Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to this month’s capitol and community update e-newsletter!

As always, please encourage neighbors and friends in House District 56 — Troy, Clawson, Royal Oak, Birmingham and Bloomfield Township — to also sign up for these updates at MacDonell.housedems.com. Please let us know if you have any thoughts on state-level issues or want to meet with me. My office can be reached by phone at (517) 373-2617 or by email at SharonMacDonell@house.mi.gov.

I can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @repmacdonell. I want to hear from you and work with you to make the 56th District a better place!

In Service,

Sharon MacDonell

State Representative

House District 56

Upcoming Events

May Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour in Bloomfield Hills with Senator Moss and Representative Steckloff

Please join state Sen. Jeremy Moss, state Rep. Samantha Steckloff and me as we provide legislative updates and take your questions about the issues facing our state and our community! Events like these are a great way to find out policies my fellow legislators and I are working on and to share ideas and concerns with us. Please refer to the policy of the venue regarding masks and physical distancing.

When: Monday, May 1, from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Where: Bloomfield Township Public Library: 1099 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Senior Town Hall

Senior Issues Town Hall

I have been looking forward to this event for months! Providing a better standard of living for Michigan’s seniors is one of my top priorities while in office. At this event, I will be joined by a panel of experts on senior issues to answer questions from the 56th House District’s senior citizens.

We will be taking questions on the following topics: housing/aging-in-place, legal issues (DPOA, guardianship) and health care. The panel will include the following special guests:

  • Penny Luebs, Oakland County Commissioner for the 2nd District.
  • Jim Ellison, Director of Older Adult Services for Oakland County.
  • Melissa Seifert, Associate state director for the AARP.
  • Stephanie Hall and Katie Wendel, Area Agency on Aging 1-B Representatives.

When: Monday, May 8, from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Where: Troy Community Center: 3179 Livernois Road, Troy, MI 48083

Legislative Updates

The following are highlights from my recent work in the legislature. All of my sponsored and cosponsored legislation from this term are available at the provided hyperlink. You can also see my press releases page for additional updates

Resolution Graphic

New legislation:

  • I introduced House Bill 4448, which would officially recognize Lunar New Year in the state of Michigan. This bill is part of a package that would also grant official recognition to Diwali, Vaisakhi, Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.
  • I introduced House Resolution 86, which declares April as Sjogren’s Awareness Month. Sjogren’s is an autoimmune condition affecting 4 million Americans, and I submitted this resolution to bring more awareness to the condition and encourage early diagnosis and treatment.

I voted for:

  • Rep. Ranjeev Puri’s bill creating extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) to reduce gun violence. Under an ERPO, an individual’s loved one can petition for law enforcement to temporarily confiscate the individual’s firearms if they are judged to be at risk of harming themselves or others.
  • Sen. Stephanie Chang’s bill establishing Jan. 30 as Fred Korematsu Day in Michigan.
  • Sen. Paul Wojno’s bill enabling more days of early voting for overseas and military voters.

Bills I co-sponsored:

  • Rep. Abraham Aiyash’s bill that would remove the citizenship requirement for obtaining a driver’s license, making it much easier for Michiganders here on visas the opportunity to obtain driver’s licenses.
  • Rep. Julie Rogers’ bill creating an individual tax credit for e-bike purchases.

Community Recognitions and Resources

Submissions for Small Business of the Month AND Teacher of the Month

Each month, I recognize a small business in the community from House District 56 as our small businesses of the month. To nominate a business for this recognition, please fill out this form for Small Business of the Month. I am also excited to recognize a Teacher of the Month! Teachers are the backbone of this nation, and we have the BEST teachers in our District! Please fill out this form to recognize a Teacher of the Month.

Owen Obasuyi Tribute

I was thrilled to join Rep. Tom Kuhn on the house floor last week to present a special tribute to Owen Obasuyi, The Boys & Girls Club of Troy, MI Youth of the Year!

Tributes, Letters and Certificates

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. If you would like to request any of these materials for yourself or others, please email my office at SharonMacDonell@house.mi.gov with as much information as possible on the requested recognition, and we will work with you to arrange delivery or presentation of the recognition!