Hello,

I hope you and your loved ones have been able to comfort each other during this trying time. In this update, I will be talking about an upcoming community conversation, recent legislation that has passed the house and the tragic shooting this week at MSU.

Community Conversation

My first community conversation of the new session will occur on Monday, Feb. 20, at 3:30 p.m. at the Huntington Woods Library. I hope you are able to stop by, but if you are not, I am currently working to schedule more conversations throughout the district. The best way to stay up to date on our community conversation schedule is to follow my Facebook page, which can be found here. If you need anything in the meantime, please reach out to my office.

Legislation

Recently, the House passed a measure that would expand the working families tax credit from 6% to 30% of the federal credit. We also repealed the retirement tax, which will save retirees in our state an average of $1,000 per year. These measures will put money back into the pockets of those who need it most — working families and retirees on fixed incomes.

Tragedy at MSU

An unthinkable act of violence was carried out at Michigan State University this week. As a teacher, I have never entered a classroom without thinking about what I would do if the worst were to happen. I’ve spent too many times locked in closets with children wondering if it’s “just a drill.”

I don’t want my children to be afraid to go to school. I want all kids across Michigan to be safe and for all parents to have the peace of mind to know that their school is a sanctuary from violence. I want all of our educators to focus on educating children, not protecting them from tragedy.

All of the guns in the world are not worth the life of one child.

We can, we must and we will act. I am working diligently with the caucus to quickly move common-sense gun legislation, like the universal background check legislation that I introduced last term. We are also working to pass other common-sense gun reforms, such as secure storage legislation and extreme risk protection orders (red flag) legislation.

Please check in on each other. I know we have many Spartans in our district, so I want to share the following resources available now for MSU students:

Student Health Services

General info: (517) 884-6526; Nurse on-call: (517) 353-9165

Employee Assistance Program

EAP is a confidential, free counseling service for employees: (517) 432-0155

Counseling & Psychiatry Services

CAPS is the place for students seeking help for a wide range of health concerns: CAPS website.

Take care of each other,

Regina