Dear Friends,

To better serve the people of the 30th Senate District, I will now offer this “Week in Review” that I will be sending out every Monday. I hope you will find it informative about what is happening in Lansing.

I encourage you to contact me with any state issue. You may call 517-373-6920 or email [email protected].  Also, please check out my Facebook page. Let me know if I can assist you in any way or if you have an idea to help move our state forward.

Working for you,
Roger Victory
State Senator

Two local wrestlers told the House Oversight Committee last week about their seasons being ended due to contact tracing.

Coopersville High School senior wrestler Tyler Janssen was ranked #2 in the state in his weight class with an undefeated 22-0 record. Instead of competing a state title, the county health department ordered Tyler into a 10-day quarantine on after being told that he was near a classmate who tested positive for the coronavirus. Even though the CDC guidance allowed for a seven-day quarantine with testing and a negative test, the state of Michigan decided to go with ten days regardless of negative tests.

He tested negative nine times and was never shown who or where he was in contact with someone with COVID-19, but he was still not allowed to compete in the state finals – which ended the day before his quarantine. During his testimony, Tyler raised the issues of fairness and transparency and expressed his concern for other high school and youth athletes facing the same flawed system.

The second Ottawa County athlete to testify was Harris Meekhof, a freshman wrestler at Allendale High School. About three hours before weighing in at the state tournament, he was forced to sit out of the individual state championship competition due to COVID-19 contact tracing – even though he tested negative before and after the match and tested negative five times over 10 days.

You can click here to watch both players testify before the House committee.

Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck provided expert testimony last week in support of a number of election reforms, including my legislation to require public posting of clerks who fail to complete regular training.

In addition to his role serving the people of Ottawa County, Justin spoke on behalf of the Michigan Association of County Clerks and told the committee, “We will strongly support any measures that bolster the integrity and security of our elections and also ensure access and transparency for every voter, and a number of the bills before you today in this committee certainly do a great deal in terms of supporting and bolstering the security of the election.”

This was the first of what is expected to be many hearings on improving our elections. People can click here to watch last week’s Senate committee meeting.

The subcommittees – which I chair – for the General Government and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budgets both approved fiscal year 2022 spending plans last week. This is the next step in approving a state budget that meets the needs of our families and communities while also improving our state and living within our means.

I am proud of the budget plan we put together to support Michigan farmers and agriculture producers, protect our natural resources, continue important research and fill in the protein processing gaps in our food chain that were exposed during the pandemic. Our plan would also protect our county fairs hard hit by COVID-19 and provide critical mental health services to our farmers — who have one the of highest rates of suicide of any profession.

Senate Bill 77 would appropriate $122.3 million for MDARD. It includes an additional $2 million for grants to county fairs and events and $3 million for local conservation districts operations, which is roughly $40,000 for each district across the state to help farmers remain compliant with state and federal regulations.

It also adds locally based protein processing into the Food and Agriculture Investment Program and increases funding for the grant program, provides $225,000 for behavioral health services to respond to the mental stress and fatigue of farmers and agriculture workers and their families, and fully funds the state’s commitment to Michigan Animal Agriculture Alliance at $3 million.

The MAAA is a partnership with MSU Extension, farmers, agriculture producers and the state to fund and develop research programs and opportunities. For every dollar invested, the MAAA returns $3 to the state’s economy.

The general government subcommittee approved a budget plan for the Legislature, the governor’s office, local revenue sharing, debt service, and the departments of attorney general, civil rights, state, treasury, and technology, management and budget.

Unfunded liabilities have been a problem plaguing Michigan for too long and the issue will only continue to grow if left unchecked. Previous efforts have focused on penalizing bad actors and requiring additional reporting and oversight. This plan put $50 million into a new matching grant program to reward municipalities that make pension payments above what is required under the law — thereby reducing these debts.

The measure also creates a workgroup on how to increase access to state IDs and maintains proper oversight on the secretary of state by requiring legislative approval to use federal funds on election activities and limiting outside funding of elections operations.

SB 82 includes $3 million in funding for the Michigan Infrastructure Council to collect statewide water infrastructure data, a $20.6 million increase in constitutional and statutory revenue sharing, and a 2% increase in county revenue sharing. It also requires MDARD and the Department of Treasury to improve the timely processing and issuance of tax credits for Michigan’s Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program.

Residents can see the analyses by the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency by clicking here for SB 77 and clicking here for SB 82. Both bills now head to the full Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Our state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund was created to invest constitutionally restricted funds into preserving our natural resources and giving Michigan families and tourists more and better access to our great outdoors.

Below is a list of resources available to you if you need any type of assistance. Additionally, you can contact my office at any time for more information.