Dear neighbor,

Welcome to another edition of the my newsletter! Continue reading to learn more about what I’m working on in Lansing, including a child tax credit that would help hardworking families who have struggled over the past year.

My colleagues and I were able to work on a state budget that puts people over politics. As a former educator, I was pleased to vote for a budget that continues record investments in our schools. I also introduced legislation that would fight fraud in the Unemployment Insurance Agency and legislation that would cut government red tape and maximize local road dollars.

As always, my office is here to serve you. My staff and I continue to work on unemployment and other constituent cases to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and make a difference. Please contact my office at 517-373-1758 any time for assistance.

Working with and for you,

Senator Jim Runestad
Serving the 15th State Senate District

We’ve found out that over the last year, the Unemployment Insurance Agency removed certain fraud protection policies. This has resulted in about 100,000 likely fraudulent unemployment claims being filed in Michigan and up to an estimated $1.5 billion in stolen taxpayer dollars being sent to criminals. Fraudulent claims continue to hit the Unemployment Insurance Agency, which only slows payments for those who desperately need it. We can’t let that stand.

When Michiganders were laid off and needed help the most, criminals stole more than a billion dollars in unemployment benefits. These criminals stole the identities of Michigan residents, generating false tax bills and legal costs for those who were affected, while others were falsely accused and unable to get benefits they desperately needed.

The Senate recently passed a responsible 2022 budget plan that prioritizes support for our students, communities and workers without increasing the burden on Michigan families and small businesses struggling to make ends meet.

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 state House for consideration.

Michigan secretary of state branch offices that have been closed to walk-in customers for over a year would be required to reopen under the budget passed by the state Senate. I supported the requirement after the Secretary of State’s Office announced their plan to continue only serving residents with an appointment even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

People are literally waiting three months or more for an appointment. It’s causing so many issues for people. They can’t transfer a title when they buy or sell a vehicle. People are driving on expired licenses. They can’t get in for certification exams they need to do their jobs, such as mechanics.

Many branch offices do not have any available appointments for months. On the day this was passed by the Senate, the West Grand Boulevard branch in Detroit showed the first available appointment for a driver’s license renewal as Oct. 29.

Senate Bill 465 would allow local road agencies to swap some of the federal funds allocated to that local road agency with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in exchange for state funds. By giving our local transportation agencies more flexibility to cut their costs, we can help them fix more of our local roads and make a real difference in the lives of our hardworking taxpayers and families.

The nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency has estimated that these reforms could save local governments up to 30% each year in reduced compliance and overhead costs. Just imagine how many more miles of local roads could be fixed throughout our state with that amount of savings.

If you know of someone who would like to know about what’s going on in Lansing, please forward this email on to a friend! And if you know of anyone who could use help with a state matter, please don’t hesitate to have them reach out to my office at any time!

If you are not already subscribed, you can sign up to receive my email newsletter here. And please feel free to share this newsletter with your friends, neighbors and anyone else who would like to stay up to date on the COVID-19 response and what is happening with state government.