In This Edition
GET BOOSTED! As we near the holidays, many are preparing to travel to spend time with extended family and friends. One of the best and safest ways we can do that this season is to get vaccinated and/or get your booster shot. Appointments can be found online at OaklandCountyVaccine.com or through your local CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Meijer, or Costco. What we know is that COVID-19 case numbers are rising and our hospitals are at or nearing capacity. In the graphic below, you can see some of the alarming numbers coming from Beaumont Hospitals. |
With the recent detection of the Omicron variant here in our state, it is vital that we use the tools we have to take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and our community. LAST WEEK IN THE LEGISLATURE On Thursday last week, I joined many of my colleagues at a press conference in the Capitol about the countless bills we have introduced that aim to address the gun violence epidemic. Here is a list of just a few of the bills we have introduced, none of which have been taken up by the legislative majority:
In addition to these bills, my office is working on reintroducing our Extreme Risk Protection Order, otherwise known as “red flag” legislation, with Sen. Rosemary Bayer. We have been told, and have received confirmation from, the Senate Majority Leader that these bills WILL receive a hearing, and we will hold him to it. |
Visit SafeMichigan.com to learn more about the work we are doing here in Lansing to address the gun violence epidemic. SB 759 allows health care professionals who are licensed in another state to provide care to patients in Michigan without having to obtain a Michigan license, provided their out-state license was in good standing. This would only be allowable during a staffing shortage caused by an epidemic (as declared by the MDHHS Director). This bill package — HBs 4780, 4781, 4782, and 4783 — addresses large-scale returnables fraud by diverting a portion of the Bottle Deposit Fund revenue to law enforcement, requiring distributors to originate a 10-cent deposit on each container, requiring the maintenance of records, and setting penalties for violations.
Additional background on these bills: The Lewis College of Business was originally founded as a secretarial school for Black women. The school moved to Detroit in 1939 and operated as a business school for men and women until 2013. It was Michigan’s only HBCU, receiving the federal designation in 1987. There are plans to reopen the school in 2022 as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design. The bills provide a process for reopening and designation as an HBCU. HB 5072 eliminates the current state waiver process for school bus drivers who don’t meet federal physical qualifications due to having insulin-treated diabetes. Instead, they would be required to meet the new revised federal regulations, which have their own waiver process, rendering the state’s current waiver process moot. Under current law, if a school bus driver does not meet federal physical qualifications due to being insulin-dependent, they may apply for a state waiver. To attain the current state waiver, the school bus driver must be evaluated by their physician and pass a medical examination by a state-approved doctor. As well as get approval from the MI State Police Waiver Board. THIS WEEK WITH MALLORY As a reminder, our office hosts a LIVE Virtual Coffee Hour every Friday at 1:00 p.m. every week there is session in Lansing. Each coffee hour includes a Q&A portion at the end where constituents can ask me directly about the issues and topics you care about. You can watch my coffee hours live here. Can’t make it? No worries, all live coffee hours are uploaded and replayed the following Saturday and you can use this online form to submit a question!
Sincerely,
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