Wednesday, October 1st, 2025:

I voted NO on HB 4161 (Rep. Bollin) would provide interim appropriations for state government from October 1, 2025 to October 8, 2025. EXPLANATION: Given that budget implementation bills from last week increased the amount of revenue to the state of Michigan, thereby causing the budget to grow, the trajectory of the budget doesn’t deserve support from conservatives. This bill enabled government to continue on a path toward taking more money from the hardworking people of Michigan.

PASSED: 103-4

I voted YES on SB 166 (Sen. Camilleri) is the School Aid omnibus vehicle bill for FY 26. EXPLANATION: Per Senate Fiscal, the Senate’s budget proposal includes an increase of $1 Billion to the School Aid Fund. The Senate proposed increases to nearly every possible program. Government schools need to be reigned in, not inflated.

CONCURRED: 108-1

I voted YES on HB 4706 (Rep. Bollin) would provide appropriations for multiple departments and branches for FY 25-26. EXPLANATION: Similar to SB 166, the House Budget was zeroed out by the Senate. The House put in solid work to bring forth an initial budget plan that reduced government’s budget from last year while eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. The Senate will likely not make any improvements to the House’s budget. Procedurally, the Legislature should work to resolve the budget process without sending appropriations bills to conference committees, cutting out the general public from the final decision making process.

NOT CONCURRED: 2-107

I voted NO on HB 4962 (Rep. Robinson) would create the Michigan National Guard Member Benefit Fund Act. EXPLANATION: The creation of a state administered fund for National Guard benefits is not the proper method of demonstrating gratitude for the brave men and women who serve in the National Guard. Congress has not declared war since World War II, but the United States has been at perpetual war for the last 80 years, sacrificing America’s brave men and women without regard for constitutional safeguards. Instead of offering government programs to entice people into unwitting complacency with the military-industrial complex, government should renew its vows to the Constitution and respect our servicemembers by not sending them off to a foreign war without the appropriate procedures.

PASSED: 93-16

I voted YES on HB 5055 (Rep. Lightner) would amend the Legislative Sergeant at Arms Police Powers Act to expand the powers of the House and Senate Sergeants. EXPLANATION: Sergeants at Arms are tasked with the security of the Capitol, its facilities, and the security of state legislators. Given the uptick in tragedies motivated by the horrors of political violence, it is reasonable for sergeants at arms to be able to protect legislators from threats that occur outside of the Capitol.

PASSED: 61-48

Thursday, October 2nd, 2025:

I voted NO on HB 4706 (Rep. Bollin) would provide appropriations for multiple departments and branches for FY 25-26. EXPLANATION: The omnibus bill itself was not available for review until mere minutes before the floor vote. Legislators should not vote on concepts, they should vote on the content of legislation, especially on matters as significant as the allocation of taxpayer dollars. The conference committee process shielded late stage budget negotiations from the scrutiny of most of the legislative body as well as the general public, which is inappropriate given the fact that these decisions affect the prosperity of the people of Michigan as a whole.

PASSED: 101-8

I voted NO on SB 579 (Sen. Singh) would revise all fees that currently sunset in 2025 to extend the sunset on various DEGLE program fees by four years to October 1, 2029 and remove the CPI increases for all affected fees. EXPLANATION: If the Legislature had taken no action, numerous EGLE fees would have expired this year. There are an abundance of people who are able to list negative personal interactions with EGLE, and fees are a mechanism of bureaucratic overreach. The freedom of the people of Michigan are best served when EGLE loses some of its many fee-imposing powers.

PASSED: 104-5

I voted NO on SB 273 (Sen. Daley) would extend the sunset until October 1, 2029 for current fees for pesticide product registrations and fertilizer sales and ensure the continuation of the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) program. EXPLANATION: MAEAP is an incentive program that essentially offers farmers a choice: The farmers can choose to learn compliance with government regulation and adopt government’s methods of environmental protection, or they can choose not to participate. For the farmers who are “verified” through MAEAP, they are eligible for certain benefits, such as an exemption from civil fines in certain conditions. It is a disservice to farmers for government to impose stringent fees and regulations, and then offer some farmers leniency if they willingly participate in a compliance training program. The farmers who opt not to participate in the program are inappropriately subjected to fines and fees. It is wrong for government to try and manipulate the people who work hard everyday to feed Michigan families through an arrangement that would be best established outside of government involvement.

