Dear neighbor,

Below you will find legislative updates from the state Capitol that are important to the residents of Oakland County. Thank you for taking the time to read my latest newsletter!

Senator Jim Runestad
Serving the 15th State Senate District

History shows us that the people know how to spend their own money far better than the government, and our whole nation prospers when they have the freedom to do so.

In June, the Michigan Senate adopted my resolution, Senate Resolution 154, urging Congress to permanently extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 with commensurate spending cuts to avoid increasing the federal tax burden.

Copies of SR 154 were delivered to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the president of the U.S. Senate and members of Michigan’s congressional delegation in the hopes that if enough states spoke out, the government could change course, giving confidence to taxpayers to invest in their own futures and rebuild a booming American economy.

Despite the outcry from states like ours, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ($500 billion in spending) was passed and signed into law by the president. This act is likely to balloon inflation even more by continuing to decrease the value of our dollar as we continue to print more money. The act includes $80 billion dollars for the IRS, including $45 billion for enforcement of the collection of taxes by hiring 87,000 armed IRS enforcement officers. This is more than 1,740 per state, or 20 per county. The IRS will now be larger than the FBI, Pentagon, State Department, and Border Patrol combined. Additional spending in the bill was directed to subsidize green energy programs that are years away from feasibility.

This isn’t fiction folks; this actually happened. In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford warned Congress that “a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.” Government should play a minimal role in our lives. We are now living out the results of what happens when government grows unchecked and becomes compromised.

I’ve prepared a second resolution which will be distributed to my colleagues for co-sponsorship and will be on the Senate floor for introduction in the coming weeks. The resolution again condemns irresponsible federal spending and copies will be transmitted to the president, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and members of the Michigan congressional delegation.

For more information on how your federal senators and representatives voted, please visit this link. For the text bill of the Inflation Reduction Act oF 2022, please visit this link.

Last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals declared that fee cuts prescribed by the state’s 2019 no-fault auto insurance reform do not apply retroactively for medical providers serving victims of crashes that occurred before the law change.

I praised this court decision, which will provide long-awaited relief for many Michiganders catastrophically injured in auto accidents. These individuals have been faced with uncertainty and despair since the implementation of a government-mandated cap on what certain providers could be paid to deliver care for auto accident victims.

While the 2019 no-fault insurance overhaul was sorely needed to provide Michigan drivers with relief from paying the highest auto insurance rates in the entire country, the arbitrary cap was a byproduct that needed to be addressed. When the original bill was signed into law, I and others acknowledged there would likely come a time when tweaks and changes to the new law would be needed. I hope this decision will provide a path for lawmakers to come together in a bipartisan way once again to find a long-term solution that keeps our contractual commitments to those who need care and ensures much-needed insurance rate relief for Michigan drivers.

Each year before an election, my office receives questions about what will be on the ballot. You can visit this website to see the full contents of your ballot. Ballot initiatives that were approved by the Board of Canvassers to be on the next regular election are linked here. You may also visit the Board of Canvassers website.

On Aug. 12, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy lifted its recommendation for no contact with Huron River water after reviewing data related to the Tribar toxic chemical release. It was determined that the levels of chromium released are not at levels that pose a risk to human health. Testing will continue.

It was determined that the amount of chromium released was much less than originally thought, and that the release was trivalent chromium, not hexavalent chromium. Trivalent chromium is a micronutrient and found in the human diet. Hexavalent chromium was not detected in the majority of samples and levels detected in all samples was well below what is considered unsafe.

Test results will be communicated to the public at Michigan.gov/EGLETribarResponse and the Interactive Sampling Result Map.

Public Act 184 of 2022 alleviates much of the red tape that makes it difficult for retired teachers and other school employees to return to work at a Michigan public school. The new law provides more flexibility and reduces the cost for Michigan school districts facing a teacher shortage, particularly in critical shortage areas.

These changes, recently signed into law by the governor, would not affect the retiree’s pension or health care benefits as long the retiree waits at least nine months after retiring to return to work.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced it will be deploying the first round of State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury. Through this initial round of funding, up to $72 million will be available to support loans to small businesses through MEDC’s Access to Capital programs, including the Collateral Support, Loan Participation, Loan Guarantee, and Capital Access Programs, as well as equity investments for early-stage, technology-based businesses in Michigan as part of the Small Business Venture Capital Program.

Venture funds seeking to apply for investment through SBVCP should visit Michiganbusiness.org/sbvcp/ or may direct any questions to [email protected]. Applications from Michigan venture capital funds will be accepted by MEDC during a three-year open period or until the budget is exhausted. Recommendations for awards will be submitted to the Michigan Strategic Fund board for approval.

Banks, credit unions and community development financial institutions may begin making applications for loan enhancement support through any of these programs to the MSF board by leveraging current MEDC Access to Capital programs and SSBCI funding available. Updated program fact sheets and new SSBCI templates with industry eligibility updates can be accessed on the Capital Access program lenders page.

Deer hunting is right around the corner! Please be aware that the Natural Resource Commission has revised reporting guidelines aimed at helping provide the Department of Natural Resources with more precise and complete data due to decreased post-season survey responses, which have dropped below 40%. Starting with the upcoming seasons, ALL hunters who take a deer must report their harvest online. The report can be found at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport or in the Google Play and Apple App stores.

While the new rules will take effect this season, the DNR says the focus will weigh more on education for hunters rather than enforcement of the new guidelines. Hunters who do not have access to the internet may call 517-284-9453 for assistance. More information may be found under frequently asked questions on the DNR’s website. If you have further questions or concerns about these reporting requirements, please don’t hesitate to contact my office, the governor’s office, or reach out to the department directly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is partnering with law enforcement agencies across the country for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over crackdown. The campaign runs through Sept. 5 to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving. In 2021, more than 9,000 traffic crashes in Michigan involved alcohol resulting in 505 deaths and over 6,500 injuries.

Michigan drivers are reminded that if alcohol and/or drugs are part of a late-summer celebration, plan for a safe ride home.

Supporting our schools is critical to our future, and it remains one of my top priorities. I will continue working to increase our investment in our schools so they can prepare our students for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

With Labor Day nearly here, students have either already started school or are preparing to return to begin a new school year.

One of the most essential parts of a successful school year is safety. If your students ride the bus, take the time to make sure they know the proper safety procedures for getting on and off the bus. If you drive your children to school, be sure to give bus drivers plenty of room, be prepared to stop, and watch out for children in parking lots and crosswalks.

This year marks 50 years of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Deer Management Cooperator Patch. Each spring, the DNR holds a design competition for its annual commemorative deer patch. The first deer patch was produced in 1972. The winning 2022 deer patch was designed by Brian Shaw from Spring Arbor, MI.

The 2022 commemorative patch will become available for purchase on Sept. 15, for $8. Patches can be purchased online or from the DNR mobile app.

I will host office hours from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at Billy’s Tip ‘n Inn, 6707 Highland Road in White Lake. All residents of the 15th Senate District are welcome to attend and discuss issues that are important themselves and the future of state.