Capitol and Community Updates

Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to my monthly Capitol and Community Updates e-newsletter! As your state representative in the 103rd Michigan Legislature, it has been a pleasure to provide these regular updates on my legislative work in an effort to be as transparent and informative as possible for constituents like you. In this issue, you will find information on my upcoming office hour, a legislative update, and resources for how my office can assist you!

Neighbors and friends in House District 103 are encouraged to also sign up for these updates at my website, RepCoffia.com. You can reach my office by phone at (517) 373-3817 or by email at BetsyCoffia@house.mi.gov. Be sure to check out the latest on my social media platforms as well. I welcome your continued feedback as this legislative session continues and encourage you to reach out if my team and I can ever be of assistance to you!

In Service,

Betsy Coffia

State Representative

House District 103

Upcoming Events

Please join me for my upcoming office hours, where I will give a legislative update and answer your questions about the issues facing our state and our community. These events are a great way to find out what policies I’m working on and to share your ideas and concerns with me!

My 2025 in-person office hours occur monthly in one of the three counties of the 103rd House District — Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanau — on a rotating basis. My upcoming May office hour will be in Benzie County!

May Office Hour

When: Monday, May 12, from noon-1 p.m.

Where: Almira Township Fire Department

(7272 Ole White Drive in Lake Ann)

Legislative Updates

Below you will find highlights of recent legislative action. It is my great honor to put the people of Michigan first by delivering on our promises. As always, legislation I have sponsored or co-sponsored this term can be found here. Real-time updates on my legislative work can also be found here.

Constituent Highlights

Recently, there has been no shortage of meaningful and productive meetings with constituents, which continues to be a highlight of my job as your state representative. In early March, I had a great visit with local township officials from Grand Traverse County at the Michigan Townships Association’s annual Capital Conference in Lansing. Among those attending were East Bay Township Supervisor Beth Friend. Also visiting me at the state capital were Ann Konczal of Maple City, and Carla and Michael Windover of Traverse City, on behalf of United Methodists. Together, we discussed the need to reform our auto no fault laws in order to raise the quality of life for catastrophic accident survivors — an effort I continue to strongly support. North Arrow ABA constituents Jenny Hartman and Jon Timm also came to Lansing to discuss access to behavioral health. Additionally, I celebrated March is Reading Month on the House floor and had the pleasure of reading to students at Lake Ann Elementary, TCAPS Montessori, Central Grade and Old Mission Peninsula School. Thank you to the students and staff for having me!

Support for Cherry Capital Airport Employees

The first bill I introduced this term was House Bill 4243, a bill to allow the Northwest Regional Airport Authority — which oversees the Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) — as well as the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority the option of increasing their contributions to their employees’ medical benefit plans as a tool to attract talent; the chapter of the Aeronautics Code under which these airports are organized currently prohibits this action. This is a re-introduction of my bill from last term, House Bill 4618 of 2023, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support and no opposition. This legislation will level the playing field by allowing these final two regional airport authorities to be able to voluntarily enhance their employee medical benefit plans, as all other regional airport authorities in our state already have the ability to do. By doing so, we are supporting our regional airport authorities’ efforts to attract and retain talent as a means of alleviating staffing shortages while supporting employees’ basic needs. This term, I am also proud to share that our state senator, Sen. John Damoose, has joined this effort by introducing companion legislation in the Senate. More information can be found here.

BRITE Act – Promoting Integrity, Transparency and Ethics 

Ethics and transparency continue to be a top priority for me, and my House Democratic colleagues and I recently re-introduced our revamped Bringing Reforms for Integrity, Transparency and Ethics (BRITE) Act as House Bills 4268-73. These bills were once again introduced in observance of Sunshine Week (March 15-21), which promotes the importance of public records and open government. The BRITE Act includes bills that would curtail the influence of lobbying and financial interests in the Legislature and help stop election and campaign finance violations in real time. My bill in the package, House Bill 4271, would prevent individuals seeking public office from having more than one political action committee (PAC). Those running for or holding a public office often use PACs to receive campaign donations, and can currently run multiple PACs as a means to skirt campaign finance limits. My bill would end this practice and enforce the intent behind Michigan’s current campaign contribution limits. More information can be found here.

