Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am most effective at my job when acting on your direct input. I encourage you to reach out to me and my staff with any questions, comments or concerns you may have regarding our community or state and with any policy ideas.

Please do not hesitate to reach out by phone at (517) 373-0822 or send an email to AngelaWitwer@house.mi.gov.

Sincerely,

Angela Witwer

State Representative, 76th House District

 

In This Issue:

  •       Weekly Wrap-Ups
  •       In-District Update
  •       General Update
  •       Legislative Update

 

A blue and read graphic featuring a cartoon coffee cup that reads "Weekly Wrap Up with Witwer"

 

Weekly Wrap-Up with Witwer:
Please keep an eye out on my Facebook page for Weekly Wrap-Ups scheduled in the coming months.

Healthy Aging Fair — Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m.-noon

Please mark your calendars for our 4th annual Healthy Aging Fair at the Lansing Mall on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m.-noon. We will have various organizations in our community with booths offering information and resources.

 

 

In District Update:

April Teacher of the Month Nomination Link
If you have any nominations for April’s Teacher of the Month program, please let my office know by filling out the above link.

Michigan State Representative Angela Witwer standing Eaton Rapids Teen Space staff members with hardhats and shovels while digging into a pile of dirt.

Groundbreaking for the Eaton Rapids Teen Space

State Sen. Sarah Anthony and I were invited to speak at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Eaton Rapids Teen Space building. As the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees last term, we worked together to secure $3 million in the state budget for this new center so that Eaton Rapids youth can have a space to go during the after-school hours to socialize, study, play games, eat food and participate in various programming opportunities.

Thank you to the staff, volunteers and students of the Eaton Rapids Teen Space and the entire City of Eaton Rapids community for the warm welcome. It is exciting to see the investments we made come to life in our communities.

Michigan State Representative Angela Witwer speaking with colleagues on stage in front of a banner that reads "Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club."

Announcement: MDOT Grant Awards to Eaton Rapids and Olivet

The Michigan Department of Transportation recently announced that the City of Eaton Rapids and the City of Olivet are recipients of Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category B grants.

The TEDF Category B grants were created to provide additional road funding to small communities across Michigan, particularly those with limited ability to fund road projects. Because of this grant, the City of Eaton Rapids will be able to repair Grandview Drive, Hollow Ridge Drive and Industrial Drive while the City of Olivet will be able to repair Spruce Street and Yale Street.

Congratulations to both cities on their grants! I look forward to seeing how these dollars positively impact our district.

Road Work Update: Holt Highway to Edgewood Boulevard in Eaton & Ingham Counties

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will begin rebuilding M-99 between Holt Highway and Edgewood Boulevard in Eaton and Ingham counties.

This work is part of a $15 million investment to rebuild M-99 from Holt Road to Edgewood Boulevard that will address pavement conditions, drainage and pedestrian improvements. Based on economic modeling, the project is expected to directly and indirectly support 143 jobs.

COUNTIES:
Eaton
Ingham

HIGHWAY:
M-99

CLOSEST COMMUNITIES:
Lansing
Dimondale

DATES:
Monday, April 7-Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS:
Two-way traffic will be maintained on M-99 via traffic shifts and lane closures. During construction, periodic intersection closures will occur along M-99, motorists are encouraged to follow the posted detour.

SAFETY BENEFIT:
This project will provide a better and safer route for all drivers. Closing lanes during this type of work is necessary to provide the safest work area possible for crews and motorists.

Communities in East Eaton County rely on M-99 for their morning commutes, getting kids to school and picking up groceries — we must ensure this route is safe and well-maintained. This $15 million investment is a step in the right direction to making roads safer and more reliable. I will continue to prioritize projects that invest in Eaton County infrastructure and driver and pedestrian safety.

A graphic from state Representative Angela Witwer featuring a photo of Witwer reading to elementary children that reads "March is Reading Month Highlights. 8 total schools and libraries. 71 total classrooms. 1,490 total students read to."

