I will be holding office hours across the district on Friday, June 11.

I will be available to answer questions and provide information and assistance, as well as take suggestions on issues affecting communities and businesses in the district. Please come for an opportunity to discuss issues important to you!

No appointment is necessary. Participants are encouraged to follow current Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

For more information visit my website SenatorKevinDaley.com or call my office at 517-373-1777.

The office hours meetings will take place at the following times and locations:

Friday, June 11
9 – 10 a.m.
Gazebo Park
Cass Ave.
Vassar

11 a.m. – noon
Williams Township Park
1080 W. Midland Road
Auburn

1:45 – 2:45 p.m.
Memorial Park
4295 Huron St.
North Branch

The Michigan Senate voted recently to pass a fiscal year 2022 budget plan focused on building healthy families and communities, a healthier economy, and a healthy future for the people of Michigan.

The 17-bill budget plan includes $72 million for competitive and need-based scholarships for higher education students, $40 million in the Going Pro program to provide grants to support employee training, $30 million for the Michigan Reconnect program to provide support for community college and vocational training, $77 million to provide child care for more families, and $161 million for wage increases for direct care workers and front-line workers at child care institutions.

Senate Bill 83 would invest $15.8 billion in K-12 education, an increase of $249 million. The bill would increase the minimum foundation allowance to $8,361 per pupil, dedicate an additional $20 million to assist students dealing with mental health challenges and boost preschool funding by $32 million to help reduce class sizes. It also dedicates $1.7 billion to help cover the costs of school employee retirement.

The bills prioritize more revenue sharing funding for local governments, more resources for state road and bridge construction, $2.2 billion for local transportation infrastructure projects, a 50% boost for grants to help struggling veterans with expenses, and a new program to incentivize local governments to reduce their long-term debts.

Gov. Whitmer and her administration sought to make permanent many of the restrictive Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency workplace safety rules.

My colleagues and I spearheaded a public comment campaign giving Michiganders who would have been forced to live and do business under these rules a chance to make their thoughts on the matter known to the administration.

The overwhelming public feedback only further proves that great things can happen when citizens make their voices heard.

You and thousands of your fellow Michiganders spoke up against Gov. Whitmer’s attempt to make what were supposed to be temporary emergency COVID-19 workplace rules permanent, and she had no choice but to listen.

I’m happy to share that the governor has ended her attempt to make indoor masking, daily health screenings and other temporary rules permanent in workplaces across our state.

Thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue. It is a reminder that the power in our republic lies not with the government – or the governor – but with the governed.

Farming, and the hard work that comes with it, is something American farmers take real pride in. But farming isn’t for the faint of heart. We get up early, work until our hands bleed, and pray every day that the rain comes down and the crops come up. It’s a simple life, not often filled with the glitz or glamour of other jobs. But farming is a vocation we can all be proud of, something we do out of respect for the land and respect for our forefathers who farmed before us.

The Biden administration and allies in the U.S. Senate are trying to push a new capital gains tax on our nation’s farmers. Farmers face unpredictable weather, attacks from foreign markets, radical activism, and global pandemics, but now our very own federal government is going after them.

Currently, farmland is taxed at its current value when it is inherited or passed on to the next generation, rather than taxed on the increase in value since it was acquired. This process is known as “stepped-up basis.” When a farm is sold, an heir will only pay a capital gains tax on the appreciation in value since they took ownership, rather than being taxed on the appreciation dating back to the farm’s founding date.

Eliminating the stepped-up basis isn’t just about requiring heirs to pay more in capital gains tax; the proposed elimination also seeks to make the tax bill due when the person receives the family farm, rather than when they sell it. These changes would target the transfer of family farms from generation to generation and would mean the end for many because of exorbitant new taxes.

Farmers have their assets tied up in machinery, buildings, and property, but often they have very little cash on hand. This proposal would force many to sell their farm to pay the ridiculous new taxes when the farm is passed to the next generation. Any family farms that survive the taxes would still be devastated, and rural communities like ours would face a major economic crisis.

Hardworking families who have put a lifetime of work into building a business should not be singled out by those in Washington looking to pay for new spending. It’s a shameful money grab that comes at the expense of the very people who make sure we have food on our plates and in our stores.

Passing the farm down to the next generation is a sacred tradition, the end goal of a life’s work. For generations, families like mine have worked through all the challenges that have been thrown our way. We show up every day regardless of whatever stands in our way. And it’s our honor to pass our farms, and our legacies, to family members.

Sadly, this proposal out of Washington would make passing the family farm onto the next generation nearly impossible.

I, for one, won’t stand for it.

I have written the state’s congressional delegation asking them to fight against the repeal of the stepped-up basis. I am asking our federal leaders to stand up for hardworking farmers and stand against these farm-killing taxes.

Lawmakers from both chambers worked on legislation that would have boosted broadband investments in underserved communities in an effort to get more Michigan families connected to reliable internet service. I voted in favor of this legislation while it was before the Senate and supported the House version as well.

The governor, however, vetoed both versions of this legislation. In her most recent veto letter, the governor claims her office is doing enough to solve the lack of reliable internet that plagues so many communities across the state and that legislation isn’t needed.

Unfortunately, Gov. Whitmer is again choosing a “go-it-alone” attitude while choosing to leave rural communities behind with a single stroke of her red pen.

I voted to override the governor’s veto, though Senate Democrats unfortunately chose to side with the governor and the override was not successful.

People can hardly accomplish their day-to-day tasks without, at some point, being connected to the internet. The pandemic has only further highlighted the need for improved connectivity as many people are working from home and students are learning remotely.

It’s a shame the governor chose to veto this legislation while utilizing triple-digit download speeds from her taxpayer-funded home.

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.