House Reps. introduce plan to finalize boost to public safety spending
With Michigan Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland) announcing in January that House Republicans would focus on recruiting, retaining and supporting police, two lawmakers have crafted a bipartisan plan to create a fund focused on public safety after a previous effort failed to reach the governor's desk.
Reps. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) and Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) introduced House Bills 4260 and 4261 last week, which will deposit a portion of the state sales tax revenues into a new Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund to distribute to local law enforcement agencies — projected to be more than $100 million annually — focused on communities with higher rates of violent crime.
The funding would go toward local public safety initiatives, such as officer recruitment and retention, equipment purchases, and department operating expenses with the bills requiring local governments use the new public safety funding to expand support for public safety, as opposed to replacing existing police funding and freeing up resources for unrelated programs.
'This is a national model for keeping neighborhoods safe,' Farhat said in a statement. 'We're putting record funding into hiring more police officers, mental health services, and empowering local communities to reduce violent crime. Michigan has some of the highest rates of violence in the country. This fund directly supports the work of grassroots community violence intervention groups which has proven to reduce these rates.'
While the Legislature previously allocated $75 million for a public safety trust fund in the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget, members of the House and Senate did not approve identical versions of the bills to create the fund in state law.
According to a statement from Harris' office, 96% of the the first $75 million in the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund will be allocated to public safety efforts in cities, villages and townships based on their violent crime rates, with future funding calculated based on results. Of the remaining 4%, half will go to the Crime Victim's Rights Fund and the other half will be used for grants to public health programs aimed at preventing community violence. Any excess funds beyond $75 million will be distributed to county sheriff's offices.
Both bills were referred to the House Committee on Government Operations, where Harris serves as majority vice chair.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
44 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ohio to consider bill that would create state registry of people who skip job interviews
Republicans in Ohio proposed a bill that would create an online registry for employers to report no-show applicants who miss scheduled job interviews. The bill, proposed and backed by seven Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives, would require the Department of Job and Family Services to have 'an online process' to document the absentee applicants. 4 Republicans in Ohio proposed a bill to create a state registry for people who miss job interviews. Paul Brady However, a similar system for reporting the absenteeism already exists, the ODJFS said in a statement to NBC4. Still, Rep. Brian Lorenz, who co-sponsored the bill, insists that his proposal will help protect employers — and weed out those taking advantage of state unemployment services. 4 Ohio Rep. Brian Lorenz assured that they aren't trying to 'black list' anyone. 'If you're collecting unemployment, you should be actively looking for work. Period. HB 395 isn't controversial—it's common sense. Wasting employers' time and taxpayer dollars helps no one. Time to bring accountability back to the system,' Lorenz wrote on X. It's unclear who would be able to access the registry or if it would work like a public shame list. The ODJFS also oversees the state's Office of Unemployment Insurance Operations, according to its website. Ohio ranks 44th in the country for unemployment with roughly 4.9% of the population without a job, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 4 Ohio has the sixth worst unemployment rate in the country. Meigs County, roughly 90 miles outside of Columbus, has a 7.2% unemployment rate — the highest in the state, according to the ODJFS. Critics argue the bill could conflict with existing legislation and unjustly penalize well-meaning job seekers, even though Lorenz insisted he's not trying to 'black list' anyone. One law in Ohio already prevents people from receiving unemployment benefits if they purposefully reject job offers without a good reason. 4 The bill was proposed out of session, so it won't be considered until October at the earliest. The proposed bill also operates under the assumption that those who miss interviews are unemployed vagabonds, when a variety of conflicts can arise, ranging from bad traffic to personal emergency situations, Ohio Senate Democrat Bill DeMora said. 'This bill is another answer, looking for a question. It is something that's not needed. I mean, there are procedures in line already for unemployment compensation,' DeMora told NBC4. Lorenz and primary sponsor Rep. Jennifer Gross filed the bill on July 21 — even though the state House is not in session and won't reconvene until October.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Marjorie Taylor Greene Goes Scorched Earth on Lindsey Graham Over Israel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia ripped into fellow Republican Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator, over funding for Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Newsweek reached out to the State Department via online form Thursday for additional comment. Why It Matters The exchange reflects an ongoing split within sections of the Republican coalition over U.S. policy toward Israel, Iran and broader Middle East involvement, highlighting tensions between isolationist "America First" Republicans and party figures who have urged stronger U.S. backing for Israel. What To Know In a lengthy post to X, formerly Twitter, Greene attacked Graham over his Israel commentary, as the senator said, in part: "If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they could. They have the capability to do that. They choose not to. Hamas, they would commit genocide in 30 seconds." Replying to his video, Greene remarked that it was "quite a statement and is an acknowledgment that nuclear armed Israel is more than capable of defending themselves, by themselves, and not only defeating their enemies, but completely wiping them out! So why is America funding them and fighting for them??!!! We should not be!! And it is not a matter of supporting either Israel or Hamas, as he suggest [sic], which is ridiculous." Greene continued to note that Graham does not have children, while saying her motherhood fuels her "fierce invested interest to be ALL IN to