Politics don’t just happen in Washington, DC! The purpose of this weekly newsletter is to promote progressive policies in the State of Michigan by contacting our state representatives and state senators directly.
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We put a lot of time into carefully researching these actions. But we can make mistakes.
Many Michigan districts have elections Tuesday, May 2. Don’t forget to vote!
Look up your state representative and state senator and put them in your phone book for all future calling.
We recognize that calling your representatives and senators can be intimidating. For the pieces of legislation we highlight each week, our goal is to provide you with some basic data, analysis, and talking points for you to steer the conversation, but we encourage you to personalize your message in ways that make sense to you. When applicable, it’s particularly powerful to share your personal experiences and expertise related to given legislation.
If you reach voicemail, we encourage you to leave a message; you should receive a call back. Make sure to include your city or town so that the office knows you are a constituent.
The more you call, the easier it gets!
~When calling your representative and senator, also ask them about upcoming coffee hours!~
A supplemental spending bill Snyder signed in December provided $20 in energy assistance to each of more than 338,000 low-income families, who then each became eligible for $76.73 per month in federal food assistance. Snyder has proposed continuing the state funding in his 2018 budget, saying the $6.8 million approved last year for Heat and Eat increased food purchasing power in low-income households by more than $304 million.
However, the Michigan Senate appropriation subcommittee for DHHS has proposed eliminating state funding for this program. That is, they are denying state heating dollars to kids, families, seniors and persons with disabilities, and by doing so also making them ineligible for additional federal funds for food.
Take Action
This budget will be up for a vote shortly in the Michigan Senate and, following that, in the Michigan House of Representatives. Call both your state representative and your state senator and ask them to oppose any budget that includes cuts to this affordable and effective program. Let them know that supporting those in need is more important than any potential tax cut.
Press on the subject
April 18, Detroit News, Senate budget scraps ‘Heat and Eat’ program for poor
April 18, Michigan League for Public Policy, On same day as Kids Count release, Senate passes DHHS budget that will harm kids and families
In their current revisions of the Governor’s proposed budget, both the house and senate have taken worrying actions towards the eventual privatization of Community Mental Health services by taking steps to lump them into care provided by private HMOs that contract with Medicaid. This exact proposal was part of Governor Snyder’s 2017 proposed budget, but a 100-age workgroup report by experts in mental health and developmental disabilities essentially prohibited Medicaid health plan involvement.
What are Community Mental Health Services? Community Mental Health Services Programs are the local community providers and/or managers of services and supports for persons with serious and persistent mental illness, developmental disabilities, and addictive disorders who have Medicaid, or are uninsured, or have little or no income. In short, CMH programs are vital services for some of our state’s most vulnerable populations.
(To be clear, the immediate privatization of CMH Programs is not part of either version of the budget, but both versions of the budget pave the way for privatization of CMH Programs as early as 2020.)
In the talking points below we share why experts in mental health and developmental disabilities find these proposals problematic.
Talking Points
Take Action
Budget revisions will be up for a vote very soon in both the Michigan Senate and the Michigan House of Representatives. Call both your state representative and your state senator and
Press on the subject
April 27, Crain’s Detroit Business, House committee adds 3rd pilot test to integrate physical, behavioral health care
April 23, Crain’s Detroit Business, Integration of behavioral, physical health systems moves forward
April 23, Detroit News, Mental health groups worry about privatization
April 19, Modern Healthcare, Michigan Senate panel OKs language that could push Medicaid mental health funding to health plans
April 18, Crain’s Detroit Business, Advocates for existing mental health system lobby to prevent Medicaid HMO pilot programs
April 16, Crain’s Detroit Business, Advocacy groups believe HMOs would fail on behavioral health
Thank you to Indivisible Dexter for language for and research on this action.
The right to own guns comes with great responsibility and an awareness of the inherent dangers of possessing something that can cause such devastation. Currently citizen must obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun, which entails a certain level of training and instruction on the laws. As a gun instructor with 40 years of training at Gunsite Academy said, ”There are no gun accidents, only gun negligence.” If House Bill 4416 passes then any citizen will be able to carry a concealed handgun without any gun safety training or study of the laws. This will inevitably open up more opportunities for those guns to be unsecured in more places and end up in the wrong hands.
Talking Points
Take Action
This bill is currently before the House Judiciary Committee. Let this committee know that you oppose House Bill 4416. If your representative is on the committee list below, call them directly. If not, contact the committee chair by phone, email, fax, postcard, or in person; note that the committee chair is also a cosponsor of this bill.
The Honorable James Runsetad
State Representative
State Capitol
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
Phone: (517) 373-2616
Fax: (517) 373-5843
E-Mail: jimrunestad@house.mi.gov
Website: www.repjimrunestad.com
Office: Room N-893, Anderson Building
House Judiciary Committee:
Tristan Cole (R) | 105, Mancelona | (517) 373-0829 |
Greimel, Minority Vice-Chair (D) | 29, Auburn Hills | (517) 373-0475 |
Vanessa Guerra (D) | 95, Saginaw | (517) 373-0152 |
Pamela Hornberger (R) | 32, Chesterfield Township | (517) 373-8931 |
Martin Howrylak (R) | 41, Troy | (517) 373-1783 |
Beau Matthew LaFave (R) | 108, Iron Mountain | (517) 373-0156 |
Rose Mary C. Robinson (D) | 4, Detroit | (517) 373-1008 |
William J. Sowerby (D) | 31, Clinton Township | (517) 373-0159 |
Lana Theis, Vice-Chair (R) | 42, Brighton | (517) 373-0159 |
Press on the subject:
Each week we share some recent media we’ve found worthwhile. We’ll keep it short! We know many of you already have long reading lists.
We wanted to keep the actions in this newsletter to a reasonable amount. But the two budgetary items we describe above are not the only troubling pieces of the currently proposed budgets. If you are interested, here were some other budgetary actions on our radar the past two weeks. Some had media coverage, some did not.
When we hear about good news from our state government, we’ll try to share it here.
Michigan Legislature sends $100M in federal funding to Flint.
While the focus of this newsletter is “armchair activism” we’ll also share a featured in-person action each week for those interested and able.
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We know a lot of you can feel exhausted and overwhelmed as each new unbelievable news item hits the media. In researching this newsletter, we also get overwhelmed sometimes by a slew of state legislative proposals that often seem like affronts to basic, common sense and the common good. So this week our action is: take care of yourself. Here are some readings about self-care and a worksheet for helping you make a plan for self care.
Mirah Curzer: How to #StayOutraged Without Losing Your Mind: Self-Care Lessons for the Resistance
Jennifer Hoffman: When Resisting Makes You Weary and Creating A Resistance Self Care Plan
Aisha Harris (for Slate): A History of Self-Care
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Many districts have elections Tuesday, May 2. Don’t forget to vote!