Senator Jim Runestad's Press Releases

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad on Tuesday issued a scathing assessment of a 2026 Michigan Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report revealing a pattern of mismanagement, missing documentation, conflicted oversight and taxpayer dollars spent by the state health department without basic controls or proper oversight. “These audits are not isolated glitches. They are a damning indictment of an administration that treats taxpayer money

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad, along with his legislative colleagues, sent a letter to the Michigan Public Service Commission requesting that the commission consider the strong public opposition to a pending solar development in Ottawa County and the impact such a large-scale development would have on the county’s farmland and way of life. “As the public’s opposition to data centers continues to balloon, we’re

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad announced on Thursday that he is working to introduce legislation that would protect Michigan families from the consequences of paternity fraud and provide men a meaningful opportunity to challenge a paternity determination when DNA evidence shows they are not the biological father. Under current Michigan law, a man can become the legal father of a child “by default” through

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad announced on Wednesday that he has introduced legislation to protect young children from accidents caused by electric bicycles (e-bikes). “I’ve seen too many freak accidents where young children wind up seriously harmed while riding one of these e-bikes,” said Runestad, R-White Lake. “They aren’t the traditional bicycles that I rode when I was a kid — these bikes can

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad announced his plans to introduce legislation that would repeal the 2024 sales and use tax reforms that were specifically carved out to promote and support data center developments. “People have been left in the dark about data center developments in Michigan despite the clear, long-term effects these projects can have on local communities, natural resources and power grids,” said

LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad on Thursday announced he has introduced legislation to prohibit critical race theory, the 1619 Project and anti-American academic theories from being included in public school curricula. “Critical race theory is blatant indoctrination,” said Runestad, R-White Lake. “These inflammatory lesson plans go well beyond educating students. They seek only to confuse and divide students based on race or sex and