Dear Friends:

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and provide updates about what is going on at Michigan’s Capitol.

I am the state senator for the 18th District – covering all of Barry County and parts of Allegan, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent and Ionia counties. Please feel free to contact me with any issues related to state government at SenTAlbert@senate.michigan.gov, or by calling 517-373-1734 (toll-free at 855-347-8018).

Sincerely,

Thomas Albert
State Senator

I recently introduced legislation to protect kids from harmful social media influences and online pornography. Like many parents, I worry about the anxiety and addiction these sites can cause. My plan is designed to help safeguard kids’ development.

Senate Bill 190 would put guardrails around social media use by requiring children under age 16 to obtain parental consent before creating accounts. Senate Bill 191 would establish age verification processes to prevent minors under age 18 from accessing adult content sites.

Several other states already have enacted similar safeguards because of growing concerns about mental health for kids. The U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory in 2023, citing research that high school students spend an average of 3.5 hours per day on social media — and adolescents who spent more than three hours per day on the sites faced double the risk for depression and anxiety symptoms. The advisory also noted links between social media and bullying, exposure to hate-based content, and body image concerns.

We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to support mental health for kids. We must do more to address the causes.

Earlier this month, I visited Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit to discuss the importance of fairness in state funding for public charter schools.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal for next fiscal year would shortchange charter schools such as JRLA by $375 per student compared to traditional K-12 schools, simply because most charters don’t participate in the state’s school employee retirement system. This loss of funding for charter schools should be offset permanently to ensure funding equity among public schools.

Many charters serve communities that are economically disadvantaged and in desperate need of alternatives to traditional K-12 systems. Charter schools provide much-needed public alternatives for students and their families.

Michigan’s next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The state House recently passed bipartisan legislation that outlines a long-term funding solution for fixing Michigan roads.

The package would provide $3.1 billion for Michigan’s roads — without raising taxes. Instead, the plan eliminates funds from corporate welfare programs like MEGA and SOAR and cuts wasteful spending.

The nine-bill road funding package now moves to the Senate for consideration. An analysis of the plan from the House Fiscal Agency is available here.

I believe Michigan can find a way to improve roads without raising taxes or creating more debt. The House plan is a step in the right direction.

In early March, I introduced a proposal that would give Michigan voters the opportunity to decide whether our state should continue participating in daylight saving time. If Senate Bill 126 is approved by the Legislature, voters would decide the question during the November 2026 election.

Personally, I would say the annual time changes associated with daylight saving time are not worth the hassle — particularly the disruption and lost sleep that comes with moving clocks ahead by an hour each March. My grandmother always used to say, “never wake a sleeping baby” — and when I became a parent dealing with daylight saving time and young kids, I understood why. But I realize opinions on the value of daylight saving time differ, which is why I suggest allowing voters to decide.

Michigan voters rejected daylight saving time in 1968 and then permitted its establishment in 1972. Both votes were close.

It’s worth noting that our options are limited. Federal law allows states to opt out of daylight saving time, as Hawaii and Arizona have done, but states are not allowed to remain on DST year-round. The current choice is between continuing to change the clocks twice a year or remaining on standard time year-round.

Fishing licenses for Michigan’s 2025-26 season — opening on April 1 — are now available and will be valid through March 31, 2026.

All anglers ages 17 and older are required to purchase a license to fish in Michigan. Licenses are good for all species, though additional reporting requirements apply to some species and fishing methods.

Anglers can purchase:

Licenses can be purchased online or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app. An online auto-renew option is now available. Anglers can select the option to automatically purchase future licenses as they become available.

Click here to review the full 2025 Michigan Fishing Regulations.

The 2025-26 ORV season begins April 1 and runs through March 31, 2026.

In Michigan, an ORV license is required to ride on eligible roads and public lands. A trail permit is also needed for state-designated trails and scramble areas.

Licenses and permits are valid for one year and grant access to 4,000 miles of trails. ORV licenses and trail permits can be purchased:

Fees generated through ORV licenses and trail permits are reinvested into the ORV system. These funds help support trail expansion, grants for annual trail grooming, infrastructure improvements and law enforcement.