Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Happy New Year! I hope your 2022 is off to a good start. I’m certainly excited to get back into session and kick off this year’s legislative agenda. We accomplished a ton in 2021, but there’s plenty of work left to do. We have voting rights to protect, access to health care to safeguard, infrastructure to fix and so much more. My pledge to you this new year is to keep working hard in Lansing and make sure every bill I vote on carries your voices and concerns.

You may notice a few changes this year. First, we have moved my monthly community conversations to the last Monday of every month, so mark your calendars! Second, the Legislature is considering a LOT of legislation in the upcoming months. To help you stay up to date on what’s going on in Lansing and House District 10, I’ll be splitting up our normal newsletters into a twice-monthly update, one containing legislative updates and the other containing community events and resources to share. No worries — you won’t have to sign up for anything new, and I promise not to fill up your inbox!

The winter months and the persistence of this pandemic have made our community partners and local resources essential to the well-being of our friends and neighbors. Sending out information to help people stay warm, housed, fed, clothed and taken care of can’t wait, so those resources will be coming separately from my updates on what’s going on in the state Capitol. It also makes them extra easy to share!

As your state representative, I am most effective when acting on your input. Not only can you reach out to my office for help, but if you’d like to highlight a small business, community activist or just an incredible resident of HD10, I would love to feature them in our E-News, Community Conversations, social media pages and elsewhere!

You can contact me at (517) 373-0857, by email at MaryCavanagh@house.mi.gov or by visiting my website.

With gratitude,

Mary Cavanagh

State Representative

House District 10 (Redford Township & NW Detroit)

Upcoming Events

Tonight: January Community Conversation!

Join me at 6 p.m. TONIGHT, Jan. 31, on Facebook or Zoom for my first Community Conversation of 2022! Community Conversations are a great way to ask me questions about what’s going on in the House, get important updates about Redford and northwest Detroit, and stay up to date on my policy priorities. Don’t miss out!

Legislative Update

My First Bill Signed Into Law

In the last week of 2021, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bills 5502–5506, a bipartisan package that streamlines the filing process for a popular manufacturing tax exemption. This package includes my bill, House Bill 5505, and is my first piece of legislation to become a public act! These bills remove the requirement that eligible manufacturing personal property (EMPP) exemptions be filed with local governments yearly and allow the previous year’s EMPP exemption filing to be carried over to the current year. Businesses and local governments will save both time and money under the new reporting requirements.

I am incredibly proud to see my first bill signed into law before the close of my first year in office. Thanks to a bipartisan effort and support from the manufacturing community, we were able to deliver common-sense legislation that removes red tape and enacts the will of voters. It is a great feat whenever we set aside party differences and craft legislation that brings Michiganders together. I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for bringing much-needed solutions to businesses and communities by supporting my first public act.

Have a Say in 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 our drinking water clean, and more. These funds can go toward township and city projects in our community, like improving our flood prevention controls in Detroit and replacing lead service lines in Redford.

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 we need to hear from you!

House Passes Economic Development Package to Attract Industry, Create Jobs

I delivered YES votes on a package of bills that bring back jobs to House District 10. The Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation last month 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, House Bills 5602–5604 and Senate Bills 769–771, 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 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 left to do 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.

Community Update

MLK Day of Service

I hope you all had a restful, reflective and powerful Martin Luther King Jr. Day! The lasting impacts of MLK’s legacy have inspired many, including myself, to honor his birthday as a day of service. As a small token of gratitude for their daily sacrifices, I delivered gifts to the police and fire departments of both Redford and Detroit on MLK Day.

It’s impossible to repay them for all of the work they put in to protect our community, but I was glad to spend the day sharing my appreciation for our incredible officers and firefighters and hearing how MLK’s legacy has impacted them!

Winter Warmth Resources Available

My office has a variety of socks, hats, gloves and cloth face masks available! Contact my office, and I’d be happy to deliver any cold weather essentials along with resources and guides from the state of Michigan.

You can keep an eye out for my resource newsletter in the upcoming weeks for a full list of what help is available in our community, but if you urgently need assistance or information, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at MaryCavanagh@house.mi.gov or (517) 373-0857.

I Want to Hear from You!

During this challenging time, it is more important than ever to stay in touch. I want to hear from you! My office is here to assist you or answer any questions you may have.

Please look out for my team and I on the streets! We are going door-to-door for check-ins, resources, and to hear straight from HD10 on priorities and what our community needs. In addition, please don’t hesitate to reach me via email at MaryCavanagh@house.mi.gov.

You can also stay up to date about what’s going on in Lansing and find community events by following me on social media. You can ‘like’ my Facebook page here.

I hope you found this information useful and look out for the next newsletter coming out next month! Again, feel free to contact my office if we can ever be of any assistance.