I recently discussed issues facing Michigan and Macomb County with nearly 1,000 area residents during a tele-town hall meeting.

A tele-town hall meeting is a telephone conference that provides a forum for hundreds of Macomb County families and job providers to share their goals and concerns and hear about what we are doing to improve our state. I want to thank everyone who participated and encourage those who were unable to join in on the conversation to contact my office and let us know their priorities.

During this event, several residents asked me direct questions on a series of important issues, including auto insurance reform, animal protections, the county jail and several road funding ideas.

Participants were also able to submit responses to five poll questions, such as whether they support Gov. Whitmer’s plan to have the state borrow money through bonding to fix highways. On road bonding, most people said that the state already has enough money to fix the roads or that the state should focus on local roads first. When asked if they would support a proposal to create a new tax to raise money for mass transit, 82% of the participants said no.

Pocketbook issues are still the top priorities for Macomb families, specifically more legislative oversight and refinancing our debts to help invest in roads.

If you were unable to attend the tele-town hall and would like you share your viewpoint on issues facing Macomb County and our state, please contact my office toll-free at 1-866-303-0110 or via email at [email protected].

The Senate has approved my legislation as part of a five-bill package to cut unnecessary red tape, reduce costs and improve access to medical care in Michigan. Senate Bill 674 would repeal the certificate of need requirement for air ambulance services.

Access to modern emergency services like air ambulances can mean the difference between life and death. We should be doing what we can to help health care providers offer lifesaving medical services. My bill would eliminate burdensome regulations for air ambulances and help increase the availability of these critical services for Michigan and Macomb families.

An air ambulance is a helicopter specially outfitted to transport injured or sick people in a medical emergency. It is used in situations in which a conventional ground ambulance would be unreasonable or unsuccessful. Although the Federal Aviation Administration regulates and oversees the operation of air ambulances, as of 2016, Michigan was one of only five states that also regulated air ambulances under CON laws.

A certificate of need (CON) is an authorization that enables the establishment or expansion of health care facilities or services in Michigan. A commission appointed by the governor oversees the CON standards, which regulates a variety of specialized medical services and proposed increases in the number of hospital, nursing home and psychiatric beds.

Four other bills in the package were also approved. SB 669 would eliminate covered capital expenditures from the CON process. SBs 672 and 673 would repeal the CON requirement for psychiatric beds and would require, as a condition of licensure, a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric unit to accept public patients and maintain 50% of beds available to public patients. SB 671 would add two new public members to the CON commission and make it easier to appoint members to standard advisory committees.

I continue to hold district coffee hours on the first Monday and third Friday of every month to hear directly from the people.

Our next scheduled coffee hour is Monday, March 2 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Panera Bread, located at 36808 Van Dyke Ave. in Sterling Heights. The coffee hour is open to residents to express their opinions or concerns about state government or to request assistance with a state issue. No appointment is necessary.

If you are unable to attend the coffee hour, please contact my office toll-free at 1-866-303-0110 or via email at [email protected].