Hello everyone,

I hope everybody is staying cool during this hot summer we’ve been having! Here are a few updates from the last few weeks in Lansing. 

 

Wayne Disposal Radioactive Waste Update

 

 

Early in June, I hosted a community meeting with special guest state Sen. Darrin Camilleri to update residents about the status of our tipping fees and hazardous waste modernization bills, and to hear directly from residents about their thoughts and concerns about the radioactive waste coming into our community. This was a thoughtful, informative and productive meeting, with one sentiment coming through crystal clear: none of us approve of the hazardous waste that is entering our community. Later in June, EGLE and EPA held a public meeting to hear residents comment on Republic Services’ permit request to expand the Wayne Disposal Inc. hazardous waste landfill in Belleville. Many of you attended these events and made your voices heard!

In May, there was a two-day evidentiary hearing in Detroit for the lawsuit between Wayne County and Republic Services, owners of the Wayne Disposal landfill in Van Buren Township who are seeking to accept Manhattan Project-era radioactive waste from Niagara Falls. During this hearing, both sides called witnesses to testify and did cross examinations. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Kevin J. Cox asked the lawyers to submit their findings of fact and conclusion of law to the court by June 20 for review.

In April, I reintroduced legislation to raise Michigan’s landfill tipping fees and overhaul Michigan’s waste management system. My colleagues and I held a press conference to mark this reintroduction.

My bill, House Bill 4393, creates a comprehensive plan to modernize Michigan’s hazardous waste management system. It addresses public health, environmental, community and stakeholder concerns over the disposal of hazardous materials in densely populated communities. If enacted, this legislation would establish clear and enforceable guidelines that protect our residents and environment. It’s tough, it’s smart and it holds corporations accountable.

The legislation includes several landmark provisions, including:

  • Increases tipping fees on solid non-hazardous waste, solid hazardous waste and Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM).
  • Establishes a five-year moratorium planning period during which treatment and storage facilities would not be permitted to be built or expanded. Permanently bans the creation of new commercial hazardous and radioactive waste injection wells.
  • Restricts new hazardous waste facilities from being sited in densely populated or overburdened communities, within 50 miles of a currently operating facility or facility that was closed within the last 25 years, unless specific criteria is met.
  • Requires EGLE to develop a new comprehensive hazardous and radioactive waste management plan within the five-year moratorium planning period.
  • Establishes a statewide capacity limit based on Michigan’s contributions to national hazardous waste generation.
  • Significantly strengthens financial assurance requirements to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for cleanups.

The health and safety of my community is my number one priority and right now that is at risk due to the amount of waste being taken in by our state’s landfills. This is an issue that I have long fought against, and I will not let up until our laws are adequately updated. It is far past time that we do right by our communities and pass this legislation to protect the people we serve. You have made your voices loud and clear — Michigan is not a dumping ground!

Let me be clear: any waste management proposal needs to address the necessity of long-term radioactive waste regulation that my residents have consistently asked me to address. I will absolutely work with anyone, regardless of political party, who is serious about addressing this issue. However, any proposal that only raises tipping fees without addressing the long-term concerns of our residents misses the mark completely.

 

Hosted A Townhall with Special Guest Congresswoman Debbie Dingell

 

 

In June, I hosted a town hall in Belleville with special guests Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, state Sen. Camilleri and House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri. We heard from residents on many issues, including radioactive waste and the Michigan House Republican cuts in the school budget, as well as concerns about recent federal actions. 

 

Presented Tribute to Romulus Deputy Clerk 

 

Recently, my colleague state Rep. Dylan Wegela and I had the privilege of presenting a tribute to Romulus Deputy Clerk D’Sjonaun Hockenhull for being selected to receive the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks Deputy Clerk of Year award for 2025. Mr. Hockenhull has served as Romulus Deputy Clerk since 2020 and has implemented a number of efficiencies to enhance day-to-day operations at the city clerk’s office and other city departments. His contributions in this role have been significant, and it was an honor to present Deputy Clerk Hockenhull this tribute for all of his hard work!

