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 week. 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

My bill aimed at reducing out-of-balance poll books was among several election reforms taken up for testimony last week by the Senate Elections Committee.

Out-of-balance poll books raise questions about the accuracy of results. Senate Bill 295 would require clerks to train precinct workers in the best practices of maintaining a balanced precinct, including checking the tabulators and voter counts every hour.

SBs 290, 291, 292, 293 and 309 seek to clarify eligibility, training and allowable actions for poll challengers. SB 294 would help ensure each polling place has an equal number of election inspectors from each party. Under SBs 300 and 301, early voting would be allowed 10 days before Election Day. Votes would be tallied that day, and anyone found to be tampering with or disclosing results in advance would face up to five years in prison. SB 279 would update rules regarding absent voter counting boards.

People can click here to watch last week’s Senate committee meeting. Details about the 39-bill Senate election reform package are available at www.misenategop.com/election-reform.

The Senate last week passed a 2022 budget plan focused on building healthy families and communities, a healthier economy, and a healthy future for the people of Michigan.

This is another step in the process of passing a state budget on time and within our means.

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.

SBs 77 and 79-94 have been sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

On Monday, I held another in-person office hour in Grand Haven to meet with the good people of Ottawa County about state issues and talk with them about their priorities.

I have another district office hour coming up this Thursday from 6:30 — 7:30 p.m. at BAM! Entertainment Center, 478 E. 16th St. in Holland.

We’ve had a great response to our office hours in the past, and I look forward to holding them each month throughout the district. Please stay tuned to these weekly updates for the next set of office hours. If you were unable to attend any of the office hours this month and need assistance, click here to contact my office.

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.