“I uphold the Constitution to the best of my ability, so help me God.” -Josh Schriver
May 9, 2024
Dear Neighbor,
For the sake of full transparency and accountability, I am one of only 8 out of 110 State Representatives in Michigan to report every single vote I make with a reason for each vote in 2024.
Below, you will find all of my votes and reasons for this week (May 7-9), including my votes on each item in the FY25 Budget for the State of Michigan:
5499: FY25 Budget for Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is the inclusion of a proposal to increase in the landfill tipping fee from $.36 per ton to $5 per ton. This is a massive increase that will certainly impact the cost of waste removal for all Michigan residents.
PASSED 56-49
5501: FY25 Budget for MILEAP
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is the inclusion CDC incentives that open this department up to a compromised position tying funding to compliance with CDC regulations which may not be in the best interests of Michigan residents.
PASSED 56-50
5502: FY25 Budget for Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is the Executive inclusion of $4,000,000 for Global Talent and Retention to integrate of individuals from foreign countries seeking education and/or employment in the state. I support using Michigan taxpayer dollars to support Michigan residents. The Newcomer Rental Assistance Program, included in this budget, will result in illegal immigrants receiving taxpayer-funded housing.
PASSED 56-49
5503: FY25 Budget for School Aid
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is the governor's budget recommendation to increase the per-pupil “foundation allowance” by 2.5%, raising it to $9,849 per pupil. The overall funding per pupil is now up to about $15,000 per student. Michigan schools have a problem with increasing per-pupil funding on an ongoing basis with much of this funding lost in administrative fees that do not benefit students. Moreover, I have proposed a much more effective voucher program like Arizona where Michigan families will be able to choose how the per pupil funding for their child is used without strings attached (homeschooling, private schooling, etc.).
PASSED 56-50
5504: FY25 Budget for Community Colleges
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is $8.9 million in additional ongoing funding for community college operations, a 2.5% increase. I do not agree with increasing the amount of your taxpayer dollars in this area. Community colleges receive funding via student tuition and these operations have not proven to provide an equal benefit to all Michigan residents.
PASSED 56-47
5505: FY25 Budget for Higher Education
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is how this budget creates the “Community College Guarantee”, which ensures taxpayer funded tuition at Michigan community colleges for Michigan high school graduates.
PASSED 56-50
5506: FY25 Budget for the Department of Education
NO- There are many issues with this budget. One of the main problems I have with this item is that it is not at all clear how this budget will improve school safety initiatives such as allocating School Resource Officers and other basic school safety mechanisms.
PASSED 56-49
5508: FY25 Budget for the Department of Corrections
NO- Michigan’s prisons are woefully understaffed in the governor’s Department of Corrections, yet the department budget proposed in this budget simply does not invest enough resources or provide the tools necessary to fill the hundreds of vacant corrections officer positions in prisons across the state.
Additionally, while this bill provides a multimillion-dollar special handout to just one local jurisdiction, it does not adequately increase the reimbursement for county jails that house state prisoners. In fact, the House Democrats rejected a Republican amendment I supported to double the increase in per-diem reimbursement.
This proposed budget also eliminates key transparency measures that allow lawmakers and the public to hold the administration accountable, including provisions to require disclosure of large severance agreements, mandate online posting of department performance metrics, and allow legislative oversight of transferred funds.
In short, this budget fails to deliver the robust, transparent, fully staffed criminal justice system the public deserves. What’s more, this budget is part of an enormous, $80.9 billion state budget proposed by House Democrats, whose budget is even larger than the governor’s executive recommendation. This budget is based on an income tax hike that took effect this January, even though Michiganders deserve the permanent tax relief they were promised under state law.
PASSED 56-49
5509: FY25 Budget for the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs
NO- Removing reporting requirements is never a way to make government more transparent, yet that’s exactly what this budget does. This budget removes disclosure requirements for when high-ranking employees receive loaded severance packages and ditches interagency cooperation obligations. Michigan ranks LAST in government transparency. This budget makes things worse.
