Hello,

I hope you are looking forward to the warmer days ahead! In this e-news, I will be letting you know about my upcoming community conversation and the governor’s final State of the State address.

Community Conversations

I have many community conversations planned for the upcoming year. Community conversations are chances to meet with me in the district where we can discuss any concerns you may have and talk about what has been happening in Lansing. My next community conversation will be on:

  • Tuesday, March 3, from 11 a.m. to noon on the 2nd floor of the Royal Oak Township Library, 21131 Garden Lane, Ferndale, MI 48220

State of the State

On Wednesday, Feb. 25, the governor gave her final State of the State address. I was honored to be joined by Oak Park Mayor Marian McClellan for the speech. During the speech the governor focused on three main areas that she would like to work on this year: education, housing and health care.

When talking about education the governor praised the universal free breakfast and lunch program for students and mentioned that more work needs to be done to ensure that our kids are able to read by the third grade. I was proud to help enact the breakfast and lunch program when I was the chair of the K-12 budget in the House during the 2023-24 session and will continue to work to make sure that it is funded. A few of the proposals from the governor to help all kids learn to read were free all-day pre-K and an increase in tutoring support for students who may be struggling. These proposals may help improve literacy, and I am looking forward to hearing more details from the governor on how she plans on implementing them.

On housing, the governor proposed a state level affordable housing credit, zoning reforms and removing red tape as her main proposals to lower costs. Again, the speech was short on details, but I look forward to working with whoever is seeking to make housing more affordable for Michiganders.

Finally, when discussing health care, the governor talked about the steps that were taken by the Democratic trifecta to enshrine important Affordable Care Act policies into state law, like protections for those with preexisting conditions and allowing young people to stay on their parent’s insurance until they turn 26. The governor additionally focused on the importance of reducing and protecting people from medical debt. She proposed capping interest rates on medical debt, preventing medical debt from appearing on credit reports and banning liens or foreclosures on homes because of medical debt.

I look forward to a productive year ahead!