Dear Neighbor,
I hope you were able to stay cool during June’s heat while legislative activity heated up in Lansing! Since my last newsletter, the Michigan Legislature has been busy passing important legislation and a comprehensive Fiscal Year 2025 state budget that makes major investments in our communities and residents across the state.
As always, if you would like to provide any feedback about what’s happening in Lansing or need assistance of any sort, please feel free to reach out to my office. You can email us at senmcavanagh@senate.michigan.gov or call 517-373-7748.
In service,
Mary Cavanagh
State Senator
District 6
Upcoming Events
Coffee and Conversation
Please join me for my upcoming Coffee and Conversation on Friday, July 19 from 11 a.m. to noon at Anastasia and Katie’s Coffee Shop & Cafe. It is a great opportunity for us to discuss what is happening in the district and how I can best serve you in Lansing.
Date: Friday. July 19
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Anastasia and Katie’s Coffee Shop & Cafe (19215 Merriman Rd, Livonia, MI 48152) I hope to see you there!
Legislative Updates
Senate Democrats Deliver Innovative “Building up Michigan” State Budget
Last year marked a significant milestone for Michigan Democrats as we capitalized on our first trifecta in 40 years to spearhead a transformative budget — directing vital resources into historically neglected sectors like infrastructure, education, and local communities. This comprehensive budget, encompassing various offices, departments, initiatives, projects, and programs, follows an annual funding cycle, necessitating the state legislature to craft a new budget each year.
Crafting this state budget is a collaborative effort involving negotiations between both legislative branches and the governor, resulting in a new state budget being signed into law each year to distribute funding to residents, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and more.
In the early morning on June 27, 2024, we passed the Fiscal Year 2025 budget that builds upon the transformative investments of the previous year and takes an innovative approach to addressing the needs of all Michiganders. Highlights of our “Building Up Michigan” budget proposal include record school funding, increased access to community college for students, significant funding for local communities, and efforts to lower costs for state residents.
I am so excited to share the details of this transformative budget, including some of the major investments made in District 6, in the coming months!
Michigan’s “Momnibus” Receives a Hearing in the Housing and Human Resources Committee
The 10 bill Momnibus package, Senate Bills 818–827, received a hearing in the Senate Housing and Human Services Committee. These bills address health care inequities faced by black and brown birthing people. This package includes increased reimbursements and education funding for midwives and doulas, plans of safe care for infants affected by controlled substances, enhanced patient protections and increased anti-discrimination measures, increased studies and reporting surrounding biased, or unjust perinatal care and maternal mortality, and a reporting structure for patients to safely report obstetric racism and violence. I was proud to sponsor Senate Bills 820 and 821 to increase patient protections.
Senate Democrats Introduce Bills to Establish Tenants Right to Organize and Right to Repair in Michigan
Last month, Michigan Senate Democrats led by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) introduced Senate Bills 900–903, known as the Tenant Empowerment Package.
These bills would protect tenants’ rights and tighten up Michigan law to ensure all renters have the tools they need to fight for those rights. The bills enshrine the right to repair into law to guarantee that landlords provide safe housing and make timely repairs. If landlords fail to initiate repairs promptly, tenants would be allowed to deduct repair costs from their rent. The bills also ensure transparency and fairness in lease agreements by requiring adequate notice for rent increases and preventing landlords from using lease language to eliminate tenants’ rights to repair or their right to organize.
More than a quarter of Michiganders are renters but lack basic legal protections to ensure safe and affordable living conditions. I believe that every Michigander deserves the right to a safe and dignified living space they can call home. These bills are the first steps Senate Democrats are taking to address these issues and enshrine the rights of renters and tenants in Michigan’s state law.
Senate Bills 900-903 have been referred to the Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services for further consideration.
District Updates
We participated in numerous community events in June, including the Livonia Senior Wellness Center groundbreaking ceremony and our coffee hour in Farmington. We also provided legislative updates at community clubs and neighborhood organizations, and more!
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Livonia Senior Wellness Center had great community support and excitement. I proudly help secure $4.5 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget to support the Wellness Center. This state-of-the-art facility is an essential addition for Livonia residents. I am so excited for it to soon be a reality for our community!
I was proud to participate in a Reproductive Health Listening Session with Senator Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Planned Parenthood. It was a great opportunity to highlight the voices and concerns of those who care about reproductive healthcare, rights, and protections. I deeply appreciate everyone who helped form this space to promote justice, equity, and advocacy.
We had a great Community Coffee and Conversation on Friday, June 14. I enjoyed updating our community on my legislative goals and what my office is working on in Lansing. Thank you to Apothecary Espresso and Coffee for letting us use your space!
Additional June Recognitions
Building Safe Communities: Senate Democrats Recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Month
From big cities to small rural towns, gun violence plagues Michiganders in every corner of our state, leaving an irrevocable mark on too many lives. Michigan families are hugging their loved ones a little tighter after the three mass shootings that occurred in different locations across Southeast Michigan last month, including at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills.
To draw attention to the issue of gun violence and advocate for life-saving policies, the Michigan Senate recently passed a resolution recognizing June as Gun Violence Awareness Month. Gun violence is a public health crisis that plagues communities across our state, leaving an irrevocable mark on mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends, and neighbors. Since 2012, we’ve seen the rate of gun deaths in Michigan increase by 25%, and firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens.
For all these reasons, there has never been a more important time for lawmakers to act on common sense policies that are proven to make our communities safer.
After assuming the Majority, my colleagues and I delivered a slate of gun violence prevention legislation that Michigan residents have waited years for. This legislation closes dangerous loopholes to strengthen background checks, requires the secure storage of firearms, disarms individuals convicted of domestic violence, and allows for the temporary removal of firearms from people who pose a significant risk to themselves or others.
As we work to build safe communities for all Michiganders to enjoy, I remain committed to championing evidence-based solutions to this public health crisis.
Recognizing Juneteenth
Thanks to legislation passed by Senate Democrats in 2023, 2024 was the first year Michigan celebrated Juneteenth as an official state holiday. Observed on June 19 every year, Juneteenth commemorates the day that the last people who were enslaved in the U.S. learned of their freedom — June 19, 1865, over two years after President Abraham Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation.
The significance of Juneteenth extends beyond its historical roots. It symbolizes triumph over the injustices of slavery and stands as a testament to the progress made and the work still needed to achieve true freedom and equality for all.
Check out our recent story, Celebrating Juneteenth & Black Excellence in the Michigan Legislature, to learn all the ways the Senate’s three Michigan Legislative Black Caucus members are making waves at the Capitol and for the people of Michigan.
Creating a Welcoming, Inclusive State for All During Pride Month
Michigan Senate Democrats are committed to cultivating true inclusion and belonging in Michigan — not only during the month of June, but every day year-round. Since taking office, our Majority for the People has worked to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), reaffirming and expanding legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community. This effort has been 50 years in the making and will protect our LGBTQ+ family, friends, coworkers and neighbors against discrimination in employment, public accommodations and public services. It also will provide protection in educational facilities, housing and real estate.
In addition to passing a resolution recognizing June as Pride Month, the Michigan Senate has passed bills — including Senate Bills 348 and 349 — to ban the harmful practice of conversion therapy by mental health professionals seeking to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of minors.
These legislative efforts are a big step forward for Michigan, but certainly not the last. Our caucus remains committed to putting forth legislation that will further advance our shared mission of equity and inclusion. Learn more about the history of the LGBTQ+ community in Michigan and how protections we have put in place at the Capitol have lent Michigan to being ranked one of the most welcoming states for the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S.