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 [email protected], or by calling 517-373-1734 (toll-free at 855-347-8018).

Sincerely,

Thomas Albert
State Senator

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.

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.

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:

Senate Bills 44 and 45 would:

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