Happy New Year! As State Senator of District 13, I am looking forward to continuing to serve our wonderful community at the Capitol, where I am working hard to address many of the challenges Michiganders are currently facing.
While lots of exciting work is already underway for the year, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some of the important progress made and victories won in 2025. I have been working together with my Senate colleagues to protect access to health care, secure record investments in public education, and advance commonsense legislation to make life more affordable. I will continue to do so in 2026.
If you ever have any questions about the work we’re doing, want to share concerns, or need assistance in navigating a state department, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. We’re here to help.
In Service,
Rosemary Bayer
State Senator
District 13
SenatorBayer.com
We celebrated Community Solar Advocacy Day at the Capitol.
Constituents and advocates from the Citizens Climate Lobby and Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action came to talk about the work they’re doing to promote more secure electrical grids and lower energy costs for Michiganders through legislative action.
2025 Wins Worth Celebrating
Health Care Wins: Lowering Prices, Improving Care
In the third year of our majority, my Senate colleagues and I have maintained our commitment to lowering prescription drug prices and health care costs while improving people’s access to and quality of care. This includes passing bills to:
- Keep prescription drugs affordable and accessible;
- Strengthen support for rural hospitals;
- Establish hospital price transparency;
- Enhance mammogram testing and reporting;
- Improve outcomes for moms and babies of color;
- Require insurance coverage for certain over-the-counter contraceptives;
- Create a task force to expand access to palliative care and improve the quality of life for individuals with serious illnesses and their families; and
- Secure funding for schools to hire more counselors, social workers, and school resource officers to support their students’ mental health.
Ensuring communities across the state can access the mental health support they need is a particular passion of mine, which is why I’ve also continued working to increase funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, so folks have someone to call at the time they need it most.
Safeguarding Our Water and Environment
As an environmental advocate and fellow Michigander, I hate to see any pollution or contamination that impacts the freshwater lakes and streams we all hold so dear. To protect our abundant natural resources for Michiganders to enjoy for generations to come, last year I supported legislation that would help:
LOCAL COMMUNITIES MANAGE THEIR STORMWATER
Stormwater doesn’t stop at county lines, and no single county can manage stormwater alone. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to streamline stormwater management across the state, equipping local governments to better prevent harm from runoff, storm-related sewer overflows, and other water infrastructure issues.
LOWER WATER COSTS FOR MICHIGANDERS
Everyone should be able to access clean, safe, and affordable drinking water — especially in the Great Lakes state! To help more than 300,000 Michiganders struggling with their water bills, I’m proudly sponsoring bipartisan legislation to establish a statewide water affordability program, ensure shutoff protections, and help tenants. This proposal would also create a sustainable funding mechanism to ensure public water utilities can continue delivering safe, affordable water residents can depend on.
ADDRESS THE EMERGING THREAT OF MICROPLASTICS IN MICHIGAN
About the size of a grain of rice or smaller, microplastics are widespread in our environment, from the water we drink to the air we breathe. In fact, the concentrations of microplastics in fish found in the Great Lakes are some of the highest in the world! To tackle this issue before it’s too late, I’m co-sponsoring a package of bills that would prevent and clean up microplastics pollution in our state.
+ Our 2026 state budget delivered over $17 million for local communities to replace their lead service lines and tackle other pressing water infrastructure projects.
Sen. Bayer with Sen. Chang, lead sponsor of the water affordability package.
Protecting Michigan Consumers
From empowering the Attorney General’s office to hold bad actors accountable and strengthening penalties for violations against elderly and vulnerable adults to cracking down on disruptive, deceptive telephone solicitation tactics, the Senate advanced numerous pieces of legislation last year to safeguard Michigan consumers.
SAFEGUARDING PERSONAL DATA
As someone who has been personally impacted by identify theft, I’m proud to spearhead legislation that would prevent that from happening to anyone else by cracking down on data breaches and strengthening accountability for those who misuse our personal information. Passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support, this bill package would enforce stronger safeguards for companies that collect, own, or access personal data and require they investigate and notify consumers if they believe a security breach has, or may have, occurred. I’m also championing data privacy legislation to prevent our data from being shared with or sold to third parties; boost transparency for data collectors, requiring that they clearly outline how and why they process consumer data; and empower the Attorney General’s office to enforce these measures and hold companies accountable.
BREAKING BARRIERS FOR RENTERS
I’m proud to champion a legislative package that would help tackle our state’s housing crisis by lowering costs for renters, holding landlords accountable, and allowing for the expungement of eviction records.
Cutting Taxes and Making Everyday Life More Affordable
ALL WHILE PASSING A BALANCED BUDGET THAT INVESTS IN YOU AND OUR COMMUNITY
The cost of living just seems to be getting more and more expensive, and between housing, groceries, child care, and doctors’ visits, the costs add up quick. As folks face these high costs and economic uncertainty, Michiganders need real, immediate relief.
That’s why one of the first actions I took in the Senate was to pass the biggest tax relief initiative Michigan has seen in decades, which cut taxes by $1 billion by repealing the retirement tax and expanding tax credits for working families. But our work didn’t stop there! As part of our bipartisan 2026 state budget, we eliminated state taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security, so you can keep more of your hard-earned paycheck.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN ACTION?
Building Pathways to Prosperity for Our Students
Michigan’s students are our future leaders. To set them up for success in and out of the classroom, my Senate colleagues and I passed a state budget last year that secures the highest-ever per-pupil allowance in state history, continues the widely popular free school meals program, and boosts funding for at-risk students, school safety, and mental health resources.
As Chair of the subcommittee overseeing the budget for the Michigan Dept. of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, I’m also thrilled to have delivered critical investments to help fill our state’s child care gap and support programs that reenroll students who have dropped out of college.
Sen. Bayer visiting students at Walled Lake Elementary during Reading Month in March.
