LANSING — House Democrats filed a discharge petition to bring House Bill 5124, which would provide immediate auto insurance rate relief for seniors aged 62 and older, to the House floor for a vote. Republican leadership refused to consider the bill. In response, state Rep. Brian Elder (D-Bay City) issued the following statement:
“The seniors of my district have worked hard their whole lives, and many of them are now living on a fixed income. Many of my people have health care coverage either through Medicare or retiree health care benefits. The fact that they’re forced to pay high auto insurance rates to cover benefits provided by these other programs is an oversight that could be easily fixed. Yet Republican leadership refuses to do anything about it. HB 5124 is a simple way to put money back in the pockets of my seniors, and it should be taken up immediately. Refusing to do so simply shows that they don’t really care about providing rate reductions on auto insurance.”