Download images to view this photo
 

Dear Friends:

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and provide updates about what is going on at Michigan’s Capitol.

I am the state senator for the 18th District – covering all of Barry County and parts of Allegan, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent and Ionia counties. Please feel free to contact me with any issues related to state government at SenTAlbert@senate.michigan.gov, or by calling 517-373-1734 (toll-free at 855-347-8018).

Sincerely,

Download graphics to view this image

Thomas Albert
State Senator

‘Tipped credit’ preserved, restaurant jobs saved

It took much longer than it should have, but late last week, the Michigan Legislature finally acted to preserve the tipped wage structure that restaurant servers overwhelmingly told us they wanted to keep.

The approval of this legislation avoids the implementation of a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that would have devastated the restaurant industry and resulted in thousands of lost jobs.

The newly signed measure related to wages — Senate Bill 8 — keeps the tipped credit at 38% of the general minimum wage in 2025. The tipped credit will gradually move to 50% of the general minimum wage by 2031. The Supreme Court ruling would have eliminated the tipped credit completely.

The general minimum wage is now $12.48 an hour and will reach $15 an hour in 2027 under the terms of the newly approved law.

The Legislature also approved — and the governor signed — a sick time law that is more workable and easier to implement than the alternative that would have been mandated by the Supreme Court. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees will have until Oct. 1 to implement the changes outlined in House Bill 4002. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has put together a list of frequently asked questions.

I don’t like some aspects of these measures, but I voted in favor of them because they soften the negative impacts of what businesses and employees would have faced otherwise. The end result is significantly better than the court-mandated alternative.

State budget process begins

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration made its budget presentation in February, starting the months-long process of adopting an annual budget with the Michigan Legislature.

The state government budget is bigger than ever — well over $80 billion — due to increased federal and state spending that surged during the pandemic. In Michigan, for example, Democrats chose to immediately spend a $9 billion surplus rather than find ways to limit spending or return money to taxpayers. I believe this increased government spending is a major cause of the inflation that has hurt families in Michigan and across the nation in recent years.

Michigan taxpayers have not received an adequate return on their investment for this increased spending. Schools are underperforming, roads remain unfixed, and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

The governor’s initial proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year does not do enough to turn around these trends. I support reining in government spending, reducing long-term debt, and focusing remaining investments on the services Michiganders truly need to thrive.

Michigan’s next fiscal year begins Oct. 1. My full statement on the governor’s initial plan is available here.

Enforcing immigration law

Immigration helped build Michigan and the United States. All should be welcome if they use lawfully available immigration pathways. Unfortunately, much of the immigration in recent years has been illegal, and there is a right and duty to secure our nation’s borders to improve public safety.

The border has been broken for so long that it’s unrealistic to expect the federal government to resolve the immigration crisis on its own. That is why I recently introduced legislation to strengthen Michigan’s ability to help enforce immigration laws.

Senate Bills 42-43 would:

Require reasonable efforts at the local level to determine the immigration status of a criminal offender after a lawful arrest.
Require law enforcement agencies operating local jails to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Support local law enforcement cooperation with federal authorities through grants.
Create the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Support Fund, with funding to be determined during the state budget process.

Senate Bills 44 and 45 would:

Align state and federal law to better assist federal authorities with enforcement, making it a state crime for illegal immigrants to enter Michigan unlawfully.
Allow illegal immigrants to avoid state prosecution for being in Michigan illegally if they agree to return to their foreign homeland via a legal port of entry. This would not apply to repeat offenders or those charged with separate crimes.

Office hours scheduled for Allegan and Barry counties

I plan to host local office hours on Friday, Feb. 28, in two locations:

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Hastings City Hall, Council Chambers, 201 E. State St. in Hastings
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Biggby Coffee, 1114 W. Superior St. in Wayland.
 
Download images to view this photo
 

Michigan's 18th Senate District

 
Download images to view this photo
 

Senator Thomas A. Albert
4500 Connie B. Binsfeld Office Building
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536

Visit my website at: SenatorThomasAlbert.com

Privacy Policy   |   Unsubscribe