Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It is an honor to represent the residents of the 69th House District and Genesee County. The purpose of this e-newsletter is to keep you updated on my work in Lansing and around our community. 

As many of you know, on Nov. 1, SNAP payments were paused due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. This is impacting nearly 1.4 million Michiganders who rely on SNAP, including 492,000 children, 38,500 veterans and hundreds of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities. On Monday, Nov. 10, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that full payments will go out to recipients. If you were scheduled to receive your EBT funds yesterday, you will be receiving those benefits within 48 hours.

I know that this has been an anxious time for many — please know that help is available:

  •     Dial 2-1-1 or visit Find Help – Michigan 2-1-1 for confidential referrals to local food programs and services.
  •     Visit the Food Bank Council of Michigan to locate nearby food banks and hunger relief efforts.
  •     Check your MI Bridges account for the latest updates on SNAP benefits.

The bottom line is Michigan families work hard, play by the rules and deserve the dignity of knowing they can put food on the table. I will keep fighting to make sure Washington lives up to that promise. In between these updates, I encourage you to please follow me on Facebook or Instagram where myself and my office post frequent updates. You can also always get in touch with us, for the time being, through our website, office number (517) 373-1786, and by email [email protected]. We are here to serve you.

Rep Martus Signature

Sketch drawing of Rep. Martus's headshot with blue lettering that reads, Jaz

Jasper R. Martus

State Representative

69th House District

Office: (517)-373-1786

Email: [email protected]

 

 In this Edition:

  • Lansing Updates
  • District Event Updates
  • Resources

LANSING UPDATE

Michigan Passes State Budget as the Federal Government Shutdown Becomes the Longest in History.

As I noted in last month’s e-news, Michigan was finally able to come to an agreement on an $81 billion dollar budget, with the School Aid budget (SB 166) at $24.2 billion dollars for K-12 schools, community colleges and higher education while the rest of the government (HB 4706) comes in at about $75.9 billion dollars with an additional $5 billion dollars in Medicaid provider tax revenue moved into contingency funds in the wake of federal cuts, which is not counted in the total. 

This plan for contingency funds came about due to reforms in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) on insurance provider assessments (IPAs) which would affect the state’s health plans overseeing Medicaid benefits. Thankfully, we were able to account for those changes in our current year’s budget by the Oct. 1 fiscal year deadline. What was not as easily able to account for in our current year’s budget was the prospect of a federal government shutdown. 

One of the biggest concerns out of this shutdown is SNAP benefits running out at the Federal level for our friends and neighbors. Despite controlling both Congress and the White House, Republicans in D.C. cannot pass a budget and it is their leadership that is endangering critical services here in Michigan, including SNAP and health care.

MDHHS announced that they would pause accepting any new applications for SNAP on Oct. 23, which has put increased pressure on our local food banks that also are at risk due to their partial reliance on federal funding. 

On Thursday, Nov. 6, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) released a statement following a federal court order directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to resume full November SNAP benefits for Michigan households.

However, the situation continues to shift. On Friday, Nov. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay that paused the lower court’s order, allowing the president’s administration to continue only partial SNAP payments while the appeals process plays out.

Then, on Sunday, Nov. 9, the First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration’s attempt to block the lower court ruling, a win for the states pushing for full benefits. However, the ruling has no immediate impact because the Supreme Court’s temporary stay remains in effect, leaving millions of Americans – including about 1.4 million Michiganders – still in limbo.

On Monday, Nov. 10, MDHHS announced that full benefits will be paid out to Michigan SNAP recipients. For those who were supposed to receive benefits on the ninth, benefits should show up in your account within 48 hours. This comes as a result of Democrats suing the federal administration to release full benefits, something the administration has been fighting against doing. This is a big win for Michiganders, though the situation remains fluid.

Future updates regarding SNAP and November’s delayed benefit payments can be found at the MDHHS Newsroom.

 

House Dems Offer Bills to Preserve SNAP Benefits

What my colleagues and I are proposing here in Lansing is a supplemental appropriations bill package to protect at least some SNAP benefits for Michigan’s most vulnerable to stay fed and healthy. This includes:

  • The creation of a $600 million emergency supplemental for food assistance SNAP recipients. This “SNAP Fund” will use project lapses to backfill the federal funding loss and allow the program to remain temporarily operational. 
  • For our food banks, providing an additional $12.5 million (GF/GP) supplemental for the Food Bank Council of Michigan 
  • An additional $12.5 million (GF/GP) supplemental for food pantry programs to help those facing food insecurity. 
  • We also are proposing a resolution calling on President Trump, the United States Congress, and the United States Department of Agriculture to immediately reopen the federal government or, at minimum, ensure the continued and uninterrupted distribution of SNAP benefits as the Nov. 1 cutoff approaches and urge the United States Department of Agriculture to use its contingency fund to support SNAP, which they did during the 2019 federal government shutdown. 

