Dear Friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of my monthly e-newsletter. As always, I hope you find the news and information below helpful. Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who may be interested.

My staff and I are available should you have any thoughts or concerns about state government. Please feel free to contact my office at SenKDaley@senate.michigan.gov or at 517-373-1777.

Sincerely,

Kevin Daley
State Senator
26th District

Democrats are a broken record. Once again, they’ve passed a state budget that grows government while ignoring the issues that matter most to Michigan residents. Their budget raises taxes but fails to fix the roads or address plummeting student test scores.

After nearly seven years in office, the governor still has not offered a serious plan to fix the roads — despite the state budget growing more than 40% in that time. Instead, the recently passed Senate budget increases taxes and fees while allocating taxpayer dollars toward things like:

Senate Republicans offered nearly 90 amendments to make this very bad budget somewhat better. Democrats rejected every single one. They voted against:

The Senate-approved plan is the first step in the process. Both the House and the Senate must approve a full plan before it is sent to the governor for her signature. As it stands, the Senate Democrats’ plan is $500 million over budget.

With Democrats currently holding the majority in the state Senate, they have control over the budget process. So far, there has been little to no input from the public, and Michigan residents remain in the dark about how their tax dollars are being allocated.

To restore public trust and increase transparency, Senate Republicans have launched a website where residents can track legislatively directed spending requests. Each Republican senator will publicly disclose their requests, which will be updated throughout the budget process as senators submit new items.

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.

Memorial Day is a time to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. While we can never fully repay them, we honor their memory and the freedoms they helped protect.

Preschool enrollment for the 2025-26 school year is now open.

Michigan’s PreK for All program is available for children beginning at age 4, at no cost to their families, through programs like the Great Start Readiness Program, Head Start and developmental kindergarten. A variety of programs are available statewide, including full-day, part-day, four-day and five-day options. Some areas of the state are even able to provide transportation.

Visit MiPreKforAll.org to learn more and find a program in your area.

Michigan’s summer Free Fishing Weekend is just around the corner! On June 7-8, all fishing license fees will be waived, and state parks and boating access points are open to visitors without Recreation Passports. Residents and out-of-state visitors can fish for any species of fish. All fishing regulations and laws apply.

Before you plan your next fishing trip, use the interactive Family Friendly Fishing Waters map to find fishing spots across the state with easy access and a high likelihood of catching fish. Locations can be filtered by the type of fish you want to catch, what kind of fishing you are looking for, and which amenities, like bathrooms or swimming, you prefer.

If your fishing adventure will include boating, visit the newly revamped Michigan Boating Facility Finder. The interactive tool makes it easy to find boat access sites and quickly identify essential information about each site, such as the number of lanes, parking info, closures, and more.

In an ongoing effort to maintain a healthy deer population, the Natural Resources Commission has made two important changes for the 2025 upcoming deer hunting season:

Michigan’s 2025 archery season begins on Oct 1. Visit this link for more information about the NRC, including upcoming meeting agendas and past meeting minutes.

Congratulations to the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth on the opening of the new Bavarian Blast Indoor Waterpark! It was my pleasure, along with state Rep. Matt Bierlien, to present Michael Zehnder with a tribute celebrating the ribbon cutting of the largest indoor water park in Michigan!

I was honored to welcome retired U.S. Air Force Sgt. Gary Detrich — Vietnam veteran and member of the American Legion Blumfield Post 229 in Frankentrost — to the state Capitol this week as my special guest for the Senate’s annual Memorial Day ceremony to honor Michigan’s fallen service members.

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.

Michigan Senate website: www.senate.michigan.gov
Michigan House of Representatives website: www.house.mi.gov
Michigan Legislature website: www.legislature.mi.gov
Michigan Citizen’s Guide: Citizen’s Guide to State Government, 102nd Legislature