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Dear Neighbor, I am honored and humbled to be your state representative. As we continue facing the challenges of the pandemic and its ripple effects throughout our society, please know that my staff and I are here for you. If you are in need of support or resources, have any questions regarding legislation or state government in general, please feel free to reach out to me at my office via JulieRogers@house.mi.gov or by calling (517) 373-1785.
Sincerely, Julie Rogers State Representative, 60th House District In this e-newsletter:
Upcoming Coffee Hour: June 18 My next coffee hour will be on Friday, June 18, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. This will be a virtual coffee hour. Please note the start time is 8:30 a.m. I will be providing a legislative update and offering an opportunity for residents of the 60th House District to share their thoughts and perspectives. To attend the coffee hour, please use the following link to register by noon on June 17. An access link will be sent to those that register on the afternoon of June 17. Residents of House District 60 should register for the June 18 coffee hour by clicking here or by sending us an email at JulieRogers@house.mi.gov. Thousands of Patients Could Lose Critical Care for Injuries Suffered in Auto Accidents on July 1 In 2019, legislation was passed aimed at reforming Michigan’s no-fault law. Unfortunately, included in these changes was a new fee schedule that slashes insurance company payments to providers of post-acute care by nearly half and adds a 56-hour-per-week cap on family- and friend-provided, home-based attendant care. As of July 1, this new fee schedule will go into effect and will put the lifesaving care for thousands of auto accident survivors in serious jeopardy and potentially leave them with nowhere to go. As a practicing physical therapist who has treated these survivors, I understand just how critical it is to update our auto insurance laws before the looming July 1 deadline which is why I am pushing for the swift passage of House Bill 4486, Senate Bill 314 or House Bill 4992. Ensuring access to health care is what called me to public service. However, as we approach July 1, the loss of health care coverage becomes excruciatingly more real for thousands of Michiganders. On June 9, hundreds of survivors of catastrophic car accidents and their caregivers came to Lansing to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 314 and House Bill 4486. A special thank you to Kim Nolan and her team from Progressive Alternatives for making the trip all the way from Kalamazoo.
Justice For All Police Accountability Bill Package On June 8, I was proud to join the Detroit Caucus and the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus to announce the Justice For All Police Accountability Bill Package. I was incredibly moved and honored to stand with Breonna Taylor’s family and listen to them speak about her life and the incredible human being she was. Their words renewed a deep sense of urgency. Our justice and law enforcement system needs immediate, transformational change. The repeated injustices to our Black and Brown communities are intolerable and it is beyond time to act. Although it seemed to reach a tipping point last year, deadly use of force and police brutality have been a serious problem in the United States for decades. Make no mistake, it will not stop unless the policing culture is reformed from the top down, and I think many officers would agree that we must work together for change. I am proud to be part of the efforts to introduce important policies on accountability. I also introduced a resolution in the package to urge the Congress of the United States to enact policing reforms to mandate anti-bias training, ban carotid holds and chokeholds, require the use of other de-escalation methods before use of deadly force, require body cameras, and address qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, among other initiatives. Policing practices should protect the rights of all Americans. Being Black in America should not be a crime.
Pride Month Officially Recognized by the House and Senate For the first time ever, both the Michigan House and Senate passed resolutions (HR 122 and SR 60) declaring June as Pride Month in Michigan. I am thankful for the sponsors of these resolutions, and I’m proud to be a co-sponsor. As we celebrate Pride Month and our LGBTQ+ community members, we must remember how much work is left to be done to achieve true equality for our friends and neighbors. This is why I sponsored and co-sponsored legislation to strengthen Michigan’s adoption process while ensuring equity in placement policies for LGBTQ+ families and expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
City of Kalamazoo Receives MI Clean Water Plan Grant From EGLE I am pleased to share that the City of Kalamazoo has been awarded an Affordability and Planning (AP) Grant totaling $395,600. The AP Grant is available as part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy’s (EGLE) MI Clean Water Plan — a plan to invest $500 million into water infrastructure around the state. AP grants will assist communities with addressing affordability and planning needs such as: asset management plans, water rate plans to support the implementation of asset management plans, or watershed plans supporting long-term infrastructure needs to address public health and environmental risks. The MI Clean Water plan is a historic investment led by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to rebuild the state’s water infrastructure. After decades of underinvestment in Michigan’s infrastructure under previous state leadership, I am so pleased to see this resource be made available and for Kalamazoo to be selected for this grant. |
