Jan. 8, 2010

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas.  It's hard to believe it's 2010, and I've already completed my first year in office.  I am proud to have maintained a perfect voting record during the Michigan House legislative session of 2009.The House took 682 votes last year.   Only about 28 percent of Michigan lawmakers had a perfect voting record for 2009.I was elected to represent local residents and that means playing an active role during House session and voting on the issues.  People in our area have a strong work ethic, and it is tremendously important to me to work just as hard in Lansing.

The nonpartisan Web site www.michiganvotes.org compiles the voting histories of lawmakers in the Michigan House and Senate.

Key state budget meetings that have historically occurred behind closed doors will be subject to the Michigan Open Meetings Act under legislation announced this week that vastly improves government transparency and speeds the overall budget process.

Meetings to establish how much each state department is allowed to spend must be open to the public under the legislation.  These meetings include officials such as the appropriations chairs, budget directors and other leaders from both parties.  Under the legislation, the public must be given notice in advance of any meetings that are designed to set revenue targets for appropriations for the upcoming state fiscal year.

The meetings also would be subject to the following rules:·

Minutes must be kept of each meeting and made available to the public; ·

• An opportunity for public comment must be provided; and ·
• The meetings must meet at a place available to the general public.

House Bill 5721, the budget reform legislation, now goes to a House committee for consideration.

Best wishes for a prosperous and happy new year.  I am looking forward to 2010, and will continue to work for positive changes for Livingston County and the state. I encourage residents to contact me toll free at 1-866-828-4863 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .,  with any questions and concerns.

December 12, 2009

"Holiday in the Park” at the Howell City Park is a beautiful and inexpensive way to spend an evening and get in the holiday spirit. It's a half-mile drive lined with decorated trees by many area groups. It's only $3 per car so you can take the whole family.

Be sure to see the tree done by my office. Troy, Sue and I had a great time getting together decorations and putting them on the tree. It highlights products made in Michigan and, of course, has red, white and blue lights!

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I want to thank everyone from the American Rental Association of Michigan for honoring me with their "Legislator of the Year” award for 2009. I appreciate being acknowledged for my support of small business and endeavoring to create a business-friendly climate in Michigan.

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Reading to children in the window of Fowlerville Decorating Center during Christmas in the 'Ville last weekend was truly enjoyable. All the weekend activities highlighted the dedication of many people in the community. The parade was beautiful! How fun it is to see so many families and friends having a great time together.

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If you have any questions or need assistance with any state issues, please contact me toll free at 1-866-828-4863 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

As a vice chair of the House Insurance Committee, I publicly opposed a legislative insurance plan this week that could cost jobs, discourage insurance coverage and stop new investment in the state.

The new plan, announced by state Democrats, would create a new layer of government bureaucracy by allowing the state insurance commissioner to set insurance rates.

This represents an attack on our state's struggling job providers, which could result in more residents on the unemployment line. Creating what is essentially a state-run insurance industry is the absolute wrong direction for Michigan.

The bills have already been approved by the insurance committee, but unfortunately the panel did not work in a bipartisan manner. When the bills were considered, I offered two amendments that were immediately shot down, even though they were suggestions the committee chair had requested. A Republican colleague also offered an amendment to a bill that used the exact wording of a bill authored and co-sponsored by several committee members, but they voted against it.

My non-controversial amendments would have helped improve the proposed legislation. Instead, the bills were rushed through with all the amendments turned down. I also am disappointed that information heard during testimony of these bills was not considered in making changes to improve the measures.

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I co-sponsored legislation this week to allow the bipartisan Michigan Agricultural Commission to continue appointing the state Department of Agriculture director.

The legislation overturns the governor's executive order in October that eliminated the commission's authority to hire the agriculture director. The governor now has the authority to make the hire.

The Michigan Agricultural Commission has done an excellent job chosing agriculture directors, and there is no reason for a change. By allowing the incumbent governor to make the decision, it has the potential to become a political appointment, instead of hiring the most capable person. This could ultimately hurt agriculture in Michigan.

The agriculture industry now generates more than $71 billion annually for the state of Michigan, according to a Michigan State University study.

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With the issue of state education funding in the news lately, I wanted to pass along some interesting information regarding the Lottery. Many people may have misconceptions about lottery money, especially when it comes to education spending.

For instance, did you know that more than 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and comissions to retailers.

In fiscal year 2009, the contribution to schools was more than $715 million. The cost of K-12 funding this year alone was more than $13 billion.

Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $15 billion to education in Michigan. If it weren't for Lottery money, our schools would face much tougher obstacles during these tight budgetary times.

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If you have any questions or need assistance with any state issues, please contact me toll free at 1-866-828-4863 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

Nov. 20, 2009

As we head into the beginning of the holiday season, please be assured that I am still working hard to make sure we are moving forward as a state. There are so many economic issues facing the Legislature, including school funding, job creation, tax structure, revenue sharing for local governments and business retention that it is difficult to justify taking a break.

Even though the Legislature will not be meeting as a whole until December 1, there have still been committee meetings and workgroups.

I am a member of the Bipartisan Freshman Caucus. The speaker challenged this group of 44 House members to come up with short-term and long-term solutions to the school funding crisis we are facing as a state. We have split into several workgroups to address different aspects of K-12 school funding. I am the co-chair of one of the workgroups and a participant in another. We have gathered many ideas from stakeholders and will be working to build consensus on making sure our children receive the education they need to succeed in today's world.

It is exciting to be part of a group of people who sincerely want to make a difference and are willing to work together toward a common goal. We have quite varied political differences, but all of us want to make sure the education of Michigan's children is excellent. Because we are all in our first term, we have the potential of building positive relationships to work together on many more of these serious issues over the next several years.

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This year Thanksgiving is even more important to me than usual. With so many of my friends, neighbors and constituents throughout the district struggling to make ends meet and facing such economic challenges, I feel so blessed to live in a community that is so caring and "steps up to the plate" to help others. Thank you to the many groups in the area giving so much in time and money to help those around us who are in need.

I'd also like to publicly say "Thank you!” to my family and friends who have been so supportive of what I have been trying to accomplish in Lansing. It has been a challenging summer and fall with all the budget issues. My close friends and family have kept me grounded in what's really going on in the state, provided quality time for relaxing so I could focus better when I'm on the job and pretty much just been there for me.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!