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

Last week, I sponsored an agriculture budget supplemental that would direct $1.4 billion to secure our local food supply, lower our grocery bills, invest in our hometowns and remove roadblocks that have historically limited rural economic development.

The pandemic exposed serious flaws in our food supply chain. We must make targeted investments to reduce rising food costs and ensure Michigan families always have access to locally grown or produced food. My bill prioritizes local growing, processing, and distribution for Michigan produce and food products to shorten the time and distance to store shelves.

Senate Bill 885 would invest $350 million in food distribution security and stability grants; $144 million for bovine TB mitigation at beef and dairy operations; $45 million to help operate and expand farm markets; $75 million to support the stability and expansion of Michigan’s agriculture supply chain businesses like protein processing plants; and $15 million to help local food banks purchase fresh produce, dairy products, and meat and seafood products.

Economic development in our rural communities has been neglected by the state for the last 30 years. Rural Michigan deserves its fair share. We should be investing in rural economic development at the same levels we’ve invested in our urban-based manufacturing.

My bill also invests $350 million to support agriculturally beneficial infrastructure projects, $100 million to help communities that did not receive enough federal broadband funding to complete a full-scale installation, $50 million to assist agricultural operations to meet Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) certifications, and $26 million to partially offset lost revenue from 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns for the U.P. State Fair and local fairgrounds across the state.

SB 885 also would invest in education, workforce and talent development, including $45.8 million to support a modernized MSU dairy facility, $150 million to support new housing units for agricultural workers, $10 million for agriculture technical training grants, and $5 million to establish and begin operation of the Michigan Center for Agricultural Innovation as a public-private partnership between the agricultural industry and the state.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government last week began its budget work with a presentation on the fiscal year 2023 proposal for the Department of Treasury.

There are serious questions about the impact of many of the newly proposed funding programs. For example, Local Transition Support Grants would support communities that lost revenue due to businesses moving to permanent remote work. There is currently no language to require a regional balance for funding distribution or to consider percentage of job loss to remote work.

If this program were to be funded, it would need considerably more oversight and clear definitions and standards of job and economic loss that could be applied throughout Michigan, not just in Detroit.

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on victims’ privacy rights bills and legislation to revise Michigan’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law.

A recent court ruling required prosecutors to disclose personal information of victims and witnesses to the defense. This information had previously been redacted. In its opinion, the Court of Appeals stated that the language in the relevant state law is unambiguous.

House Bills 4798 and 4974 would address the court’s decisions and require prosecutors to keep the personal information of a victim or witness confidential except under certain circumstances. It is critically important for the safety and rights of victims to protect them from additional danger and harassment.

The committee also heard testimony on SB 691, which would add organized retail crime to Michigan’s RICO law.

Organized retail crime has become a huge problem across our country. After brazen smash-and-grab robberies at large retailers like Meijer and The Home Depot, the products stolen are then being fenced through pawn shops or online marketplaces. By adding organized retail crime to Michigan’s RICO law, we would provide law enforcement and prosecutors with more resources and pathways to pursue, capture and charge these groups.

Click here to watch the committee hearing. The meeting starts at 2:55 into the video.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development last week saw a presentation on the department’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget.

I am supportive in concept of the Buy Michigan proposal, which would operate similarly to the now defunct Select Michigan program to encourage the purchase of Michigan-grown produce. Restarting Select Michigan is something we’ve been encouraging the department to do a while, and I am glad to see them offer up this initial proposal for review and negotiation.

Click here to watch the committee hearing. The meeting starts at 2:00 into the video.