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Daley invites residents to February office hours
State Rep. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, is sponsoring district office hours with state Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair, on Monday, Feb. 13 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Dryden Fire Hall, located at 5532 Main St. in Dryden.
No appointment is necessary. Residents unable to meet during the scheduled office hours are invited to call Daley at his Lansing office 1-517-373-1800 or e-mail kevindaley@house.mi.gov.
Any establishment in Lapeer County interested in hosting coffee hours with Rep. Daley should contact Kris Johnson in Rep. Daley's office at 1-517-373-1800.
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Governor signs Daley farm
bill
New law supports environmentally sound farming
Rep. Kevin Daley today announced
that Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation creating a
new law based on the Michigan Agriculture Environmental
Assurance Program--enabling Michigan to lead the nation
in helping farmers protect the environment.
Public Act 2, authored by Daley, is one of the first
bills the governor has signed.
"This is an exciting day for me as a lawmaker and
farmer," Daley, R-Lum said. "By encouraging farmers to
do the right thing through education and certification,
rather than penalties, we are leading the way toward the
future of agricultural environmental stewardship."
The bill is part of a two-bill package including Public
Act 1 which was authored by Sen. Joe Hune, R-Hamburg,
and also signed into law today. The bills protect the
environment by educating farmers and certifying farms
through the agriculture commission and Michigan
Department of Agriculture.
"The MAEAP is a great example of how we can encourage
business growth by streamlining regulations," Daley
said. "We should see more farmers volunteering for this
program once they realize it will result in fewer civil
fines and penalties, and allow them a better opportunity
to comply with state and federal environmental
regulations."
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State Rep. Kevin Daley donates to churches
State Rep. Kevin Daley, of Lum, donates $500 to St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Lapeer and another $500 to the First Congregational Church in Almont. Accepting one of the two donations is Peggy Hardy from St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Lapeer. Daley has pledged to donate 10 percent of the salary he earns as a state representative to charities serving Lapeer County.
Daley invites residents to office hours
State Rep. Kevin Daley is holding district office hours in order to give residents a convenient opportunity to meet with him locally.
Daley, of Lum, will be available Friday, July 16 from 8 to 9 a.m. at Lenny Miller's Restaurant in Dryden, located at 5800 Dryden Road.
No appointment is necessary. Residents unable to meet during the scheduled office hours may contact Daley at his Lansing office by calling 1-517-373-1800 or by e-mailing kevindaley@house.mi.gov.
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Rep. Daley gives back to the community
State Rep. Kevin Daley, of Lum, donates $500
to the Lapeer Church of Christ food bank and
another $500 to the Attica United Methodist
Church food pantry. Pictured left to right:
Susan Bishop, Pastor Margie Bryce, and Kevin
and Debbie Daley. (7/1/2010)
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House serves up home cooking
Daley votes to allow farmers' markets to sell homemade food
The Michigan House of Representatives today unanimously voted to allow local roadside stands and farmers' markets to sell homemade food items such as pies, cobblers and cookies.
Current regulations require food be prepared in a commercial kitchen. State Rep. Kevin Daley, of Lum, voted in favor of the bill.
"This will definitely help farmers and others supplement their income. One of the people we heard from in committee was a strawberry grower who played around with the idea of making some strawberry jam or jellies. Without him having to go to the expense of putting in a Class A kitchen, he can try his recipe out at the local farmers' market and see if it's worth his while, and if it works, he could even start a whole new business," Daley said.
There are more than 150 farmers' markets in Michigan.
To be sold legally under the new legislation, homemade food must carry the label "Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture." Foods must also list potential allergens used as ingredients, such as peanuts or peanut oil.
"We included the label requirement because straight from grandma's kitchen or not, we still wanted people to give people safety information about the food they are about to eat," Daley said.
To qualify as homemade food, sales cannot exceed $15,000 annually.
The bills now go to the Senate for consideration.
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Michigan House works on legislation to make it easier to buy a house
Republican plan allows residents to save tax free
Think how much easier it would be to save up for the down deposit on a house if you could save tax free. That's the pitch state Rep. Kevin Daley has been making to other lawmakers in Lansing as he tries to win support for the House Republican plan to create a homeownership savings account.
