A Key Milestone, Lansing & District Updates

Feb 22, 2024 | Email

Friends and Neighbors,  

Since I last wrote you, we marked a key legislative milestone. On February 13, 2024, some of the most impactful legislation we passed last year went into effect. Our work prioritizing freedoms, safer communities, better jobs, affordable paths to get ahead and more— has finally moved from the page to the people. I’m excited to build on this work and continue to deliver what families in our Great Lakes Bay Region and across Michigan want. 

I hope you can make my March 4 constituent hour (details below) and encourage you, as always, to connect with our office for assistance as needed. 

Kristen McDonald Rivet
State Senator
District 35
(517) 373-1725
PO Box 30036
Lansing, MI. 48909
SenKMcDonaldRivet@senate.michigan.gov

In This Edition 

  • Upcoming Events 
  • Lansing & Legislative Updates 
  • Community Connections & Mentions 
  • Helpful Resources and Links 
  • Connecting With Us 

 

Upcoming Events 

 

Coffee & Conversation in Freeland 

WHEN: Monday, March 4 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. 
WHERE: International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 Freeland Office, 7677 Midland Rd., Freeland, MI 48623 

Share what’s on your mind and learn about our work directly from me. If you’re unable to join us March 4, we rotate locations by county and always post upcoming in-district events here on our website. 

 

 

Lansing & Legislative Updates 

House Speaker, Unity Conference Respond to Lawmaker’s Racist Post  

Earlier this month, in response to a racist post shared online by State Rep. Josh Schriver, House Speaker Joe Tate removed Shriver’s committee membership, reassigned his staff, and reallocated his office budget. I applaud Speaker Tate for holding Rep. Schriver accountable for pushing racist narratives that fuel hate and violence, and I stood in solidarity with the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus at their Unity Conference denouncing the post and reaffirming our work toward a stronger, safer state for everyone.  

Hate has no home here and condemning inflammatory language should not be partisan. I join the MI Legislative Black Caucus’s call for all lawmakers to reject their colleague’s racist remarks. 

 

 

Executive Budget Recommendations

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and State Budget Director Jen Flood recently presented the executive budget recommendation for the next fiscal year to a joint session of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. The Governor’s recommendedFY 2025 budget includes lowering costs for working families, offering free public education from pre-K to community college, and expanding and developing Michigan’sworkforce. Among other budget priorities this cycle, I‘m working to increase funding to ensure more young parents can access quality, affordable child care services and pursue their desired job opportunities.

I look forward to working with the Governor, State Budget Office and my colleagues in the Legislature to bring tax dollars back to our region and position more of our residents and businesses for success. 

 

Strengthening State Government Transparency  

Senators Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) and Ed McBroom (R- Vulcan) testified in the Senate Oversight Committee’s Feb 7 Hearing on Senate Bills 669 and 670, which would reform how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) works when it comes to state government. FOIA is an important public records law that currently applies to every government entity in Michigan except the Legislature and Governor’s Office. 

This bipartisan legislation proposes to subject state lawmakers, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and their offices to FOIA requests— putting Michigan’s sunshinelaws on par with 48 other states and fostering a more open, accountable system of government. While attempts at FOIA reform have fallen short in previousLegislatures, our current Democratic majority is committed to getting this much-needed transparency reform over the goal line. 

 

 

Tax Relief Is on Its Way 

On the first day our historic tax relief went into effect, February 13, 2024, the Michigan Department of Treasury began mailing supplemental checks to households who received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) last tax season. This is happening automatically because I made my expansion of the state’s EITC match retroactive to tax year 2022.  These checks represent the difference between the old 6% match and the new 30% match and will average $603 across our district. The Treasury estimates 5-6 weeks to complete this mailing.

As shown in this table, the new Michigan EITC for Working Families will have a substantial impact by itself and even more when combined with the federal credit. 

Please see our “Community Connections” for opportunities to help our team deliver EITC information to our neighbors.  To connect with free local filing help for tax year 2023, see our “Helpful Resources & Links” at the end of this newsletter. 

 

 

New Gun Safety Laws in Effect Now  

Exactly one year after the mass shooting at Michigan State University, commonsense gun safety legislation long-desired by strong majorities of Michiganders went into effect.  

 

Heartbreakingly, just one day after my safe storage gun law to protect children could be implemented, a Flint toddler accessed and severely injured herself with an unsecured loaded gun.  I joined Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton as he announced charges against the toddler’s father— representing the first application of my gun safety legislation. That this child firearm access prevention law had to be used within mere days of going into effect demonstrates the real need for this prosecutorial tool to hold irresponsible gun owners accountable.  

 

The Department of Health & Human Services details the new firearm storage requirements and penalties to prevent access by minors, and they are working with the Attorney General’s Office and dealers to provide firearm purchasers safety information on the new storage laws.   

