Michigan has a severe nurse shortage, and a move to ease the shortage is being opposed. State Rep. John Stakoe is sponsoring a bill to make it easier for out-of-state nurses to come to Michigan , but the proposed law is being opposed by the Michigan Nurses Association. The state estimates that it will be 7,000 nurses short by 2010. Several universities and community colleges are stepping up their nursing programs, but the state's nursing schools are turning out fewer graduates than they did a few years ago. It is irresponsible in a state with a relatively high unemployment rate to be unable to meet the demand for nurses.