House Bill 5965 allows residents to have money withdrawn from their paycheck before state income tax and automatically deposited into a homeownership savings account. The plan Daley envisions is similar in structure to a 401(k) retirement savings plan, except that not only does the money go in and grow tax free, it also comes out free from state income tax as long as it is used to purchase a home or used for a major remodeling project.
Of course, there's a catch: the home would have to be in Michigan and it would have to be a principal residence, meaning residents couldn't use this plan to buy a vacation home.
Daley, of Lum, said he sees the plan not only as a way of helping families save for a home, but also as a way of encouraging people to stay in Michigan.
"Anyone will be able to save under this plan, but for young couples just starting out being able to save tax free will really help them get on their feet and buy a good home to raise a family," Daley said.
The bill is part of a package of legislation introduced by House Republicans aimed at lowering the cost of owning a home and stimulating the housing market. Other highlights of the package include legislation requiring voter approval of all property tax increases and requiring ballot questions about tax hikes to show not only the cost of an individual millage increase, but what the increase would do to a home's total tax burden.
Daley's portion of the legislative package gives a state tax credit for mortgage fees that mirrors federal tax credits homeowners are already allowed to claim.
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Daley to Granholm: What's your beef with beef?
Governor proclaims Saturday 'Michigan Meatout Day'
State Rep. Kevin Daley today blasted Gov. Jennifer Granholm for issuing a proclamation declaring Saturday, March 20 "Michigan Meatout Day" and encouraging residents to choose a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle and not eat meat.
Daley, of Lum, serves on the House Agriculture Committee. He is also the only farmer currently serving in the Legislature.
"As a farmer, I'm furious. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this - Governor Granholm has habitually ignored the needs of the agriculture industry - but actually going on the attack and telling people not to eat meat goes too far. There is nothing wrong with eating meat," Daley said.
Daley pointed out that the USDA Food Pyramid Guide recommends 2-3 servings of lean meat per day as part of a balanced diet.
Agriculture is Michigan's second largest industry, contributing more than $71.3 billion annually to Michigan's economy. Sixty-five percent of Michigan's agricultural output comes from livestock and dairy products. The agriculture industry is also one of the few sectors of Michigan's economy to actually grow during the past few years of recession.
"We have the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Instead of recklessly attacking Michigan's second largest industry, Granholm needs to focus on creating jobs," Daley said.
Daley said he would celebrate "Michigan Meatout Day" by firing up the grill and having a burger.
Last fall, Daley successfully led the fight to prevent the Granholm administration from dismantling the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
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Daley invites residents to office hours
State Rep. Kevin Daley is holding district office hours in order to give residents a convenient opportunity to meet with him locally.
Daley will be available Friday, Jan. 29 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Lapeer County Farm Bureau Offices, located at 1658 Mayfield Road in Lapeer.
No appointment is necessary. Residents unable to meet during the scheduled office hours may contact Daley at his Lansing office by calling 1-517-373-1800 or by e-mailing kevindaley@house.mi.gov.
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Daley has perfect voting record during first year in office
State Rep. Kevin Daley did not miss a single vote during the 2009 House legislative session, making him one of the few Michigan lawmakers who can boast a perfect voting record.
"When I vote on something in Lansing I always try to think how it will affect families here at home, which is why I take a lot of time to study the issues," said Daley, of Lum. "People elected me to make tough decisions - I take that responsibility seriously."
According to the nonpartisan website www.michiganvotes.org, less than a third of Michigan lawmakers maintained a perfect voting record. In total, Daley cast 682 votes in the House this year.
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PHOTO ADVISORY: State Rep. Kevin Daley, of Lum, donates $1,000 to Loving Hands Clinic, which provides non-emergency medical care to adults without health insurance. Accepting the check are Loving Hands Executive Director Cathy Johnson and Pastor Gary Gillim, of Maple Grove Church. Daley has pledged to donate 10 percent of the salary he earns as a state representative to charities serving Lapeer County.