 

 

 

House-Passed Education Budget Diverts Funding Away from Crucial K-12, Community College and Higher Education Programs

 

Michigan school districts, teachers and students count on lawmakers to pass the final state budget by July 1. Unfortunately, this year’s budget process moved extremely slowly and the Republican-led House failed to reach a budget agreement with the Senate by July 1.

My Democratic colleagues and I proposed the House Dems’ Education Vision budget plan to fully fund our schools and support the programs students and parents rely on most. Our plan invests $3.2 billion more into Michigan schools than FY 2025 and is informed by conversations we’ve had with parents, teachers and community leaders across our districts. 

House Democrats’ Education Vision budget plan works to ensure an equitable and quality education for every child. In our budget, we prioritized dedicated funding for:

  •     School safety and mental health
  •     Universal school meals
  •     Great Start Readiness Program
  •     Class size reduction grants
  •     Special education
  •     Career and technical education
  •     Literacy learning grants

Unfortunately, our plan was voted down and instead the Republicans voted in favor of their own plan, HB 4577, that moves dedicated funding away from specific programs. Their plan moves funding away from the universal school breakfast and lunch program that we fought for to ensure no child sits down to learn on an empty stomach. This is what these school meal funding changes will look like in our district:

  • Dundee Community Schools – $373,932 moved
  • Lincoln Consolidated School District – $326,320 moved
  • Milan Area Schools – $393,003 moved
  • Van Buren Public Schools – $238,290 moved

More than 41% of Michigan households are either living below the federal poverty level or are identified as ALICE – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. This means that while the heads of household may earn an income, it is only enough to keep them above the poverty level, meaning many do not qualify for some state and federal benefits, yet their income is low enough that one financial emergency – a flat tire, an unexpected doctor’s bill – could completely derail them. Of those 41%, more than half are households with children. Parents are already struggling with the high cost of groceries, and some of the increases are due to tariffs. Why would we further burden these families now?

Removing universal meal funding affects students’ nutrition and learning. Rolling free meals into the foundation allowance for schools means that districts could drop meal programs, harming kids who rely on these meals. This program is the primary source of nutrition for countless vulnerable children in our communities. It is a lifeline for students in rural and urban districts alike.

The Republican plan changes eligibility for school safety and mental health funding, which could hurt schools’ ability to update infrastructure and keep kids healthy. In our district, this means funding will be moved away from mental health and school safety investments:

  • Van Buren Public Schools – $483,898 moved
  • Romulus Community Schools – $236,241 moved
  • Milan Area Schools – $206,095 moved
  • Lincoln Consolidated Schools – $383,774 moved
  • Dundee Community Schools – $198,286 moved

The Republican plan does not include dedicated funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding. CTE is a core initiative that dramatically improves young people’s chances of finding and keeping stable, well-paying jobs, and it provides students from all backgrounds with the academic rigor, technical proficiency and essential soft skills they need to succeed. It helps ensure that a student’s socioeconomic background isn’t a barrier to accessing a quality education or securing a stable, fulfilling career.

CTE is a powerful antidote to systemic inequality and provides opportunity for more than 112,000 students across Michigan. For our district, these Republican move funding away from CTE programs and incentives by the following amounts:

  • Van Buren Public Schools – $18,037 moved
  • Romulus Community Schools – $1,108 moved
  • Lincoln Consolidated School District – $6,640 moved
  • Milan Area Schools – $14,030 moved
  • Dundee Community Schools – $14,788 moved

The Republican budget eliminates dedicated funding for Michigan’s FIRST Robotics Program. This program teaches kids to design, program and prototype robots. Some of you may be familiar with this program, as this March, the state district competition for 2025 was held at Belleville High School. There were 40 teams from across the state, including our hometown Belleville High School. In April, the BHS team took first place at the Detroit FIRST Robotics Competition and won the Engineering Inspiration Award. The elimination of this funding means fewer opportunities for our students to learn valuable skills in a fun and collaborative environment.

