Dear Neighbor,
I hope this mailer finds you and your loved ones well. As we enter this new year, it is important to reflect on progress made and victories won for the people of Michigan in 2024.
Throughout the year, my colleagues and I worked to improve the lives of all Michiganders by supporting working families and seniors, lowering education costs, and protecting our most precious resource — our water. We crafted a sensible, people-focused budget to serve the interests of all Michiganders while continuing to fight for affordable housing and access to health care for all.
If you ever need assistance with a state government agency or would like to share about issues you care about, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. I look forward to serving you in 2025!
In Service,
Rosemary Bayer
State Senator
District 13
SECURING HOMES FOR ALL
All Michiganders deserve safe and affordable housing. I have been working to make that a reality by
- Providing the state’s first continuous, dedicated funding for affordable housing in years, which focuses on providing affordable homes for veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and working-class families.
- Introducing legislation to ensure all tenants are given a fair chance at housing regardless of their source of income or past evictions.
- Leading and co-sponsoring bills to protect renters and keep people in their homes.
- Using state budget funds to create more emergency shelters and to reducehomelessness by building new long-term housing solutions.
SUPPORTING STUDENTS & EDUCATORS
Education has always been one of my top priorities and as the Senate lead on crafting the budget for the Michigan Dept. of Education, I have worked closely with my colleagues to better fund resources for students, such as:
- Equipping schools with long-term resources and training to strengthen their mental health services.
- Continuing funding for the popular free school breakfast and lunch program, helping Michigan’s students stay fed and focused in the classroom.
We also passed legislation to take care of our educators by fixing the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System (MPSERS), which would lower costs for teachers while increasing classroom funding for schools.
- Affordability can be a major barrier to higher education, which is why I introduced legislation to: Lower barriers for student housing with the widely popular and successful Promise Zone financial aid program, which passed with broad bipartisan support.
- Expand three of Michigan’s tax-advantaged education and disability savings programs. All three bills were signed into law!
PROTECTING OUR WATER
Since becoming your state Senator, I have worked tirelessly to protect our Great Lakes, rivers, streams, and aquifers by:
- Introducing the Human Right to Water Act, affirming our critical right to accessible, safe, and affordable water no matter your neighborhood or income level.
- Introducing a bill to streamline stormwater management utilities at the local level.
- Supporting legislation to create a statewide water affordability fund, ensuring all Michiganders have access to safe drinking water and are protected from shutoffs.
AROUND THE COMMUNITY WITH BAYER
Whether at one of my coffee hours or another community event, I’ve had several wonderful opportunities to meet with constituents across District 13 throughout the past year. I loved building connections with our residents, providing valuable resources, sharing important information, and offering any support I can to our community.
As your state Senator, hearing about issues you care about is a responsibility I take seriously. That’s why I love connecting with residents at my coffee hours hosted at venues all over the district. Pictured left is one I had at the Novi Public Library.
During March is Reading Month last year, I was thrilled to visit with third-graders at Sheiko Elementary in West Bloomfield to talk about the importance of reading. I read them “The Legend of Michigan” by Trinka Hakes Noble.
Last February, I hosted a series of town halls to inform constituents about new legislation that would impact them. Alongside Attorney General Nessel, Hudson Villeneuve of the MI Environmental Justice Coalition, Rep. Matt Koleszar, and Deputy Sec. of State Aghogho Edevbie, we covered voting, the environment, small business issues and resources, and more.