  

In addition to gun storage around children, this Feb 13 Michigan Advance articledetails the new firearm laws around convicted domestic abusers, expanded background checks, and extreme risk protection orders. Michigan State Police also recently published these excellent resources: 

 

In-Person Early Voting Launches Statewide with Presidential Primary  

After voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 2 in November 2022, the Secretary of State’s Office and Senate Democrats worked with Michigan county clerks to codify provisions that safeguard our electoral process and increase citizens’ ability to exercise their right to vote. One of those provisions requires at least nine days of in-person early voting for federal and statewide elections. Fully launching with this month’s Presidential Primary, Michigan joins 21 other states in offering citizens this option to cast their ballot.  
 
Early voting is open Saturday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 25, and you may locatesites and hours of operation at Michigan.gov/EarlyVoting. Your early voting site may be different from your regular polling place, but it will operate similarly as the Election Day process. Voters walk in, receive a ballot, mark the ballot, and enter it into the tabulator. The ballot will be processed but not counted until Election Day. 

  • Through 4:00 p.m. Feb. 26, voters can obtain an absentee ballot at their local clerk’s office. The Secretary of State recommends hand-delivering an absentee ballot to your clerk’s office or a drop box if it is within 14 days of Election Day.  
  • Through 8:00 p.m. Feb. 27, voters can register to vote in-person at their local clerk’s office.  
  • From 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 27 Election Day, voters can cast their ballot at their assigned polling location.  
  • Find your polling location or verify your voter registration status here. 

 

Community Connections & Mentions 

From Expansion to Awareness… Help Us Deliver EITC Information 

About 30% of the Earned Income Tax Credit for Working Families population changes each year, and almost two out of five eligible households in our district miss out onclaiming this credit. So, to make sure eligible families know about the impact of thistax relief and how to claim it, your Senate District 35 team and I have been in the community delivering EITC resource information.   

We’re looking for volunteers to join our remaining EITC-awareness canvassing dates. We are not ringing doorbells, but we will make sure you are partnered up and equipped to deliver the EITC resource piece at residents’ doors and answer basic related questions. Sign up here for a date and time to volunteer. 

 

 

Celebrating Black History Month

I was honored to attend the uplifting celebration of Black history and culture hosted byVictorious Believers Ministries of Saginaw this month. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden shared her journey to becoming the first black woman appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court, and there were amazing performances from the Saginaw High School Step Team, Saginaw United High School Drum Line and Central Michigan University Gospel Choir. I am grateful to Pastor Pryor for the invitation and to everyone who shared their talents to make this service so special. 

 

 

Leadership Bay County 

I recently joined State Reps. Timothy Beson and Matthew Bierlein to be part of Leadership Bay County’s Government Day. I was grateful for the invite to participateand hope it was a good opportunity for the class of 2024 to learn about our priorities and how our work in Lansing impacts the local landscape. 

 

 

Saginaw State of the City and County 

Our Director of District and Constituent Services, Kevin Hayes, attended Saginaw’s State of the City and State of the County on February 1. Saginaw Mayor Brenda Moore and Saginaw County Commission Chairman Christopher Boyd emphasized the significance of community and collaboration.  

 

 

State of the Community Bay City 

Our Legislative Director, Stephen Prince, attended the State of the Community Address in Bay City on February 7. Bay County Executive Jim Barcia, Bay City Manager Dana Muscott, and Banger Township Supervisor Glenn Rowley spoke about the positive progress being made, including significant investments in Monitor Township and Bay City. They also stressed the importance of building a strong community through awareness and involvement.   

 

 

Former State Rep. Appointed Chair of State Transportation Commission 

Governor Whitmer appointed former State Representative and retired president and CEO of the Midland Center for the Arts, Michael Hayes, to serve as the chair of the State Transportation Commission. You may read more about his appointment here. 

 

 

Helpful Resources and Links 

Get Free Local Tax Help 

Michigan Free Tax Help is a free service that partners with local United Way agencies to connect eligible community members with free, volunteer tax professionals in these programs: 

 

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) — for people who generally make$64,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers.  

 

Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) — primarily for people 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. 

 

Visit michiganfreetaxhelp.org, use the VITA Locator Tool or call 2-1-1 to connect to these services. 

 

 

MDOT’s Safe Routes to School Mini Grant Applications Close March 1 

Safe Routes to School Mini Grant applications for the 2024-2025 school year are open through 5:00pm Friday, March 1, 2024. The Michigan Department of Transportation wants schools to use the funds to encourage and educate students on how they can travel to school in healthy ways including walking, biking and rolling. Click here for more information and how to apply. 

 

Utilities Assistance & Power Outage Resources 

College and Career Training Resources and Scholarships 

Connecting With Us 

 

If You Need Help 
If you have issues dealing with any state government department, including accessing unemployment benefits or tax information, my office is available to help resolve it. While we usually cannot assist with local or federal issues, we will always do our best to connect you with the most appropriate person or organization for help. 

 

Most Current Updates 
Social media sites are neither official government websites nor are they well suited for constituent correspondence. However, since we post frequently, our social media accounts can be a very timely way to learn about legislative action, community news and impacts. Visit my Facebook page or my Threads page. 

 

Our newsletters, website and constituent hours are also great to learn about our work.