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

The Tulip Time Festival has returned this year after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to COVID-19, there will be several changes – mostly notably there will be not parades or Dutch dance performances.

Last week, I was able to participate in some of the traditional events during a preview for the festival – including doing some sweeping with Rep. Bradley Slagh, R-Zeeland.

The 92nd festival runs through May 9. This year, festival organizers are putting measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Masks are required at all indoor events, and hand sanitizing stations will be available. To limit the number of people at an event at a time, all in-person events will require a ticket that is purchased in advance for a specific time. Also, no cash will be accepted at the festival. For more information, visit www.tuliptime.com.

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on bills to prevent sexual assault and harassment – particularly of minors. You can click here to watch the committee hearing.

In 2017, disgraced former Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar pled guilty to three federal charges related to child pornography and was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison. He also pled guilty to criminal sexual conduct in state court. In 2018, the Legislature heard hundreds of hours of testimony during its investigation into the events and policies that led to Nassar being able to assault hundreds of young women in his capacity as a medical professional. New laws we enacted were based on that testimony. Senate Bills 223-227 would build on that effort to prevent this type of atrocity from happening to anyone else.

The committee also reported several bills to the full Senate for consideration. House Bills 4219 and 4220 would to allow someone to set aside one conviction of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and SB 400 would increase the allowable time before expungement from 3 years to 5 years after conviction. HBs 4308 and 4309 would to remove the current sunset of the 0.08g/100ml breath alcohol limit.

Supplemental budget bills approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday would invest over $4.4 billion in federal funding.

This plan would continue to responsibly invest billions of dollars in federal assistance to provide much-needed relief to Michigan families, schools and communities and help get people back to work. The goal is to continue to be responsible with how we use this once-in-a-lifetime federal support to maximize the benefits for everyone in our state. Much of the funding would help struggling families with food and rental assistance, provide important COVID-19 testing, and invest $1.4 billion in child care support to help people trying to return to work.

We must also ensure that this federal assistance is used with an eye toward making wise investments that will benefit us for years to come, such as enabling local communities to better improve their roads and helping schools educate our students.

SB 36 includes $3.5 billion in federal and state funding, including:

The bill also invests $387 million in federal transportation funding. Of that funding, $261 million would be conditional upon the enactment of SB 394, which would direct $261 million of the federal funding to local governments for local road repair.

SB 216 includes $943 million to restore school funding previously vetoed by the governor, including $840 million in federal Emergency and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, $10 million to reimburse parents for summer school expenses, and $87 million in federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund grants for nonpublic schools.

The ESSER funding was appropriated in House Bill 4048 but effectively vetoed by the governor with her veto of HB 4049. The other funding was included in both HB 4048 and SB 29 and vetoed by the governor. SBs 36 and 216 now head to the full Senate for consideration.

Next week is National Travel and Tourism Week. Tourism plays a key role in our state’s economy and in the lives of many Michigan families. For more information on some great places to check out around the state, visit www.michigan.org.

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.