PASSED 57-48
5510: FY25 Budget for Michigan State Police
NO- The Michigan State Police budget creates a Climate Change Emergency Disaster Relief Fund that expects local communities to try to prove a severe storm was caused by climate change, putting burdensome restrictions in the way of essential resources. This is ridiculous. I can’t support a budget that forces local municipalities to spend time proving why hail and wind damage happened when they should be securing resources and helping their communities.
MSP is also facing shortages statewide, yet this budget pulls $5 million in funding for training and recruitment efforts.
PASSED 56-49
5511: FY25 Budget for Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
NO- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget makes government less transparent by removing reporting requirements, including removing metric reporting obligations and disclosure requirements for when high-ranking employees receive loaded severance packages. Michigan ranks LAST in government transparency. This budget makes things worse. The budget also forces taxpayers to bankroll more than $5.6 million in bloated government spending on programs that are not core functions of state government.
PASSED 56-49
5512: FY25 Budget for the Department of Natural Resources
NO- This budged makes government less transparent by removing reporting requirements, including metric reporting obligations and disclosure requirements for when high-ranking employees receive loaded severance packages. Michigan ranks near the bottom in government transparency. This budget makes things worse.
The budget also forces taxpayers to bankroll an unnecessary $4 million field trip program.
PASSED 56-49
5513: FY25 Budget for the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS)
NO- Our local job providers have already experienced a litany of issues the past several years with COVID-19 shutdowns and high costs from inflation. This budget plan wants to further weaponize regulation in the coming fiscal year by adding new taxpayer-funded positions and spending more to make bureaucracy a bigger part of people’s lives. I can’t support a plan that aims to burden my constituents and their local buisnesses with bureaucratic red tape.
PASSED 56-49
5514: FY25 Budget for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
This budget adds to government waste by creating over 30 new positions for the Michigan Public Services Commission to carry out new mandates on green energy. Since these positions utilize federal funding, they are not sustainable and will force government into difficult decisions in future fiscal years. It also gives Supreme Court justices raises at a time when many hardworking taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet.
The plan removes critical protections for child safety by eliminating a background check program for child-care center licensure and wastes tax dollars by studying the impact of already-required bias training for health care professionals.
PASSED 56-49
5515: FY25 Budget for Judiciary
NO- The overall spending plan being pushed by House Democrats expands state government by creating about 400 new bureaucratic positions that will be unsustainable in future years. The House Judiciary budget contributes to the problem by adding 37 of those positions.
As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure the long-term fiscal health of our state. Expanding government without a concrete plan for future funding is short-sighted and irresponsible. The unprecedented federal stimulus money our state has received over the last few years will not last forever, and this budget doesn't adequately account for that reality. This is why I must vote no.
PASSED 56-49
5516: FY25 Budget for General Government
NO- This budget gives unelected bureaucrats free rein to spend money without input from legislators or the people they represent. It also strips away important reports that provide transparency and keep state government accountable to the people – including one aimed at exposing and preventing “hush money” agreements with state bureaucrats. This bill also spends our limited taxpayer dollars pushing a radical green agenda the people do not want and takes critical public safety funding away from police and puts it toward social justice programs. Overall, this budget increases government spending, grows state government with positions for about 60 additional bureaucrats, and fails to adequately plan for Michigan’s future by neglecting to make a deposit in the budget stabilization fund. I cannot vote to support a plan like that.
PASSED 56-49
5517: FY25 Budget for the Department of Transportation
NO- This budget prioritizes the governor’s personal projects over the needs of everyday people. Blowing taxpayer dollars on fancy drones, electric bikes, and electric vehicle infrastructure instead of fixing local roads is a twisted misappropriation of state resources. Michigan residents are facing thousands of dollars in vehicle repairs because of the dire state of our local roads. Drones and E-bikes won’t fill potholes and ignoring the problem is just going to make things worse. I cannot vote for a plan that ignores our local roads in favor of green energy pet projects.