March is Reading Month Updates:
We concluded our March is Reading Month festivities last month. We had an amazing month visiting elementary schools all across the district from Delta Township to Charlotte to Olivet. This year, we read at 8 schools & libraries, totaling 71 classrooms and 1,490 students!

Announcement: Midwest Press & Automation Expanding in Delta Township
Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Midwest Press & Automation LLC will be expanding in Delta Township to accommodate an additional 27,000 square feet of assembly and machining space. The expansion is expected to generate a capital investment of approximately $4 million and create 15 new jobs with a starting wage of $32.00 per hour plus benefits.

 


General Update:

I’d like to share an opportunity in our community to attend the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Girls State Program or the American Legion Michigan Boys State Program, both taking place in June.

2025 Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Program
The 2025 Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Program will be held on the Michigan State University Lansing Campus from June 22 to June 28. The program is available to high school juniors.

Participants, also known as “delegates” or “citizens,” spend a week on MSU’s campus immersed in programming that walks them through the operations of local, county and state governments. Through this hands-on simulation, delegates run for office, elect officials and solve fictional problems through simulated government action. There are opportunities to take the bar exam and join the Girl’s State Supreme Court, become a member of the press association and learn to write informative articles, or even join a lobbying group to meet with the legislators they elect.

Link to online delegate application: bit.ly/MIGirlsStateApply.

 

Questions? Contact one of the ALA MI Girls State Chairmen:

2025 Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Boys State Program

American Legion’s Boys State Program is a week-long program at Grand Valley State University that will educate young men about the internal workings of our government. This is achieved by providing a stage for them to learn, by allowing them to create the simulated 51st state in the nation. This state includes all forms of government at the city, county and state level. Participants can run to become a deputy sheriff of a county or be elected governor.

 

Legislative Update:

Committees

  • Health Policy Committee met this week to vote on House Bill 4072, a bill to allow patients to take unused portions of eye drops or eye ointments after certain medical procedures. We also took up House Bills 4103 and 4104, which are bills to enact the occupational therapy licensure compact. The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 4309 to allow Michigan to enter the physician’s assistant’s licensure compact. Lastly, we heard testimony on Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • Rules Committee met this week to vote on House Bill 4125 to create the “Nuclear and Hydrogen Education Grant Program Act” for any postsecondary school that seeks to establish or expand a qualified education program and House Bill 4129 to create the “Nuclear and Hydrogen Graduate Attraction and Retention Program Act” that requires the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to provide grants to qualified individuals who are employed at a facility that generates electricity using nuclear or hydrogen technology. We also voted on House Bill 4235 to create the “Prohibited Applications on Government-Issued Devices Act” to require public employers to block and restrict access on government-issued devices to prohibited applications owned by foreign entities, House Bill 4240 to create the “Foreign Influence of Public Bodies Act” to prohibit a public body from participating in or accepting a grant from a foreign country of concern, and House Bill 4241 to prohibit economic incentives to certain foreign countries. Lastly, we heard presentations from the Associated Builders and Contractors as well as from the Michigan Farm Bureau. 

Session

This week in session, the following bills were taken up: 

  • HB 4013 (Slagh): This bill would amend section 73102 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), which addresses circumstances under which a person is prohibited from entering or remaining on another person’s property to engage in a recreational activity or trapping without consent. The bill would remove the above spacing requirement and instead provide that the signs must be posted at intervals of no more than 250 feet along the boundary of the property in order for unauthorized entrance to the property to be prohibited.
  • HB 4179 (Aragona): This bill would amend the Insurance Code to increase (from $5 to $50) the cap on gifts of merchandise that life insurers can provide applicants for a life insurance policy, allow the gifts to be given to policyholders as well as to applicants and change the cap to apply annually and not on a one-time or cumulative basis.

HB 4081 (DeBoyer): The bill would amend the Land Division Act to increase the number of parcels that can be platted (i.e., divided from a single tract of land). Currently, the act allows the first 10 acres of a parent tract of land to be divided into up to four smaller parcels. Under the bill, beginning one year after the legislation’s effective date, the first 10 acres of a parent tract could be divided into up to 10 parcels.