Pay Equity and Defending Workers’ Rights

Recently, I joined my colleagues in the Progressive Women’s Caucus (PWC) in re-introducing our legislation promoting pay equity and defending workers’ rights. House Bills 4288-97 were introduced in observance of Equal Pay Day on March 25. My bill in the package, House Bill 4289, would require employees to be informed about their rights to equal pay under the law through a posted notice at their job site. As many Michiganders are facing higher costs and struggling to make ends meet, enhancing and increasing enforcement of our pay equity laws is just one way to ensure that Michiganders’ wages are keeping up with the cost of living. Additionally, ending wage discrimination will strengthen our state economy and make Michigan a place where hard work cannot be shortchanged.

State Budget

After Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released her executive budget recommendation and delivered the annual State of the State address, budget season in the Michigan Legislature officially kicked off. Now, the members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will consider the governor’s proposals and begin to craft the state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The House has passed budgets on time, by July 1, for the past two years. This is a statutory requirement in Michigan. Due to the calendar year they operate under, our schools in particular need to know how much funding they will be receiving so that, over the summer, they can make decisions on staffing and purchasing supplies for the upcoming school year. I remain committed to delivering a full common-sense budget on time as we have done my first two years in the House, so that our schools and other local entities have time to craft their own budgets ahead of the new fiscal year that begins on October 1.

Threat of Medicaid Cuts

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that would cut Medicaid by $880 billion. The proposed Medicaid cuts by Congress are meant to fund up to $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts mostly benefiting the wealthiest households over the next ten years. Should this be passed into law, Michigan could likely lose $29.12 billion in Medicaid funding, with Republican-led Congressional districts like ours losing about $2.07 billion each.

For context, more than half of nursing home residents in Michigan are Medicaid recipients. Michigan’s 1st Congressional District residents who get their healthcare via Medicaid include 23,100 adults, 15,100 seniors and 57,100 children. Over 60% of Medicaid adult recipients under 65 in Michigan were employed and many more are unpaid caregivers in the home. 

It is estimated that 30% of Michigan’s 2.7 million Medicaid users — almost 750,000 people — could lose coverage, resulting in ripple effects across our health care system and economy that threatens to close our nursing homes, rural hospitals and health centers which heavily rely on Medicaid dollars. It also has the potential to devastate many vulnerable neighbors including seniors, people with disabilities and children.

Medicaid in Michigan is funded through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services budget, but over 70% of the MDHHS budget is federal dollars. The threat of cuts to federal funding would blow a serious hole in our budget. The role of MDHHS is to promote the health and wellbeing of families, children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and other Michiganders in need of support. Ensuring access to affordable healthcare is a top priority of mine as a legislator and is an issue of personal importance to me. As such, I oppose any effort to take away access to health care from any Michigan resident. Residents who need assistance with their Medicaid benefits should contact their representatives.

You may reach the White House here or your members of Congress through the United States Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (TTY: 202-225-1904), or online at www.congress.gov/members.

Additional Updates

• Coffia and Nessel Hold Federal Actions Town Hall
• Coffia, Damoose Introduce Legislation Allowing for Increased Medical Benefits to Cherry Capital Airport Employees
• House Dems Re-Introduce Government Transparency Bills, Hold Press Conference on BRITE Package
• PWC Takes Action to Close Gender Pay Gap, Holds Press Conference on Pay Equity Package
• AG Nessel Announces Appointment of Grand Traverse County Public Administrator
• M-72/M-22 rebuilding in Traverse City, Elmwood Township

Apply for State Boards and Commissions

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer makes appointments to nearly 250 statewide boards and commissions. These appointments are opportunities for Michiganders to engage with their state government on the issues they care about and represent their expertise and communities at the state level. Vacancies can be viewed online. Each board listed includes the number of total members, number of vacant seats and specifications for each vacancy.

E-News Archives, Publications and Recognitions

My e-news archive is available on my website here.

State publications on various topics are also available here. Physical copies of any of these publications can also be mailed to you by emailing my office with your request!

Do you know someone in the district who is retiring and would like a legislative tribute to celebrate their years of service? Has a local team or group reached a milestone that they would like to be acknowledged with an official certificate for each member? Our office can provide legislative tributes, letters and certificates on a wide range of recognitions for constituents and local small businesses. If you would like to request any of these materials for yourself or others, please fill out this form or email my office at BetsyCoffia@house.mi.gov. Please provide as much information as possible, and we will work with you to arrange delivery or presentation of the recognition!