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Dear Friends,
To better serve the people of the 30th Senate District, I will now offer this “Week in Review” that I will be sending out every Monday. I hope you will find it informative about what is happening in Lansing.
I encourage you to contact me with any state issue. You may call 517-373-6920 or email [email protected]. Also, please check out my Facebook page. Let me know if I can assist you in any way or if you have an idea to help move our state forward.
Working for you,
Roger Victory
State Senator
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Senate election reform package introduced
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I introduced a pair of election reform measures as part of a comprehensive package to ensure election access and integrity in Michigan.
Our democratic system of representative government depends on elections that are fair, honest and accurate. It is our responsibility to restore the public’s confidence in our elections by protecting everyone’s vote, making it harder to commit fraud and improving the system to ensure indisputable integrity.
I am proud to be a part of this package to help make smart and effective reforms. We must make sure the good people of Michigan have their constitutional right to vote protected and have complete trust in the outcome. It’s about preserving our democracy.
Senate Bills 273-311 cover a wide variety of issues dealing with processes before, during and after an election, such as prohibiting the mass mailing of absentee ballot applications, requiring signature verification, establishing a chain of custody for absentee ballots, ensuring audits are bipartisan and open to the public, improving the management of the state’s Qualified Voter File, affirming and strengthening the role of the board of canvassers, and extending the canvassing period to certify the results from 14 to 21 days.
SB 295 would require precinct workers to be trained on best practices for ensuring a balanced count in precincts, including checks on tabulators. SB 306 would require the secretary of state to prepare a report regarding clerks who are not current with training and post the report online.
Click here for descriptions and links on all 39 bills in the package.
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Supporting funds to investigate Whitmer’s COVID-19 nursing home policy
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The Senate on Thursday approved a supplemental budget bill to make $250,000 available to county prosecutors to investigate the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration’s failed policy of putting people who had COVID-19 into the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The good people of our state were let down by the governor and the state health department who failed to protect our seniors at the beginning of the pandemic. They were responsible for the policy that put people with COVID-19 in the living spaces of seniors who we know to be the most vulnerable to the coronavirus, with tragic results. Our state attorney general then failed to put the people of this state before her political allegiances and follow the lead of her colleague in New York and investigated what happened in our nursing facilities.
We owe it to the grieving families of this state to get answers. Senate Bill 27 provides resources to the county prosecutors to investigate the deaths of thousands of mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers.
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General Government budget subcommittee
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One of the many agencies funded in the General Government budget is the Office of the Attorney General. Last week, we took testimony from Attorney General Dana Nessel on her office budget. The hearing also included questions on enforcement of DHHS health orders and on unequal enforcement of payroll fraud throughout various industries.
Click here to watch the video of the hearing.
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MDARD budget subcommittee
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During last week’s hearing the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget we watched a presentation from Easterseals and AgrAbility.
Officials from Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions also testified on the impact of COVID-19 closures, including $40 million in lost revenue from the 2020 season and the closure of two Michigan-based carnival operations. They also outlined the unfair treatment of outdoor venues versus indoor square footage requirements.
Click here to watch the video of the hearing.
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National Agriculture Day was March 23
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Last week we celebrated Ag Day. Michigan is home to nearly 50,000 farms that contribute over $100 billion to our economy. Ottawa County is a thriving agricultural hub in Michigan. Below is a graphic with just a few Ottawa County agriculture facts. Also, click here to see a video I recorded for Ag Day.
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Below is a list of resources available to you if you need any type of assistance. Additionally, you can contact my office at any time for more information.
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• General information, resources, testing locations and more: www.Michigan.gov/coronavirus.
• Coronavirus hotline for health-related questions: 1-888-535-6136 daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1-800-232-4636 or www.cdc.gov.
• Michigan PEER Warmline for mental health support and substance abuse challenges: 1-888-733-7753 every day from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
• National suicide prevention lifeline available 24/7: Call 1-800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
• Small business resources: www.Michiganbusiness.org or 1-888-522-0103.
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Michigan's 30th Senate District
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The 30th State Senate District includes all of Ottawa County.
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Thank you for subscribing to my electronic newsletter! I am honored to represent you in the state Senate. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested in receiving the 30th District E-news. You may sign up for it also at my website.
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Senator Roger Victory
4100 Connie B. Binsfeld Office Building
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
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