PASSED: 107-2

I voted NO on SB 577 (Sen. Singh) would extend the sunset on fees for operator certification programs by four years, to October 1, 2029. EXPLANATION: EGLE-imposed operator certification program fees were set to expire in 2025 if the Legislature did nothing and chose to let them expire. The Legislature should be cutting fees, which would contribute to establishing a business-friendly environment.

PASSED: 103-6

I voted NO on SB 565 (Sen. Anthony) would allow funds in the Local Government Reimbursement Fund to lapse into the General Fund. EXPLANATION: Government picking winners and losers has created a series of compounding failures. In 2023, the Local Government Reimbursement Fund was created to backfill revenue losses incurred by local governments from certain property tax exemptions. In other words, one source of tax revenue was used to compensate for another source of tax exemptions. Instead of returning excess tax dollars from the Local Government Reimbursement Fund to the taxpayers, this proposal diverts excess money to the General Fund. The money rightfully belongs with the taxpayers, and government should not be shifting money around or creating funds in order to cling to state revenue. The people of Michigan work hard for their money, and their taxes should be lowered when possible.

PASSED: 102-7

I voted NO on SB 574 (Sen. Singh) would eliminate the annual deposit in the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) from Tobacco Settlement Revenue. EXPLANATION: Tobacco Settlement Revenue supplies the state hundreds of millions of dollars on an annual basis, and $17.5 million was directed annually towards the Budget Restriction Fund. Striking this section means the funding can be used for general purposes. Government does not need an additional $17.5 million per year for unspecified purposes.

PASSED: 104-5

I voted NO on SB 578 (Sen. Klinefelt) would create the Neighborhood Roads Fund (NRF) and the Infrastructure Projects Authority Fund (IPAF) in the state treasury. EXPLANATION: The Neighborhood Roads Fund required state revenue increases, resulting in the wholesale tax increase on cannabis as well as the collection of revenue by decoupling from certain tax provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The state does not need more revenue in a time where Michigan’s economy is struggling to keep up with states that embrace lower taxes and a business-friendly environment.

PASSED: 104-5

I voted NO on SB 166 (Sen. Camilleri) is the School Aid omnibus vehicle bill for FY 26. EXPLANATION: The final School Aid Budget included an increase of $562 Million from last year’s school budget. Influxes of taxpayer dollars have proven not to improve student outcomes to the point that an increase of over half a billion dollars is fiscally irresponsible.

PASSED: 104-5

I voted NO on HB 4961 (Rep. Bollin) would apply tax credits from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act to state income taxes and decouple provisions of the state tax code from the federal tax code. EXPLANATION: Had Michigan not chosen to decouple, our tax burden would have decreased. Breaking away from the Big Beautiful Bill and reverting to how things would have been prior erodes good elements of federal income tax reform enacted by the Big Beautiful Bill that would have lowered taxes for Michiganders by hundreds of millions of dollars. Additionally, allocating exorbitant amounts of money for democrat policies does not help reduce the size and scope of government. Government needs to become leaner so the people of Michigan retain more of their hard-earned money.

PASSED: 102-7

I voted NO on HB 4180-4183 (Reps. Steele, Frisbie, Slagh, Kunse) would dedicate over $1 billion to roads, including $702 million to local roads, by dedicating $692 million of the Corporate Income Tax to local roads. It would also remove the sales tax on fuel and replace it with an equivalent motor fuel tax raising additional funding for roads without raising taxes. Out of the funds for local roads, cities and villages will receive $246 million and county road commissions will receive $456 million. The bills would also create the Neighborhood Roads Fund (NRF) and Infrastructure Projects Authority Fund (IPAF) within PA 51. EXPLANATION: Initially, the House roads package proposed a revenue neutral funding plan, but the linking of these tax amendments to the creation of the Neighborhood Roads Fund and Infrastructure Projects Authority Fund results in state revenue increases. Creating two additional government funds does not guarantee fixes to Michigan’s crumbling roads, but it ensures that Michigan taxpayers have to foot the bill for yet another expansion of state government.

PASSED: 102-7, PASSED: 102-7, PASSED: 101-8, PASSED: 98-11