MICHIGAN BUSINESS TAX
GENESEE HEALTH PLAN HELPS RESIDENTS
GENESEE COUNTY FREE MEDICAL CLINIC
THE TRI-SHARE PROGRAM
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
REFORMS SAVE TAXPAYER MONEY
PROTECTING THE GREAT LAKES
GENESEE COUNTY 48 DISTRICT SCHOOL MAP
Dear Friend,
As your representative in Lansing, I am working hard to improve the quality of life for our workers and families in Genesee County. I am also fighting to ensure that every hard-earned taxpayer dollar is spent carefully and wisely and searching for ways to invest in Michigan and enable our state to succeed in the
21st century global economy.
The Michigan Business Tax (MBT), which was signed into law earlier this year, will help Michigan attract
good-paying jobs. I have included information about the MBT as well as details about a House plan to protect the Great Lakes and reforms that my colleagues and I have passed to cut state spending.
You will also find a list of legislation that I have sponsored, information about the Genesee Health Plan and tips on how you can become an organ donor and help save a life. I hope you find all this information useful.
I encourage you to call or e-mail me about your concerns and ideas so that I can work effectively on your behalf. My staff and I are always ready to listen and help in any way we can. Although Michigan is facing tough times, I believe we can turn our state around if we all work together to protect our communities and make them even better places to live, work and raise our families.
Sincerely,
Richard E. Hammel
State Representative
48th District
MICHIGAN BUSINESS TAX
Jumpstarting Our Economy, Protecting Our Communities
The new comprehensive Michigan Business Tax (MBT) will jumpstart Michigan’s economy by rewarding companies that invest in Michigan and create jobs for our workers, protecting Michigan-based companies,
and safeguarding funding for essential local services. The Michigan Business Tax replaces the Single Business Tax, which expires at the end of the year. The MBT is a victory for our workers, our businesses and our communities. To learn more about the MBT, visit www.michigan.gov/MBT.
The Michigan Business Tax will:
- Cut taxes for about 75 percent of businesses in Michigan.
- Provide more than $600 million in new tax credits that reward Michigan businesses for investment, compensation, and research and development.
- Reward capital investment by cutting the Personal Property Tax an average of 65 percent for manufacturers and 23 percent for commercial businesses, while protecting funding for local units of government.
- Help attract high-tech employers from around the globe.
- Boost job creation by providing credits for investment in Michigan and for payroll.
- Give significant breaks to small businesses and enhance existing small business tax credits.
- Protect education, health care, police and fire protection, and other essential local services by raising about the same amount of revenue as the previous business tax plan.
GENESEE HEALTH PLAN HELPS RESIDENTS
The Genesee Health Plan is a community-sponsored health coverage program for Genesee County residents ages 19 to 64 who meet income requirements and are ineligible for Medicare, Medicaid or other health care coverage.
For general information or to set up an enrollment appointment at the Genesee Health Plan's site on Beecher Road in Flint, call (810) 232-7740. The Genesee County Health Department also provides general information and enrollment appointments at its site in Flint. Call (810) 257-3612 or
(810) 767-2229 and ask for the Health Care Outreach and Enrollment Department.
A picture identification, Social Security card and proof of wages are needed.
Click here to visit the Genesee Health Plan Web site
GENESEE COUNTY FREE MEDICAL CLINIC
The Genesee County Free Medical Clinic provided's services to people who are employed but uninsured. Services provided are Intake, triage, physician's consultations, on-site pharmacy, referrals to specialists
and tests, and health education.
For general information or to set up an enrollment appointment call (810) 235-4211.
Click here to visit the Genesee County Free Medical Clinic
The mission of The Tri-Share Program is to help Bay, Genesee, and Saginaw County, Michigan small businesses provide basic healthcare insurance to employees and their spouses by paying one-third of the cost of insuring low income employees.
Learn more about The Tri-Share Program
I know firsthand that organ donation saves lives. My mom is able to be with us today because of the donated kidney she received from me.
In 2006, nearly 600 Michigan residents received a life-saving organ transplant. But that number is dwarfed by the more than 3,000 residents who await one.
It only takes a few minutes to sign up for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry – and possibly save a life.
You can sign up at the Secretary of State's Web site, mich.gov/sos, or at a branch office. The site also features information about donation myths, the particular need for donors who are racial minorities, and
links to state and federal donor advocates.
People who sign up will receive an organ donor heart logo sticker to put on their driver’s license. The sticker allows emergency room personnel to quickly see if a person is registered as a donor.
We all have to make sacrifices to turn our state’s economy around, and that includes lawmakers. To help resolve Michigan’s financial crisis, my colleagues and I are making cuts in the state House that include:
- Ending lifetime health care coverage for new State Representatives once they leave office and requiring current lawmakers to pay more for health care, ending the special treatment they get and ensuring they pay the same for health care that other state employees pay.
- Increasing monthly health care
co-pays for State Representatives, their staff members and other legislative workers. - Cutting the budget for the House of Representatives by more than 5 percent.
- Banning the use of state funds for out-of-state travel for State Representatives.
- Cutting positions within the House of Representatives to eliminate redundancies.
PROTECTING THE GREAT LAKES
"Great Waters, Great Michigan”
The House has introduced a package of bills to protect Great Lakes water – our most precious natural resource – from being diverted and sold for profit to other states and nations. The “Great Waters, Great Michigan” package also strengthens environmental protections, requires large-scale users to adopt tougher conservation practices, and enables citizens to hold companies accountable for violating water protection laws.
Twenty percent of the world’s fresh water surrounds our state, and we must be responsible stewards of it. In addition to the beauty and recreational opportunities that the Great Lakes provide, we must remember also that the three biggest industries in Michigan– agriculture, manufacturing and tourism– depend heavily on a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem.
Michigan’s economy can’t afford to lose ground in any of those areas.
The House package
- Ratifies the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact, which will ban diversions of water outside of the Great Lakes Basin.
- Gives the public additional tools to hold companies accountable when they violate water protection laws, and increases the maximum civil fine from $1,000 to $10,000 for most water use violations.
- Toughens standards for companies that try to bottle up and sell off Great Lakes and Michigan water for profit.
- Requires large-scale water users such as municipalities, utilities and others to implement water conservation practices.
- Requires state approval for withdrawals above 1 million gallons per day, a stricter standard than the current 2 million gallons per day.
The map to your left represents the School District within the 48th House District. To view the School District map in further detail click here.
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