Senate Republicans recently released our priorities for 2021. Our priorities are guided by this mission statement: Every Michigander deserves the opportunity to live and prosper in a safe, healthy community.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on these goals and remain committed to finding solutions for the people of Bay, Tuscola, and Lapeer counties.

I joined my colleagues in the Senate on Thursday in supporting a resolution calling on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to review the signatures submitted by the Unlock Michigan campaign.

Over four months ago, the Unlock Michigan campaign submitted the signatures of 539,000 Michigan residents calling for the repeal of the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. We’re at 125 days in and not a single signature has been reviewed. That is 125 days in a row that our secretary of state neglected to act on this matter.

On Oct. 2, 2020, Unlock Michigan organizers submitted signatures that were collected in support of repealing one of the laws the governor used to issue executive orders over several months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law was deemed unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court, and a bill to repeal the law was approved by the Legislature. Now, the citizens’ initiative seeking to repeal the law is being ignored by the Michigan secretary of state.

Senate Resolution 9, which was adopted by the Senate, calls on Secretary Benson to immediately begin the process of reviewing signatures collected as part of this effort and advance the initiative through the process.

Secretary Benson’s inaction on this citizens’ initiative is an unacceptable disregard for the people of Michigan. Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the secretary of state suggested calling for Secretary Benson to do her job was grandstanding and asking for special treatment. We are not asking Secretary Benson for special treatment. We are asking her to do what she was elected to do.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted every facet of life in our state and across the country. Perhaps no group of Michiganders has felt the negative impact of the pandemic more than our students. In an instant, their world has been turned upside down. Our students have been missing out on some of the most formative events in their lives, opportunities that often present themselves once and never again.

I was incredibly concerned when Gov. Whitmer announced high school athletics must stop competing immediately and wouldn’t be able to resume until at least Feb. 22. In these challenging times, it is imperative that our governor, lawmakers, school administrators, and organizations like the MHSAA are responsive to our students' needs.

In the wake of Gov. Whitmer’s announcement, I heard from dozens of concerned students, parents, and coaches. I also cosponsored Sen. Zorn’s Senate Resolution 7, which urged the governor and MDHHS to allow high school sports to resume play immediately. This resolution passed with bipartisan support.

Your voices matter, and they were heard. This week Gov. Whitmer reversed her decision, allowing contact sports to resume on Monday, Feb. 8. I am glad her administration recognizes that winter sports are a safe, and needed, activity for our students. I wish all of our teams the best of luck this season.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out a number of her priorities in her 2021 State of the State address. She called for bipartisan action from the Legislature, however, her repeated actions speak louder than her words.

Over the last few years we have put our hands out time and time again, only to be ignored. We saw it with roads, we’ve seen it in the budget processes, and we’ve seen it since the early days of this pandemic.

The core issue we need to focus on is getting our economy back on track. Businesses have been shuttered for far too long. People need certainty that they will be able to make a living — which is a fundamental American right. We cannot continue to have one person making decisions for every single Michigan resident. It’s not right, it’s patently unfair, and it flies in the face of our values as both Michiganders and Americans.

I will continue working to provide relief to businesses that are hurting, and I am willing to work with the administration to come up with a plan that allows them to safely reopen their doors.

These efforts are long overdue, and I hope we see some genuine action out of the governor on this front instead of lockdowns with arbitrary deadlines and repeated changes to the rules like we have seen thus far. I’d like to see her provide some clear guidance to Michiganders instead of stringing them along with talking points.

I hope she means the things she said during her speech; however, three years’ worth of actions speak much louder than a few words written on a piece of paper.

In the final weeks of 2020, the federal government approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The guidance provides states with important information about several provisions of the law, including the extension of programs first authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as well as the creation of a new unemployment insurance (UI) benefit for “mixed earners.”

The law extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program created by the CARES Act, which provides UI benefits to gig workers and others not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits. Under the law, the end of the period of applicability for the PUA program extends to those weeks of unemployment ending on or before March 14, 2021.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency is working to program new system changes necessary to begin additional payments under the Continuing Assistance Act (CAA) for PEUC and PUA claimants who have exhausted their benefit allowance on or before Dec. 26, 2020.

I will continue to help constituents who need help navigating the Michigan Unemployment Insurance system. Please contact my office at 517-373-1777 or visit my website SenatorKevinDaley.com/Unemployment-Assistance/ if you need assistance.

With the announcement of the COVID-19 vaccine, many Michigan residents are eager to receive their first dose. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is working to move through phased priorities for residents.

Currently, the following individuals are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine:

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine and to get answers to frequently asked questions, please visit Michigan.gov/CovidVaccine.

2021 started a new legislative session, and with it, some new faces representing you in Lansing and in Washington D.C.

While my office will always be here for you, I want to make sure you also have the contact information for your other elected officials.

State House of Representatives:
There are four state representatives whose districts are a part of the 31st Senate District. To find out who represents you in the Michigan House, you can type your address here.

U.S. House of Representatives:
Representing you at the federal level are Congressman Dan Kildee and Congresswoman Lisa McClain. To find out which congressional district you live in, you can search here.

U.S. Senators:
Regardless of where you live in our state, you are represented by Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters at the federal level.

My office is happy to offer legislative tributes in honor of noteworthy events such as retirement, anniversaries of businesses in our community, awards and public recognitions.

The 31th state Senate District includes all of Bay, Lapeer, and Tuscola counties.