Audio from Senator Jim Runestad

Senator Runestad’s Teletown Hall Meeting, held on April 1st, 2020, with special guest Dr. Russell Faust, Medical Director for Oakland County Health

The Senate Finance Committee heard expert testimony from local assessors, appraisers, members of the Michigan Assessors Association and others during a meeting on Monday in Novi. Chairman Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, conducted a special informational hearing of the committee on property tax issues at the Novi Civic Center. The panel and those in attendance heard expert testimony on property taxes, the tax assessment process and how to effectively appeal your assessments when errors have occurred. For more information, please contact Runestad's office toll-free at 1-855-347-8015 or by email at [email protected].

Lansing: State Sen. Runestad, shares his thoughts after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her second State of the State address as Michigan's governor.

The two testified before the Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee on Runestad's bill that would help bring an end to elder abuse in nursing homes. Senate Bill 77 would give the resident of a nursing home facility, or their representative, the right to monitor their own private room using an electronic monitoring device under certain conditions. This would give peace of mind to family members who would be able to monitor remotely the care of their loved ones in nursing homes. The Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee is expected to vote on the bill after hearing further testimony in the coming weeks.

Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, 57 notes that "India has proved to be a courageous nation with a growing democracy, seeking to establish its basic, fundamental principles of freedom, opportunity, and justice" and "Michigan residents who hail from India, or who have ancestral ties to India, continually demonstrate the greatness of the culture, arts, traditions, and natural beauty of their homeland."

Senate Resolution 31 condemns the arrest of dozens of Michigan Chaldean Iraqis and their subsequent threat of deportation. "Last year, a group of Iraqi nationals were rounded up for deportation to a country where religious minorities are the targets of a terrible genocide committed by the Islamic State," said Runestad, R-White Lake. "We must oppose the mass deportation of Iraqi nationals, many of whom we call our neighbors and our friends, to a land where they will meet torture and death." In addition to the arrest of dozens of Michigan Chaldean Iraqis, approximately 1,400 Iraqi nationals have been targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nationwide. An estimated 1,000 individuals are now at immediate risk of deportation with many more at risk in future months.

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a measure sponsored by Sen. Jim Runestad that would crack down on the skyrocketing problem of mail theft in Michigan. Senate Bill 23 would create state penalties for mail theft that mirror federal penalties to allow more options for state prosecution of these crimes. "The crime of mail theft remains on the rise, and we won't get it under control until we act," said Runestad, R-White Lake. "We have to stiffen the penalties to deter the thieves who currently see an easy opportunity when a package arrives on a porch."

Sen. Jim Runestad , R-White Lake Twp.comments on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2019 State of the State address.