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 SenTAlbert@senate.michigan.gov, or by calling 517-373-1734 (toll-free at 855-347-8018).

Sincerely,

Thomas Albert
State Senator

The overall academic performance of Michigan students continues to falter compared to those in other states. Money alone is not the solution. As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer noted during this year’s State of the State address, Michigan invests more per pupil than most states and still has bottom 10 results.

There is no single solution to this issue. But there are a lot of approaches that could help — all of which require increased transparency and accountability.

We must reduce chronic absenteeism, roll back changes that reduced hours of in-person instruction, and address distractions such as in-class cellphone usage. We should focus on helping students in failing schools and expand their educational options if their districts don’t improve. We should restore accountability in our school policies, such as putting teeth back into measures designed to ensure kids can read by grade three.

I recently introduced a school budget proposal — Senate Bill 230 — that would provide a $10,250 per student target foundation allowance. The same bill includes several measures to reduce inefficient or unnecessary spending within the school aid fund and redirect resources to improve student achievement.

If we don’t focus more on improving outcomes for kids, spending more money won’t matter.

We are hearing more and more often about tragic incidents where a pedestrian, first responder, construction worker, tow truck driver or bicyclist is injured or killed on a Michigan roadway. Joining a bipartisan effort, I recently introduced a legislative proposal to help improve safety.

This plan includes a comprehensive and simplified update to Michigan’s “move over” traffic law. It would require motorists to slow down and move over a lane when they encounter any stationary vehicle with flashing, rotating or oscillating lights.

The proposal also provides alternative sentencing options for violations that injure a “vulnerable roadway user” — including pedestrians, bicyclists and many others.

Crashes involving vulnerable roadway users increased by at least 10% in Michigan in 2023, even while the overall number of crashes declined. We can and must do better. Senate Bills 216-217 and House Bills 4334-4335 could help save lives. Sen. Sean McCann and Reps. Julie Rogers and Pauline Wendzel also sponsor bills in this package.

I recently introduced legislation designed to help provide more career opportunities for veterans. Senate Bill 237 would establish an apprenticeship program for Michigan Army National Guard and Air National Guard service members.

The program would assist National Guard members in applying qualifying military training and experience toward apprenticeship certification — helping them advance in high-demand fields. The program would be run at no cost to National Guard members through the GI Bill.

I’d like to thank Rep. Jaime Greene for her work on this legislation in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Michigan residents have reported receiving fraudulent text messages claiming they owe money for unpaid tolls. These messages mimic the Michigan Department of Transportation’s official website and appear legitimate, but they are not.

These text messages are a scam. The state of Michigan does not operate toll roads and will not solicit payment via text message. While some state-owned bridges require tolls, they are not collected by license plate capture. The messages should be reported as junk and deleted.

If you receive one of these scam text messages, do not click on any links or share personal or financial information. The state of Michigan or any of its agencies will never:

Anyone who has received one of these fraudulent messages and wants assurance that they don’t owe money for unpaid tolls can contact MDOT by calling 517-241-2400 or emailing MDOT@Michigan.gov.