State Rep. William Sowerby briefs Mount Clemens commission on Lansing priorities

State Representative William Sowerby (District 31) visited the Mount Clemens City Commission to summarize major developments from Lansing and to answer commissioners’ questions.

Sowerby said the House has handled "395 total votes" this year and that he cast "a total of 80 votes I did vote no on." He described the no-fault insurance proposal that came up this year as "a flawed bill," saying "it didn't address the zip code issue" or other factors such as credit scores and marital status that he said can drive higher rates in Michigan. He warned the catastrophic care fund tied to auto insurance is large and opaque: "We know that fund is in the billions and billions of dollars, but nobody knows for sure, and nobody knows how to get their hand around it."

Sowerby reviewed other items that reached the House floor: an income-tax rollback he said would have substantially reduced state revenues without replacing funding "for cities like Mount Clemens," a jobs-incentive bill intended to attract employers, brownfield redevelopment measures, and a FOIA-related package he said passed the House unanimously but "languished in the senate." On education, he noted Mount Clemens schools remain on a state distress list and said work in the education committee focuses on funding and support for struggling districts.

During questions, commissioners raised whether the no-fault issue will be taken up again; Sowerby said bipartisan bills have been drafted to address the problems in the earlier proposal and that "we're hoping that these bipartisan bills will be taken up in the coming year." On pension and OPEB proposals he described as "huge," he said measures circulating could allow state-appointed commissions to intervene where retiree-health or pension systems fall below funding thresholds, a change he characterized as "taking the democratic process out of that" and warned could amount to state overreach into local elected responsibilities.

Why it matters: Commissioners said auto insurance costs and state revenue decisions have direct consequences for Mount Clemens’ budget and services. Sowerby urged local residents to communicate with him about bills that affect the city and said he and other legislators are pursuing bipartisan fixes on the issues he described.

Next steps: Sowerby said several of the bipartisan no-fault bills and pension-related measures are likely to be active next legislative session and that his office will continue outreach with local officials.

Quote (representative): "The bill as it was before us ended up being a flawed bill. It didn't address the zip code issue." — State Representative William Sowerby.