Secondary Road Patrol Update

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer penned a Secondary Road Patrol update in response to our union’s letter regarding the fiscal 2020 year budget cuts. Read her letter below.

Dear Kenneth,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to my office and share your concerns regarding Secondary Road Patrol funding. I am grateful for your outreach and the opportunity to respond to this critical public safety matter.

On October 10, 2019, Senator Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) introduced a supplemental reflecting my budget priorities, including resources for Secondary Road Patrol Funding. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to contact your legislators to request that they support this legislation and urge them to return to the negotiation table with me.

Michigan House of Representatives – You can find your State Representative by calling the House Clerk’s office at 517-373-0135 or by visiting www.house.michigan.gov.

Michigan State Senate – You can find your State Senator by calling Secretary of the Senate’s office at 517-373-2400 or by visiting www.senate.michigan.gov.

As you may be aware, the Republican-controlled legislature proposed an unbalanced budget that cut critical funding we need to protect Michiganders. The budgets the Legislature sent to me, days before the new fiscal year, were empty of real solutions. I had to make some tough choices after they cut $136 million from my proposed School Aid Fund budget, cut $48 million from the Michigan Department of Corrections, which unlawfully appropriated work projects to cover funding gaps, and eliminated $33 million from the Department of Health and Human Services from the budget that I proposed, which would potentially kick tens of thousands of Michiganders off their health care. These budgets were fatally flawed and put public safety and public health at risk.

Protecting the people of Michigan and looking out for their safety and well-being is my number one responsibility as Governor. That means funding essential services like monitoring tethers of 4,000 sex offenders and drunk drivers to keep communities safe, vocational villages to provide job training to returning citizens and strengthening cybersecurity to protect taxpayers’ Social Security numbers, protecting health care for thousands of Michigan families. If the legislature wants to step up and help protect people, I am more than happy to negotiate on supplemental funding.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. On January 1, 2019, I took an oath to serve the state of Michigan, and I am committed to building bridges from state government to real Michiganders. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (517) 335-7858, should you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Whitmer

Governor of Michigan

Make Your Voice Heard

Contact your local legislators to voice your opinions and concerns on this and other matters that are important to you. Urge them to return to the negotiation table with Governor Whitmer to ensure a successful budget for Michigan in 2020.

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