Metro
Legislative Roundup
Lansing
Commandments in public areas.
uring the first five months of
the current legislative session,
Rep. Shelly Taub, R-
Bloomfield Hills, has focused primari-
ly on the state's budget as chair of the
House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Transportation.
State Reps. Andy Meisner, D-
Huntington Woods, and Steve
Tobocman, D-Detroit, recently intro-
duced a $2 billion bond initiative to
be placed on the ballot in November.
If passed, this would enable imple-
menting Gov. Jennifer Granholm's,
proposed Jobs for Michigan Fund.
Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington
Woods, has introduced identical legis-
lation in the senate.
In late March, the Michigan Jewish
Conference sponsored a legislative
reception in Lansing with the oppor-
tunity for Jews from across the state to
meet with state legislators.
Eighteen state representatives and
three state senators spent the evening
with members of the Jewish commu-
nities of Detroit, Lansing, Flint,
Traverse City, Petoskey, Saginaw,
Jackson, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.
Issues discussed included the state
budget and its effect on the elderly
and school-age children, issuei of
church-state such as displaying the Ten
Washington, D. C.
Recently introduced Senate Bill 705
(the Housing and Service Needs of
Seniors Act of 2005) would create an
executive-level interagency council to
better manage housing programs and
related services so that senior citizens
can age in place and have access to
needed services.
The bill will coordinate services to
seniors provided by key federal agen-
cies; undertake a thorough review of
all federal programs and services
designed to assist seniors with housing
needs; maintain an updated Web site
on how seniors can access housing and
service needs; work with states to
coordinate programs and services at
the state and local levels; and help
streamline and consolidate all public
programs and services for seniors.
Many of these services are utilized
by the Jewish agencies that provide
needed services for our community's
elderly.
Refugee Benefits. Wheta lawmakers
drafted the 1996 welfare law, they
added provisions to maintain refugees'
eligibility for some public benefits pro-
grams. Among the most critical are
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
benefits, which provide life-sustaining
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