The Republican budget increases per-pupil funding to $10,025 but moves essential categorical funding by rolling it into block grants. This means no dedicated funding for:

  • Literacy grants and coaches
  • Rural transportation
  • After school and summer school programs
  • Vision, hearing, and dental screenings
  • And more

Cutting dedicated categorical funding will put pressure on districts to re-prioritize essential services unless they cut classroom programs. These cuts target support for vulnerable students and will disproportionately harm small and rural districts. This funding would all be rolled into a single line item but would only be accessible if districts meet new requirements, like pledging to employ both a school resource officer and a mental health professional, as well as providing an annual report to the department detailing how the funds were spent. While I absolutely support school safety, the reality is that these types of conditions simply aren’t feasible for many districts, and they add uncertainty to already tight planning timelines. I’m concerned that we simply don’t have the staffing capacity in this state to achieve such a goal, and requiring these districts to comply with these requirements without dedicated funding amounts to imaginary funding for imaginary staffing.

I am also concerned that shifting targeted support to block grants will make already underfunded districts choose between core programs and student well-being, which may mean more unnecessary paperwork and rules that they have to adhere to for fewer student success outcomes. 

While many school districts are trying to stretch every dollar to support our students, this proposed budget diverts more than $1 billion from the School Aid Fund to higher education. That’s critical funding that could help:

  • Hire teachers
  • Keep buses running
  • Provide meals
  • Special needs and at-risk students
  • Meet the growing mental health needs of our students. 

Their plan moves $10 million away from the MI Future Educator Fellowship Program as well, which aims to offset the costs of obtaining teacher certification for college students with at least a 3.0 grade point average.

The bill’s sponsors and supporters are saying it’s a $12,000 per-pupil block grant, but this is not accurate. Their budget includes a 20% funding penalty on funding that would be withheld from schools if a district does not adhere to specific new rules. If compliance is not met by the end of the fiscal year, the funds are held in escrow specifically for that school district.

In addition to these K-12 changes, House Republicans passed HB 4576, which eliminates $5.6 million in federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) library technology funding with no state replacement, even as libraries remain key community hubs. The IMLS is an independent federal agency created by Congress that supports libraries, archives, and museums. On March 14, 2025, a federal executive order called for funding cuts to the IMLS. HB 4576 cuts the federal funding that was previously provided, which could put our local libraries into a state of uncertainty about their future.

Losing library tech funding could mean fewer digital access points for students, job seekers and seniors. Multiple libraries in our district have posted about how these funding cuts could affect their operations. Losing these critical services could have a devastating effect on our communities, including for young Michiganders’ progress with reading comprehension and literacy.

Community college (HB 4579) and university (HB 4580) operating funding has been reduced in the Republican education budget. This will create instability for some of Michigan’s universities, as some students could see higher tuition costs and universities could face staffing cuts. The House-passed budget also withholds the state’s full share of Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (MPSERS UAAL) payments, meaning the following community colleges will see an overall effective rate reduction in funding:

  • Wayne County Community College: 10.11% reduction
  • Washtenaw Community College: 11.23% reduction
  • Monroe County Community College: 9.18% reduction

Between Washington pulling back on Title I and school meals, and House Republicans removing categorical funding from universal meals and major initiatives of our universities, we have much work ahead of us to demand long-term, bipartisan responses, not quick fixes that do more harm than good. I cannot support an extreme budget that disinvests in education and that moves money away from our classrooms while our communities are already being asked to do more with less.

Negotiating the budget for the state is one of the most important responsibilities of the Legislature that is outlined in the Michigan Constitution. Without a school budget passed by the July 1 deadline, our schools are planning in the dark for their next fiscal year. I believe that this uncertainty about the funding our schools have for critical programs like universal free meals, special education or rural transportation is irresponsible and indefensible. Michigan kids deserve better. This budget process is far from over. I have your back, and I will continue fighting for the dollars our students need to succeed in and out of the classroom.

 

Michigan 4-H License Plates Are Now Available to Drivers For Purchase

 

As a result of my bipartisan legislation that we worked hard to pass last term, drivers can now support Michigan’s 4-H youth by purchasing a special 4-H license plate. A portion of the sale of the new plate will go towards Michigan 4-H Foundation.

More information about the Michigan 4-H license plate can be found here. More information about Michigan 4-H can be found here.

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

State Representative Reggie Miller

Michigan’s 31st District

Office Phone: (517) 373-0159

Email: ReggieMiller@house.mi.gov