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Dear Neighbor,
Welcome to my e-newsletter! I’m honored and humbled to serve as our community’s voice at the Capitol in Lansing. As we continue into the term, rest assured that the challenges families in our community and state are facing are at the top of my legislative priorities.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by phone at (517) 373-0152 or email at AmosONeal@house.mi.gov if we can help.
Sincerely,
Amos O’Neal State Representative, 95th House District
In this issue:
Upcoming Community Conversation Mark your calendars for our next community conversation on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. on Facebook Live. I will give a brief legislative update. Then, we will have a conversation about the Secure MI Vote Petition that is circulating and the dangers that it poses to our right to vote. Our special guests helping to discuss this crucial issue are Terry Pruitt and Carl Williams with the NAACP and Angie Miller with the Mid Michigan Area Labor Council.
We hope to save some time for Q&A, so come with questions for our guests. You can join us on Facebook Live by clicking here or searching @StateRepAmosONeal.
I hope to see you there!
Economic Development Package The Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation just before the holidays to fund economic development programs that are designed to help businesses locate and expand facilities in Michigan, creating good-paying jobs for the people of the state.
In order to ensure Michigan stays competitive with other states, we need to invest in attracting growing industries. These bills will invest in site readiness and create incentives for growing industries to locate here in Michigan.
The bills also include critical safeguards to make sure that your taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Deposits and disbursements must receive legislative approval, businesses must meet set performance metrics in order to receive funding, and, if companies don’t hold up their end of the bargain, there are penalties and clawbacks in place to ensure the state can recoup its investment.
This is only part of the work to put Michigan back on top. We also need to invest in our aging infrastructure, continue our historic funding for public schools, and make sure that everyone has clean drinking water no matter where they live. This economic development package is one of many tools to make sure Michigan stays competitive for years to come.
Federal Infrastructure Spending Last year, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and President Biden signed it into law. This means that Michigan is expecting to receive billions of dollars from the federal government to fix our roads and bridges, improve high-speed internet access, keep our Great Lakes and drinking water clean, and more.
As your state representative, I want to hear from you about how you think this money should be spent. I invite you to go to this website to take the “Invest in MI Community” survey. You’ll get a chance to make your voice heard on what matters most to you. In addition, listening tour stops will be scheduled across the state, including a stop near you, to discuss those topics in greater detail. Then we’ll take those discussions to the Capitol and fight for the projects you care about.
An investment in infrastructure is an investment in us all. These federal dollars are a unique opportunity to make critical improvements, and that’s why I want to hear from you! |
