US House Rep Moolenaar Update
Newaygo’s US House Rep reached out this week to confirm that Rep Moolenaar is not a fan of the border bill working its way through the Senate. His aide also mentioned that Moolenaar supported Matt Gaetz’s assertion that money spent in Ukraine needed to be accounted for and agreed that we have a problem at our Southern border. Moolenaar voted to send more money to the Southern border to hire additional border agents and fight trafficking operations taking place.
Senator Outman Update
Senator Outman shared his concern that the Democrats who currently have the majority in the Senate are working with Governor Whitmer to shape Michigan into California by advancing leftist policies.
He outlined the goals of Michigan Senate Republicans for the coming year:
• Raising the bar for education in our state instead of watering down standards.
• Giving every student the support they need to succeed in school.
• Putting your money back in your pocket instead of growing the size of state government.
• Giving police departments the resources they need to keep our neighborhoods safe from drugs and gangs, including those run by illegal immigrants.
• Ending Lansing Democrats’ dangerous practice of giving your tax dollars to foreign companies associated with hostile nations.
• Protecting vulnerable children in foster care and juvenile facilities who have been failed by Gov. Whitmer’s administration.
Republican senate goals focus on quality education, protecting children in the foster system, and reducing taxes by keeping the Michigan government in check.
Molenaar noted that the Senate Democrats have taken abortion to extremes, offering on-demand, no-questions-asked access. They have also removed a safeguard dedicated to helping school children who struggle to read access additional help. Democrats repealed a law that mandates intervention for children unable to read proficiently by the end of third grade.
Rep Fox Update
Representative Fox warned Newaygo County alongside Senator Outman that the state is attempting to overstep local authority to advance “Green Energy” mandates. The state Democrats voted to bypass local jurisdiction by deciding which “renewable” energy facilities could be built and where their locations would be. Previously, counties were able to make their own decisions on allowing solar and wind farms in their community. The state is looking to supplant local jurisdiction with state legislation.
Representative Fox also warned that the state is eyeing ways to regulate homeschool families, including forcing them to register with the state.
In The Courts
The Mackinaw Center is fighting to keep a tax cut in place for Michigan residents. Their website (https://www.mackinac.org/litigation) is a fantastic resource for researching ongoing Michigan lawsuits. They are currently in a battle to try and preserve a 700 million dollar Michigan tax cut and have a court date set for Feb 20, 2024, with the appeals court.
Their website summarizes the suit:
“Shortly after Michigan residents learned they’d be paying less on their income taxes, the state treasurer announced that this cut would be temporary and only apply to this year, despite clear language in the law requiring a permanent tax rate cut. The Mackinac Center is challenging this shaky interpretation of the law to preserve the tax cut and save Michiganders more than $700 million a year.”