Dear neighbor,

Welcome to another edition of the my newsletter! As the son of two educators and having taught myself, I was very proud to vote for a K-12 budget that invests a record amount in our children, our schools, and our future.

My colleagues and I were also able to advance my child tax credit that will give hardworking Michigan families a handup, not a handout. The Senate Finance Committee also passed my legislation to provide real tax relief for seniors living on fixed incomes. Continue reading below to learn more about these efforts – and others – to make a difference for families and the most vulnerable in our community.

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

The Senate Finance Committee recently passed my legislation to help seniors lower their state taxes and keep more of their hard-earned income. Senate Bill 467 would amend the Michigan Income Tax Act to increase income deduction amounts for individuals age 67 and older.

So many of our seniors are living on fixed incomes and tight budgets. This legislation would let seniors keep more of the money they’ve earned and saved for retirement, which will make a real difference for our most vulnerable loved ones.

Inflation is increasing dramatically. Our seniors have faced so much over the last year. But with inflation and rising costs, those on fixed incomes are going to be left behind. Changes need to be made in our state tax structure or seniors will bear an ever-increasing burden.

The bill would specifically increase the amount of income that may be deducted from $20,000 to $25,000 per return for single filers, and from $40,000 to $50,000 per return for joint returns. The change would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021.

Click here to learn more.

In June, we passed legislation to strengthen voter identification laws here in Michigan. Together, we can make it both easier to vote and harder to cheat. According to recent surveys, 80% of Americans surveyed support Voter ID laws.

Senate Bills 285, 303 and 304, as passed by the Senate, would require anyone applying for an absentee ballot with the secretary of state or local clerk to provide either an official Michigan driver’s license number or personal identification card number, the last four digits of their social security number, or a photocopy of their identification or present to a clerk in person proper identification in order to verify their identity and receive their AV ballot.

The bills would also allow a voter who shows up in person to vote without proper identification to cast a provisional ballot and return to their local clerk within six days after the election with ID so that their vote can be counted.

I was proud to cosponsor new legislation to use $1.5 billion in federal funding to repair all Michigan bridges listed in severe condition.

Senate Bill 529 would use $1.5 billion in federal recovery funds to fix bridges across the state in severe condition through bundling, where the design and construction of multiple projects around the state are contracted at the same time.

While we have increased state funding for road and bridge repairs, many Michigan families still have to use bridges that are in serious need of repair work — and this plan addresses that need. Instead of using additional federal dollars to increase the size and scope of government, the MI Safe Drive plan would invest a large part of our federal recovery funds into improving the safety of our roads by fixing all of our most severe local bridges. In addition to boosting safety, we would be providing people with a long-term positive return on their federal tax dollars and free up local funds for use in fixing more local roads.

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!

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