Dear Friends,

To better serve the people of the 30th Senate District, I am offering this “Week in Review.” 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

The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety last week heard testimony on House bills to reduce unnecessary litigation, clarify current assignment-of-rents clauses in mortgage contracts (traditionally found in industrial or commercial mortgages) and allow for better enforcement of the clause.

A vast array of differing assignment-of-rents clause decisions issued by courts over the past several years with respect to the enforceability of these provisions is confusing and burdensome. The goal is that by specifically stating the rights and responsibilities of lenders, tenants and landlords based on universally accepted procedural principles will help solve this problem.

House Bill 4799 creates the Michigan Uniform Assignment of Rents Act and repeals older statutes that vaguely govern this area of law. The bill would establish a procedure where an assignee could properly obtain the rents they are rightly owed without the costs and time of extended litigation.

HB 4800 would clarify that any action under HB 4799 would not be considered an act to recover debt in a foreclosure. Click here to watch the committee meeting.

The Senate Agriculture Committee last week discussed Senate Bill 977, which would expand Michigan’s agriculture commodity check-off program to allow for smaller commodity groups to forego certain audit requirements and put more funding into crop research, marketing, and other areas that would help their industry flourish.

Public Act 232 of 1965 authorizes the establishment of an agricultural marketing program following approval by referenda among the affected producers. Committees must be reauthorized by referenda every five years and are required to conduct annual audits of all expenditures.

SB 977 would create an exemption from annual audit requirements for grower check-off committees that collect $40,000 or less in annual grower funds. Qualifying committees would need to conduct one audit during each 5-year operating period.

Currently, only the Michigan Carrot Committee and the Michigan Onion Committee would qualify under the reduced threshold. The audits cost between 13 to 14% of each committee’s annual grower assessments. Click here to watch the committee meeting.

Last week, the Senate passed legislation to provide Michigan families, seniors, and veterans with $2.5 billion in tax relief. The bills mark the third time this year that the Legislature has sent bipartisan tax relief to the governor for her signature.

The MI Family Inflation Relief Plan would help every Michigander by lowering the state’s income tax to 4% and increasing the personal income tax deduction by $1,800. It also would support Michigan families by creating a $500 tax credit for each child under the age of 19.

House Bill 4568 and Senate Bill 784 also would increase the tax exemption for Michigan seniors over 67 to $21,800 for individuals and $43,600 for couples and ensure Michigan’s fully disabled veterans and the spouses of those lost in combat receive a 100% property tax exemption.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has already vetoed two previous tax-reduction measures the Legislature has sent her. In April, she vetoed HB 5570 to temporarily suspend the state’s gasoline and diesel excise tax. In March, she vetoed SB 768 to reduce the state’s personal income tax, create a $500 per child tax credit, and increase the tax deductions for all seniors.

State fiscal and economic leaders met on Friday for the annual May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, in which they make official economic and state tax revenue projections to be used for the upcoming state budget.

At the conference, officials with the Department of Treasury and the nonpartisan House and Senate fiscal agencies revised revenues up from the January consensus by nearly $3 billion for the current 2021-22 fiscal year and over $2 billion for the upcoming 2022-23 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

They also urged policymakers to remain cautious in spending to avoid unbalanced budgets in the future.

The rosy budget picture facing state government is not reflective of the reality facing many Michigan families struggling with record-high gas prices and near 40-year-high inflation that is increasing costs on virtually all everyday household needs, like food and energy.

The Senate has already passed a budget plan that shows we can increase record funding for K-12 education, fix our roads and protect our communities, while also providing tax relief to all Michigan families.

Next Monday is Memorial Day — a day set aside to remember the men and women who died in military service to our country.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was first recognized in the 1860s as a day to remember those who died fighting in the Civil War. As the years passed and the U.S. experienced other major conflicts where military lives were lost, including World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May and declared it a federal holiday.

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.