save America." "Funding and blindly supporting an ally who is starving children is not going to bring God's favor on America, as a matter of fact, I'll argue it will instead bring God's wrath," Greene later said. "America's intervention should be to stop the war and work for peace and demand the release of the poor Oct 7th hostages, while equally demanding to stop the genocide and humanitarian crisis in Gaza." Israel and Iran were recently embroiled in a "12 day war," dubbed by President Donald Trump, which ended in a fragile ceasefire agreement. Senator Graham confidently says the quiet part out loud, 'If Israel wanted to commit genocide they could. They have the capacity to do that.' That is quite a statement and is an acknowledgment that nuclear armed Israel is more than capable of defending themselves, by themselves,… — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 14, 2025 What People Are Saying Greene concluded in her post: "Lastly, American's hard earned tax dollars should go to AMERICA ONLY!!! If we are going to pull the plug on anything, we should pull the damn plug on FUNDING FOREIGN WARS AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES!!!!!!!" Graham on X this month: "Enough already. Hamas stands in the way of peace. Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East, and we will always stand with them." Trump on Truth Social in June: "CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL." Trump continued: "On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR.' This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, on X in July: "The Netanyahu government's extermination of Gaza intensifies. Malnutrition is rampant, children are starving to death, people are shot while waiting for meager food rations — and US weapons allow it to happen. Trump and Congress must act NOW. Stop the slaughter. Feed the people." What Happens Next The confrontation illustrates continuing intraparty clashes over foreign policy that could shape Republican messaging and congressional votes on potential foreign aid packages. Observers and party officials could face pressure to clarify positions ahead of any legislative decisions on aid to Israel or measures related to Iran. Separately, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, amid ongoing conversations about a potential ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fears Of An Oil Price Crash On A Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Overdone
U.S. President Donald Trump has, over the past couple of weeks, renewed efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, going as far as proposing the swapping of territories between the two countries. Unlike the situation during the first meeting between Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin earlier in the year, Trump has adopted a far less conciliatory tone ahead of their second meeting in Alaska on August 15th, warning that Russia will face 'very severe consequences' unless Putin agrees to end the war in Ukraine. However, the White House says it expects the Anchorage summit to be a 'listening exercise,' downplaying the odds of a peace deal being reached. Still, the potential of a return of more Russian energy commodities to the markets has depressed oil and gas prices amid expectations that a breakthrough in the negotiations could see sanctions on Russian exports lifted. Brent crude has pulled back from a 2-month high of $72.47 per barrel recorded two weeks ago to $66.72 per barrel in Thursday's intraday session, while WTI crude has declined from $70.00 per barrel to $63.81. However, commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have pointed out that fears that oil prices will crash if Trump manages to negotiate a truce with Putin are overdone. First off, StanChart says that Russia has been producing unsustainably at its maximum capacity with long-term consequences for its reservoirs. The country's oil production averaged 9.01 million barrels per day (mb/d) in H1-2025, about 610,000 b/d lower than the 2021 annual average before the invasion of Ukraine. A lifting of export sanctions will mean a return of Western service companies and Russia being able to access quality replacement parts; however, Russia just doesn't have a lot of spare production capacity to flood the oil Russia might demand the removal of the oil price cap by Western nations as part of the peace deal. However, the analysts have pointed out that the removal of the price cap would eliminate the price advantage for India and China to take Russian crude, currently the biggest buyers of discounted Russian oil. StanChart points out that India has been an opportunistic purchaser of cheaper Russian crude, and could revert to its previous import volumes with dire consequences for Russia. Previously, we reported that India imported goods worth $65.7 billion from Russia in 2024, a sharp rise from $8.25 billion in 2021. India's imports of Russian crude have increased more than 20-fold since the war began, jumping to $52.2 billion in 2024 from just $2.31 billion four years ago. Given the additional efforts Russia has undertaken to evade export sanctions, StanChart has predicted that we are unlikely to see a large increase in Russian supply to the global markets in the near term. JP Morgan echoes StanChart's view, saying that Russia has limited scope to expand its shadow fleet of tankers used to transport its crude. Finally, Russia might not dramatically increase its crude exports for the simple reason that there might not be a ready market for the commodity. After all, Europe has successfully cut its dependency on Russian oil and gas over the past three years, and the continent is highly unlikely to put itself in such a vulnerable position again, especially after Moscow revealed its willingness to weaponize its energy commodities. In the final analysis, StanChart says that although the market might react to positive ceasefire news by selling off in the near term, this would be sentiment- rather than fundamentally-driven, and any price-dip on headlines would likely be short-lived. When it comes to natural gas, StanChart notes that market expectations of higher Russian flows have been a key factor capping European gas prices in recent times. European natural gas futures have declined to a 2-week low of €32.5/MWh amid robust supply and easing geopolitical risk. While a ceasefire agreement and the associated removal of sanctions by the U..S and EU could potentially allow more Russian gas into Europe, StanChart expects appetite for Russian gas to be limited given the past weaponization of flows. The commodity experts say that a more likely development would be the return of small flows via Ukraine into Hungary and Slovakia. Finally, StanChart says that it's highly unlikely that the Trump administration would agree to a deal that would disrupt its own LNG sector, with U.S. LNG having largely replaced Russian pipeline gas to Europe. By Alex Kimani for More Top Reads From this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