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Daley wants budget completed by Saturday deadline
State Rep. Kevin Daley and other members of the House Bipartisan Freshman Caucus on Wednesday sent a formal letter to Gov. Granholm and key state budget leaders urging them to get the state budget signed into law before the looming Saturday deadline.
Michigan is currently operating on a one-month emergency continuation budget that expires on Oct. 31, yet the governor still has not signed six of 15 budget bills. The letter, signed by Republicans and Democrats, is addressed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and House Speaker Andy Dillon.
"Lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement to balance the budget without raising taxes and sent it to the governor," said Daley, of Lum. "It is absolutely inexcusable that nearly a month later the budget still hasn't been signed into law. This needs to be done, and it needs to be done now."
Daley said if the governor is planning on vetoing the remaining budget bills, she must give lawmakers enough time to come up with another workable solution or risk causing some parts of the government to grind to a halt.
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Freshman Demand Budget Resoultion Letter To Leadership.pdf
Daley invites
residents to office hours
State Rep. Kevin Daley is holding district office hours
in order to give residents a convenient opportunity to
meet with him locally.
Daley will be available Friday, Oct. 23 from 7:30 to
9:30 a.m. at the Sundance Grill restaurant, located at
3817 S. Lapeer Road in Metamora.
No appointment is necessary. Residents unable to meet
during the scheduled office hours may contact Daley at
his Lansing office by calling 1-517-373-1800 or by
e-mailing
kevindaley@house.mi.gov.
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PHOTO ADVISORY: Mary Shelton-Wiese, Executive Director of the Family Literacy Center in Lapeer, accepts a $1,000 donation from state Rep. Kevin Daley, R-Lum. Daley has pledged to donate 10 percent of the salary he earns as a state representative to charities serving Lapeer County.
The Family Literacy Center holds its 10th annual Camel Races Fundraiser on Oct. 16. For more information about the event, call 810-664-2737.
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Daley introduces legislation to penalize lawmakers for failing to complete budget on time
Following the second government shutdown in two years, state Rep. Kevin Daley is supporting bipartisan legislation to penalize lawmakers for failing to complete the state budget on time.
At midnight on Wednesday morning, state government briefly shut down for two hours while lawmakers struggled to get an emergency continuation budget approved by the governor. A similar situation happened in 2007, when government shut down for four hours.
"I didn't run for state representative to shut down the government," said Daley, of Lum. "In my opinion this is a miserable failure. As the elected leaders of this state, we have let down the working families that send us here to make tough decisions. The fact that this has happened twice in two years clearly shows we need reform."
Daley's legislation moves the deadline for finishing the budget to July 1, three months before the start of the new fiscal year. It also docks lawmakers a day's pay for each day the budget is overdue.
The plan is to prevent another government shutdown from happening in the future, but in the meantime, lawmakers still only have until the end of October to finish the budget. Daley said he would continue working to balance the budget without raising taxes.
"Michigan's unemployment rate has doubled since taxes were raised two years ago. Families and job providers cannot afford another tax hike."
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Daley urges governor to squash agriculture consolidation
plan
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers today sent a
letter to Gov. Granholm asking her to squash plans to
combine the Department of Agriculture with the
departments of Natural Resources and Environmental
Quality.
The letter was signed by 41 Republicans and 23
Democrats.
"The agriculture department is one of the few pieces of
government that is actually being run efficiently - it
doesn't make sense to dismantle the department and
shoe-horn it in with two other unrelated departments
just to make it look like we're reforming government,"
said Daley, of Lum. "The department has a successful
track record of helping Michigan's agriculture industry
grow at a time when nearly every other area of our
economy is hemorrhaging jobs - I don't want to risk
messing that up."
Agriculture is Michigan's second largest industry, with
an estimated economic impact of $71.3 billion annually.
A recent study by Michigan State University showed
Michigan's agriculture industry experienced 12 percent
growth in 2007.
Daley, who is the only farmer serving in the House, said
the department does a remarkable job considering it
receives less than 0.5 percent of the general fund
budget each year for its operations.
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EDITORS NOTE: Attached is a copy of the letter sent to
the governor.