Bipartisan Disabilities Awareness Caucus Formed
Friday, February 5, 2016
Late week, State Representative Frank Liberati (D-Allen Park) and state Senator Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) announced the formation of the Disabilities Awareness Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral effort that will focus its attention on policy issues facing those with a disability.
“I serve as a board member of the Special Olympics Michigan. Many concerns of special needs children and adults have been brought to my attention over the years, and I hope to work on some of these concerns with this caucus,” said Jones, a co-chairman of the caucus.
“We have brought together a great group of legislators who will bring disability issues to the forefront of policy discussions in Lansing,” said Liberati, who will also serve as co-chairman of the legislative caucus. “It is time we put words into action.”
Other members of the caucus include; Senators Curtis Hertel Jr. (D – Lansing) and Margaret O’Brien (R – Portage), and Representatives Hank Vaupel (R – Fowlerville) and Christine Greig (D – Farmington Hills).
On Thursday, MACMHB staff met with Representative Liberati to discuss MACMHB’s interest and potential partnership with the caucus. Rep. Liberati has a tremendous amount of passion around these issues as he is a parent and advocate of a 19 year old son with an intellectual/developmental disability.
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I do not have email addresses for these legislators, but here are websites for the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate . As you might imagine, legislators can be swamped with emails, especially when big issues are being decided. They are always willing to hear from constituents in their own districts, but it may be difficult to get through if you are not in the legislator's district. A phone call to a legislator's office might help you to find an email address for a legislative aide who is willing to pass on messages from you or to put you in touch with people dealing with a specific issue.
Go forth and exercise you democratic perogatives. Big budget battles are coming.
Happy birthday, A. Lincoln
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