As my colleagues and I move the fight to ensure our most vulnerable populations our protected to Lansing, I encourage you all to donate food to our local food pantries if you are able to, to keep reaching out to your local federal Representatives and Senators to urge them to do what they can to protect these benefits and come to a resolution on the federal budget. Listed below are the names, addresses and phone numbers of local food banks in our district: 

Flushing/Flushing Township: 

Flushing Com. Church of Nazaren

  • 9500 W. Pierson Road Flushing, MI 48433
  • Phone: 810-659-9719

Flushing New life

  • 8240 Carpenter Road, Flushing, MI 48433
  • Phone: 810-659-7830

Montrose: 

Montrose Food Bank

  • 9453 W. Vienna Road, Montrose, MI 48457
  • Phone: 810-639-7513

Clio/Vienna Township: 

Comm. of Christ-Clio

  • 4041 W. Vienna Road, Clio, MI 48420
  • Phone: 810-687-3120

St. Mary Food Pantry-Flint

  • 3105 Rotterdam Dr., Clio, MI 48420
  • Phone: 810-686-5031

Bethany United Methodist Church

  • 353 E Vienna St., Clio Mi 48420
  • Phone: (810) 686-5151

Mount Morris/Mount Morris Township: 

Free Food N Stuff

  • 7360 Clio Road, Mt. Morris, MI 48458
  • Phone: 248-804-5509

SVDP Mt. Morris

  • 11110 N. Saginaw St., Mt. Morris, MI 48458
  • Phone: 810-813-9885

Trinity Assembly

  • 4363 W. Mt. Morris Road, Mt. Morris, MI 48458
  • Phone: 810-348-6581

Beecher/Flint Township: 

Fairhaven Seventh Day Adventist 

  • G-1379 W. Louis Ave., Flint, MI 48505
  • Phone: 810-624-0447

Salvation Army Beecher Corp.

  • 1475 W. Coldwater Road, Flint, MI 48505
  • Phone: 810-789-4003

Second Chance Church

  • 2070 W. Coldwater Dr., Flint, MI 48505
  • Phone: 810-610-8193

Refuge Temple

  • 4400 W. Carpenter Road, Flint, MI 48504
  • Phone: 810-814-2999

First Flint SDA Community

  • G-4285 Beecher Road Flint, MI 48532
  • Phone: 810-732-0655

Carman Ainsworth Senior Center

  • 2071 S. Graham Road, Flint, MI 48532
  • Phone: 810-732-6290

Jewish Community Services

  • 5150 Calkins Road, Flint, MI 48532
  • Phone: (810) 767-5922

Little Lambs Compassionate Ministries

  • 2270 S. Dye Road, Flint, MI 48532
  • Phone: 810-908-6002

Swartz Creek/Lennon/Clayton Township:

More Life Tabernacle

  • 6430 Lennon Road, Swartz Creek, MI 48472
  • Phone: 810-635-3248

Swartz Creek UMC

  • 7400 Miller Road, Swartz Creek, MI 48473
  • Phone: 810-635-4317

Swartz Creek Church of Christ FP

  • 4410 S. Seymour Road, Swartz Creek, MI 48473
  • Phone: 810-964-4656

A more complete list of Genesee County Food Banks and Pantries can be found here and will be linked in the Resources section at the end of this E-News and in future editions. 

DISTRICT EVENT UPDATE

Recent Community Events

I am excited to announce that our Coffee Hours have returned! As I’ve expressed previously, I always appreciate getting to hear and connect with constituents. My favorite part of this job is getting out with the community, talking with them and hearing what issues matter to them. I’m hosting a series of coffee hours this year, and I invite you all to stop by any of them to express your thoughts on the issues that surround our community.

State Rep. Martus Speaking with constituents at Mount Morris Coffee Hour, Oct. 6

State Rep. Martus Speaking with constituents at Mount Morris Coffee Hour, Oct. 6

State Rep. Martus Speaking with constituents at Mount Morris Coffee Hour, Oct. 6

Speaking with constituents at Mount Morris Coffee Hour, Oct. 6

 

State Rep. Martus poses as Governor Whitmer signs the School Aid budget at Potter Elementary School in Flint, Oct. 13

Governor Whitmer signing the School Aid budget at Potter Elementary School in Flint, Oct. 13

 

State Rep. Martus speaking with Senator Sam Singh as a part of a panel on the Office of Economic Transition, Oct. 21.

State Rep. Martus speaking with Senator Sam Singh as a part of a panel on the Office of Economic Transition, Oct. 21.

State Rep. Martus speaking with Senator Sam Singh as a part of a panel on the Office of Economic Transition, Oct. 21.

State Rep. Martus speaking with Senator Sam Singh as a part of a panel on the Office of Economic Transition, Oct. 21.

Speaking with Senator Sam Singh as a part of a panel on the Office of Economic Transition, Oct. 21.

 

State Rep. Martus testifying on House bills 4593 and 4594 to the House Health Policy Committee on dental advertising transparency, Oct. 29.

State Rep. Martus testifying on House bills 4593 and 4594 to the House Health Policy Committee on dental advertising transparency, Oct. 29.

 

If you haven’t got the chance to stop by yet, I hope to see you there!

  • Nov. 14: Flint Township Senior Center, 10 a.m.
  • Jan. 5: Flushing Area Senior Center, 10 a.m.

More dates to be announced soon!

 

RESOURCES

Below is a compiled list of federal, state and local information and resources that may be useful to you. 

State and Local Resources

State and Federal Government Contacts

Metropolitan District, City, Township and County Governments

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

I want to hear from you. What do you need? How can we help you? My office is here to assist you or answer any questions you may have. Please, reach out to me by phone at (517) 373-1786 or email at [email protected].