Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Welcome to the latest edition of my e-newsletter.

Below, you’ll find an update on what is going on in your state Capitol.

Thank you for allowing me to represent you in the Michigan Senate. I am grateful each and every day to work for the people of the 17th Senate District.

In Liberty,

Jonathan Lindsey
State Senator
17th District

In June, Democrats passed a state budget that completely slashed school safety funding by 92%. Republicans recently proposed restoring this funding to its original amount, and despite Senate Republicans’ sole focus on protecting children, Democrats voted against bringing forward the Republican legislation.

Instead, Democrats came back a few hours later offering a new appropriation returning 50% of the slashed funding. They also included a $1 million line item for students to report alleged violations under Michigan’s new restrictive gun laws. This appropriation process has eroded the safety of our schools and has been manipulated to sow chaos in the homes of gun owners exercising their rights. I was even gaveled down while fighting against this misuse of time and money on the Senate floor.

I will never support a bill that endangers our children and infringes on our constitutional rights.

Recently, I have introduced two bills addressing the important topics of health care transparency and election integrity.

Senate Bill 952 would require hospitals to publicly provide information regarding the cost of certified treatments. If the hospital is outside of material compliance, both the hospital and debt collectors would be prohibited from seeking payment for the patient’s treatment. This would strengthen transparency in healthcare and help tackle rising costs.

SB 1034 is a bill meant to strengthen our election laws and ensure election integrity. This bill requires a person to provide proof of identification before they are given an affidavit to vote at a polling location. If proof of identification cannot be provided, the person must be given a provisional ballot that cannot be tabulated on election day and must be secured for verification.

SBs 401-404 would create a state “voting rights act” to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental officers and entities. This legislation strips power from local officials and gives the corrupt secretary of state more power.

Local clerks are very concerned because of the required logistics and insufficient staff. These bills make our elections significantly less secure and open pathways for potential fraud.

I will always fight for every Michigander’s right to vote in free and fair elections.

With the 2024 general election around the corner, I encourage everyone to make a plan and vote. It is essential we participate in our democratic process.

Early voting in the state of Michigan is now open through Sunday. Please check with your local clerk’s office to get additional information about when and where you can vote early in person.

I invite you to nominate a worthy small business from our district by visiting Michigancelebrates.org and clicking on the nomination button on the homepage.

Once you fulfill this step, the company will be notified you have nominated them and then they will be responsible for filling out their application for evaluation. Criteria for each award category are also located on the Michigan Celebrates Small Business website.

Award categories include:

MCSB’s Advisory Committee is made up of a stellar group of organizations that all bring varying levels of expertise:

The 17th state Senate District includes Branch, Cass, and St. Joseph counties, along with parts of Berrien, Calhoun, Jackson and Hillsdale counties.