Welcome to my Online Office. This Web site is designed to keep you up-to-date on current events in Michigan and inform you of the things that I'm working on as your state representative. You will find information on pending bills in the Legislature, news releases, free publications, pictures, audio clips, contact information and more. You also can view my monthly Legislative Update newsletter by clicking here, or subscribe to receive it directly by e-mail by submitting the information in the righthand column. Thanks for visiting, and be sure to check back often for the latest news and updates.

Government Transparency

I support legislation to create a single, searchable state Web site so taxpayers can see how their money is spent, which will make the state more efficient by exposing waste, and I am proud to lead by example. Click here to see a detailed breakdown of my office expenses.

State Budget

You may be interested in the state's experience with the income and business tax increases of 2007. I requested this graph from the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency.

I noted the history from 2006-present in the bottom two (yellow and green) bars. The General Fund/General Purpose (GF/GP) and Restricted funds total state revenue sources, and are what are impacted by Michigan tax and fee increases.

In 2007 the personal income tax rate was increased by 12 percent. Also that year, a 22 percent surcharge was added to business taxes. You can see an immediate jump in revenue due to that action. However, in the next two years you can see a precipitous fall as the state has collected less revenue despite higher rates due to less economic activity. In fact, the state currently receives less in revenue from state taxes than it did before the rates were raised. Please click here to see a printable version of this graph updated as of December 2009.