January 28, 2021 By Jessica Mathews & Jon King / news@whmi.com
Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her third annual State of the State Address Wednesday night, highlighting both successes and challenges still to overcome during the continuing pandemic.
Speaking from her Capitol office, the Democratic Governor said 2020 was a tough year and acknowledged the more than 14,000 lives lost to COVID-19. She noted that over the past year, people confronted historic converging crises â a worldwide pandemic, the recession it caused, a 500-year flooding event, a nationwide call against racial inequity, and a deeply divisive election. Based on the political environment this past year, Whitmer said people might think Republicans and Democrats in Lansing canât find common ground on much of anything but the reality was that they took real bipartisan action to get things done â noting she signed two balanced, bi-partisan budgets that prioritized p
Who’s new in the Michigan House of Representatives
Updated Jan 05, 2021;
Posted Jan 05, 2021
The House Chamber pictured at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, April 25, 2019.Neil Blake
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The new legislative session brings with it substantial turnover for the Michigan House of Representatives, which will have 28 new lawmakers serving their first full terms in office.
Most of the freshman class will fill House seats vacated by members who hit their six-year term limit serving in the state House, although some defeated incumbents or are replacing members who sought other offices last fall.
Speaker-elect Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, and Democratic Leader-elect Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, will fill the leadership slots left open by the departures of former Reps. Lee Chatfield and Christine Greig.
December 30, 2020 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com
As he is preparing to leave office, 47th State Representative Hank Vaupel looks back on his time serving Livingston County.
The Fowlerville Republican said he didnât get everything done that he wanted, but that they got a lot of good legislation passed in his 6 years of office and that heâs happy about that.
Vaupel is term limited and cannot run again for House.
He chaired the House Health Policy Committee for the past 4 years and said he is particularly pleased with successes on opioid reform bills and telehealth bills that make health care more accessible to the underserved. Vaupel believes one of his biggest successes was co-chairing the House CARES Mental Health Task Force. He said they toured the state looking at quite a few mental health issues and were able to address many. Though much of it was reducing red tape, Vaupel believes theyâve made headway in creating a lot of aw
December 17, 2020 By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com
A local lawmakerâs plan to improve mental health services has passed the state House, marking his final bill passage before the end of his term.
A bill introduced by Republican State Representative Hank Vaupel of Fowlerville creating a uniform Community Mental Health Services credentialing process was approved Wednesday by the Michigan House of Representatives. Credentialing is the process of obtaining, verifying and assessing the qualifications of a practitioner to provide services for a Community Mental Health organization. The need for uniform credentialing was recognized by the bi-partisan House C.A.R.E.S. Task Force, which identified it as a way to improve the process for providers and make it easier to accept Medicaid patients.
December 16, 2020 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com
After three terms serving in the State House, Representative Hank Vaupel has bid farewell to his colleagues in Lansing.
The 47th District State Representative is term limited and leaving the House following six years of service. The Fowlerville Republican delivered a short farewell speech to the House chamber on Tuesday, saying, Iâve found very competent, professional, dedicated people at every level of government, and I would like to thank everyone Iâve had the honor to work with.â
Vaupel continued, saying, âThis year especially with COVID has been a challenge. Itâs been a year that, due to the pandemic, weâve not always known what the next day or the next hour would bring as we travel this uncertain journey. I was often reminded of what a mentor always told me when things got a little out of kink and we didnât know where we were going. Heâd always say, â