental staff and funding that will allow them to conduct their work more efficiently. Other boards no longer serve their original purpose or have expanded beyond their intended scope. 

 

“Michigan’s government should work for Michiganders,”* said Governor Whitmer.* “Our boards, councils, and commissions give Michiganders a voice in their state government and help us make a real difference in people’s lives. This reorganization protects taxpayer dollars and further ensures state government can keep doing its work effectively and efficiently. Together, we can reduce red tape and help our government better serve the people it represents. Let’s get it done.”  Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has demonstrated her commitment to streamlining government operations. This has included eliminating duplicative offices of our state agencies and departments, as well as moving programs or people to make government services more efficient. 

 

*Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)* 

The Craft Beverage Council will be updated to reflect the current state of the industry in Michigan, including the addition of a seat for producers of non-alcoholic alternatives. Existing seats for representatives of brewers and distillers will also be adjusted to allow more Michigan-based businesses to be represented on the Council. 

 

Additionally, the Rural Development Fund Board will be transferred to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, where its work will continue in partnership with the Office of Rural Prosperity. 

 

*Michigan Department of Education (MDE)* 

The responsibilities, work, and staff associated with the Michigan Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers with Developmental Disabilities were entrusted to the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) upon the department’s creation. MiLEAP also serves as the federally recognized lead agency for work of the council. This order will formally reunite the council with these resources and streamline work to improve the lives of infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and their families. Several seats will also be created to ensure compliance with federal requirements. 

 

*Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)* 

The order will update a seat on the Health Information Technology Commission, which referred to an obsolete statute, to ensure that the perspective of nonprofit healthcare corporations continues to be represented. 

 

*Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS)* 

The term of the seat representing the executive branch of state government on the Data Collection Agency Governing Board will be extended, allowing the work of establishing workers’ disability compensation insurance rates to continue uninterrupted. 

 

*Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO)* 

The Film Office Advisory Council will sunset and its work will be transferred to LEO, which houses the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office. The Office will continue operation.  

The order also ensures that commissioners on the Worker’s Disability Compensation Appeals Commission continue to bring a depth of legal experience in the workers’ compensation field to their work.  

 

*Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)* 

The order will update seats on the Electrical Administrative Board, replacing the seat for a representative of an insurance inspection bureau operating in Michigan with a seat for a chief electrical inspector of a municipality, adding a perspective close to the day-to-day work the board oversees. 

 

The Elevator Safety Board will see one of two seats for representatives of insurance companies replaced with a designee of the State Fire Marshal, bringing a valuable public safety perspective to the board. Additionally, requirements for the seat representing elevator inspectors will be broadened to retain eligibility for inspectors from the City of Detroit and allow municipalities that may form elevator inspection programs to be newly eligible for consideration. 

 

The Michigan Board of Speech Language Pathology will be reduced by one seat, ensuring an odd number of voting members and creating alignment with peer boards in LARA. 

 

The Michigan Board of Respiratory Care will see two expired professional seats eliminated, including a seat for medical directors which is an outlier among boards of this kind. 

 

The order will also remove two vacant seats on the Board of Nursing, reducing the number of seats for members of the public from seven to five.  

 

*Department of Natural Resources (DNR*) 

Going forward, members of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum Advisory Board will be appointed by the Director of the Department of Natural Resources. Additionally, the seat for a representative of the Marquette County Board of Commissioners will be updated so that commissioners may submit recommendations of advisory board members to the department, rather than being required to serve on the board. Recommendations may include sitting commissioners. 

 

*Department of State Police (MSP)* 

The order will clarify that members representing residents of this state on the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards may not be employed by or affiliated with any law enforcement agency. Additionally, the order clarifies that the designee of the director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights serves in an ex-officio capacity. 

 

*Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB)* 

The Michigan State Historical Records Advisory Board will be transferred from the Department of Natural Resources to the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, where the State Archives and related staff are currently housed. This will streamline the records retention work the board supports. 

 

The Public Safety Communications Interoperability Board will be updated to ensure a balance of public safety perspectives are represented. Emergency Medical Response Services, Police, and Firefighters will each hold three seats, allowing each of their important perspectives to shape the board’s oversight of the Michigan Public Safety Communications System. 

 

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