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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. 2020 was a year unlike any other; as we continue into the new year and new term, rest assured 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 It is time for another community update, this Thursday, March. 18, at 6 p.m. I will give a brief update on the Supplemental funding bills, and then we will move into two presentations from special guests Jenny Geno, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education at the Saginaw Intermediate School District, and Cynthia Reyes, Senior Admissions Advisor at Delta College who will be giving a presentation of Michigan’s Reconnect Program. We will also 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! Legislative Update
Supplemental: This week the House and Senate moved a supplemental package of bills to provide COVID Federal relief for Michiganders. House Bills 4047, 4048, and 4049, along with Senate Bill 1 offered support for Direct care workers, testing, vaccinations, food assistance, rental assistance, property tax assistance, and much more. I am so happy to see some of the Federal money that was allocated to us months ago, finally move towards getting in the hands of Michiganders who need it most. Unfortunately, some of these funds are tied to bills that take away the governor’s and MDHHS power and use Michigan families as pawns in Republican’s continued crusade against Gov. Whitmer.
Lame Duck Legislation: HJR A passed the House last week, amending the constitution to require 2/3rds support for any bill passed during lame duck. For years so many of us watched as termed out legislators pushed through controversial and reckless bills in the dead of night. This bill is a monumental step to provide transparency and accountability in our government.
UIA Expansion Package: Last week, I was proud to support a package of bills to expand and extend unemployment benefits to help ensure no worker is left behind during this time of crisis. Within this package, my bill, HB 4340 would allow low-wage school employees to collect unemployment benefits during the summer and winter break.
School Employees Retirement Hours: During our economic shutdown, the Michigan Office of Retirement Services put out a notice that employees who are paid, but may not be working full hours due to school closures, will not qualify for retirement hours. This rule prevents employees from truly being held harmless. I introduced HB 4393 to allow for employees to count unworked hours incurred in conjunction with the recent temporary suspension of in-person instruction as credible service for the school fiscal year ending on June 30, 2021.
Condemnation Notifications: Turning on the news again last week, I saw two more apartment complex’s in Flint condemned and countless families scrambling to find shelter. After this happened in Saginaw, we took action and introduced HB 4183 to delete language allowing for enforcing agencies to use discretion in notifying owners of violations and add a requirement for owners to notify tenants of any violations. Requiring more transparency between enforcing agencies and owners will create more transparency and better protect individuals from emergency circumstances. |
