Dear neighbor,

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest newsletter!

I hope you will find this update to be helpful and informative regarding what is happening at your state Capitol as 2021 comes to an end. Below you will read about how we are working to support mental health services for the Oxford school community, strengthening our campaign finance laws, reducing local road repair costs, protecting Michigan’s water resources, guarding vulnerable residents from opportunistic criminals, and more.

Every day, I am working to make a difference for families and those in need in our community! Please don’t hesitate to contact my office if there is anything that my team or myself can do to help.

Working with and for you,

Senator Jim Runestad
Serving the 15th State Senate District

On Dec. 14, the state Senate and House approved an end-of-year budget bill that included my request for $100,000 to support mental health services for students, teachers, parents, administrators and first responders in the Oxford High School community.

The tragedy that took place at Oxford High School on Nov. 30 changed the lives of many teens, teachers and families in ways that those of us on the outside looking in can never fully imagine or understand. We must make sure mental health services and resources are available to help those who will unpack the impact of that day for many months and years to come.

The budget supplemental, House Bill 4398, has been sent to the governor for her signature and would allocate $100,000 in funding to Common Ground, an established 501(c)(3) organization that has provided supportive mental health care to youth, adults, and families living in the Oxford school district.

We cannot ignore the importance of mental health care and must all do our part to encourage those around us to seek help if they need it — and support them when they do.

I recently introduced a bill to fix a campaign finance loophole recently exploited by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fundraise beyond set contribution limits.

Finance reports filed in July and October showed our governor has stockpiled millions from jumbo-sized contributions — including some in the six-figure range — above the $7,150 individual limit currently set for gubernatorial campaigns. The legislation I introduced will protect against the abuse of the campaign finance loophole used by Gov. Whitmer to raise unconventional amounts of funds against unrealistic recall attempts.

The governor’s unorthodox fundraising efforts go directly against measures set forth to ensure fair elections in this state. Soliciting mega-donations to fight against imaginary recalls is misleading to donors and, ultimately, harmful to voters, who should be able to trust that candidates are playing by the same rules and are competing fairly.

Senate Bill 788 would require an officeholder, who is the subject of an approved recall petition, to place money raised to campaign in the recall election into a separate specified account and return those donations not expended by the committee during the campaign. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Elections for consideration.

I felt compelled to address some of the more recent negative trends within the education hierarchy. Click here to see the video of my speech on the floor of the state Senate.

I am pleased that after years of negotiation, the Department of Transportation has agreed to a plan which will allow our local communities to trade federal road dollars for state dollars, which will save our road commissions 20 – 30% in federal administration requirements. For the first time, my bill provides a framework for road agencies to swap these funds.

Senate Bill 465 would allow local road agencies to elect to participate in a federal aid swap with the state in an effort to reduce overall repair costs. MDOT has an operation that is more suited to handle the administrative federal requirements than smaller municipalities, since the state department already receives 75% of those funds. This plan has passed the state Senate and now moves to the House for consideration.

It was recently discovered by state Auditor General Doug Ringler that the UIA erroneously distributed $3.9 billion in unauthorized benefits to nearly 350,000 people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The auditor general report also showed the agency failed to act on a U.S. Department of Labor finding on its actions for at least nine months and indicated that the department failed to address clear issues in an appropriate or timely fashion — something that residents who attempted to work with the agency had been claiming for months.

There are longstanding problems within the agency that need to be addressed. The UIA’s problems didn’t happen overnight and neither will fixing the agency. House and Senate committees will continue working to get to the bottom of the issue and work to improve the agency’s effectiveness and customer service.

Congratulations to everyone honored this weekend at the 2021 Huron Valley Chamber of Commerce Holiday Gala!

The Detroit News recently reported that Detroit Police recovered 41 packages stolen from porches in Oakland County when they stopped a vehicle involved in an early morning hit-and-run on the city’s west side.

“Porch pirates” like these now face more strict state penalties in addition to established federal mail theft penalties thanks to legislation, supported by law enforcement, which I introduced last year, that was signed into law, to crack down on the growing number of these opportunistic criminals.

Mail theft is a huge and growing problem in Michigan, as so-called “porch pirates” see valuable packages that arrive at our homes as incredibly easy targets. While U.S. postal inspectors do a great job with their investigations, they are often overwhelmed with the complaints due to the large volume of theft that occurs. Giving our local law enforcement the ability addresses these crimes is helping to penalize and deter these thieves as well as help their would-be victims.

Did you know that Michigan produces more varieties of Christmas trees than any other state?

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.