PASSED 56-49
5556: FY25 Budget for the Department of Health and Human Services
NO- While this budget commits resources to behavioral health, support for first responders and other areas, the bill ties these initiatives to tens of millions of dollars for the continued unchecked expansion of various social programs, including free rent and utility payments, and doesn’t give hardworking taxpayers a good return on their investments.
Legislators have a responsibility to respect tax dollars that are afforded to state government. Continued reckless spending goes against this responsibility. We can and must do better, and that is why I voted no on this budget bill.
PASSED 56-50
5507: FY25 Budget for the School Aid Omnibus
NO- This bill is a “placeholder”, like a blank check. I cannot vote for a bill that does not have defined parameters for the spending of taxpayer dollars.
PASSED 56-50
5500: FY25 General Omnibus Spending Bill
NO- This bill is a “placeholder”, like a blank check. I cannot vote for a bill that does not have defined parameters for the spending of taxpayer dollars.
PASSED 56-50
SB 817: Government to Purchase/Manage More Michigan Land with Your Money
NO- Every year the State of Michigan buys 1,000-10,000 acres of private land. The latest example of this is the Black River Ranch, a bankrupt hunting camp that hasn’t been able to sell on the open market in years…so the State of Michigan is going to buy it for $18 million. There is no one willing to buy this land at that price so our government is proposing to use your tax dollars to buy it. Overall, this bill uses more than $80,000,000 in taxpayer dollars to purchase/develop various parcels of private land.
PASSED 98-7
5434: Names Portion of M-11 as the “Korean War Veterans Memorial Drive”
ABSTAINED- This bill was quickly rushed through a vote on the House Floor with less than ample time to record a record roll call vote without any final role call by the Speaker to collect votes prior to closing the board.
PASSED 56-1 (53 Abstentions)
5127: Expand Benefits for 100% Disabled Veterans to Include 50% Disabled Veterans
NO- The difference between a veteran who is 100% disabled and a veteran who is 50% disabled is significant. For example, a veteran who is 50% disabled is still eligible to work Equivocating these two groups is offensive to veterans who are 100% disabled.
FAILED 55-6 (49 Abstentions)
5522: Allow Governor to Expand Non-Voting Members on Midwestern Higher Education Commission
NO- The commission’s bylaws establish that each state is only allowed 5 resident members. This would put Michigan at 7 (two would be non-voting members).
PASSED 69-38
SB 227- Allow group homes with 6 residents or less to use restrictive/isolation safety management practices as a last resort after conflict de-escalation fails.
NO – This bill entrenches and affirms the increased authority that our government has over our group homes. To ensure best practices, we should allow group homes and the experts that operate/oversee them to operate in the best interest of the individuals they serve, without government intrusion.
PASSED 103-4
SB 518- Extend the date until which the state superintendent can issue interim teaching certificates for special education.
YES- This bill allows existing special education teachers who are using a current interim teaching certificate to continue teaching for a longer period.
PASSED 105-0
5534- Remove local control over trial court operations/funding
NO- Local control over the operations and funding of the trial courts should not be shifted from local elected officials to unelected Lansing bureaucrats.
PASSED 56-51
4523/4525- Allow violent offenders and convicted felons to participate in specialty treatment courts
NO- Violent offenders, including murderers, rapists, and persons who commit new felonies while already in a treatment-court program should not be granted the privilege of participating in specialty treatment courts.
4523 PASSED 67-40, 4525 PASSED 71-36
4343- Legislative Report Requirement for Deferred Presentment Service (Payday Lending)
NO – This information is already widely available on the State of Michigan website for anyone to access. It’s not a necessary law.
PASSED 96-11
5096- Expand Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) to Designate “Renaissance Zones”
We shouldn’t give the MSF any more power than they already have. Moreover, this bill could likely increase state expenditures by an unknown amount. A recent addition to this bill adds a special carveout for specifically the DMC Renaissance Zone in Detroit that allows for their renaissance zone to be extended by an additional 15 years, as well as to allow for the extension to be applied retroactively.
PASSED 69-38
All 2023 VOTES & REASONS: CLICK HERE
All 2024 VOTES & REASONS CLICK HERE