Rep. Bill LaVoys' Site Feed

LaVoy Announces Schedule for District Outreach Hours

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

MONROE — State Representative Bill LaVoy (D-Monroe) has announced a regular schedule for his district outreach hours. LaVoy invites residents to join him to discuss their thoughts and ideas about how he can best represent and address the needs of his constituents.

LaVoy will host mobile office hours:

On the first Monday of the month from 10 to 11 a.m. at Dorsch Library, 18 E. First St. in Monroe, and from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Frenchtown Senior Center, 2786 Vivian Road in Monroe
On the second Monday of the month from noon to 2 p.m. at the Carleton Library, 1444 Kent St. in Carleton
On the third Monday of the month from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Sumpter Senior Center, 23501 Sumpter Road in Belleville, and from noon to 1 p.m. at the Maybee Library, 9060 Raisin St. in Maybee
On the fourth Monday of the month from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Berlin Township Hall, 8000 Swan View Drive in Newport, and from noon to 1 p.m. at the Newport Library, 8120 N. Dixie Highway in Newport

In the event of a Monday holiday, office hours will be canceled.

LaVoy encourages interested residents to sign up for his e-newsletter, which will provide updates of his work at the Capitol and in the community. To sign up, interested individuals should visit lavoy.housedems.com. Residents can also reach LaVoy at his office at (517) 373-1530 or toll-free at (855) 528-6917.

LaVoy Marks Season Opening of River Raisin National Battlefield

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

MONROE — State Representative Bill LaVoy (D-Monroe) spoke today at River Raisin National Battlefield Park to celebrate its opening for the season. Two U.S. congressmen, John Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Tim Walberg (R-Tipton), were on hand, as well as members of the National Park Foundation, the Community Foundation of Monroe County, and other organizations and businesses.

Several hundred children from Monroe and Wayne counties were also present to tour the battlefield and learn its history.

“It’s an honor to have a national park here in Monroe County, and I’m proud to support it,” LaVoy said. “It’s vital that we preserve land and history like this so that future generations can learn from and enjoy it the way we do today.”

The National Park Foundation also used the event to announce grant awards for River Raisin.

Authorized in 2009 and established in October 2010 as America’s newest national battlefield, River Raisin National Battlefield Park commemorates two January 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath.

In the Community

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:05:52 -0400

At Work in the Capital

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:24:26 -0400

Reps. Geiss, LaVoy Introduce Plan for Middle-Class Tax Relief

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

TAYLOR — State Representatives Douglas A. Geiss (D-Taylor) and Bill LaVoy (D-Monroe) announced today the House Democrats’ plan for middle-class tax relief. The bills, based on Michigan’s Middle Class Plan, are focused on restoring tax credits and deductions to middle-class families and repealing taxes on retirees. Legislation included in the plan will relieve the tax burden on Michigan families when next year’s tax season rolls around.

“The tax shift from corporations to average Michiganders took effect last year, and now, the bill is coming due,” Geiss said. “We should not be asking families and seniors to get by on even less. What they need is tax relief.”

Last session, the Republican-led Legislature made severe changes to the Michigan tax code punishing middle-class families and seniors, including imposing a tax on retirement income, eliminating the Homestead Property Tax Credit for many families, a drastic cut to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the elimination of the $600 per-child tax deduction and tax credits for charitable donations. These changes were made to fund nearly $2 billion in tax breaks for big corporations, effectively making Michigan’s low-income and middle-class families pay for a handout to big corporations. The new taxes took effect in 2012, and many taxpayers became aware of them for the first time as they filed their state income taxes this year.

“Because of these changes, the refunds that many families depend on are reduced or even eliminated,” LaVoy said. “It’s not fair to ask hard-working Michigan residents to pay more when the biggest corporations are getting a break.”

Over the past two months, Democratic state representatives heard the concerns of struggling Michiganders during their Real State of Our State Listening Tour. After the tour’s completion, legislators used this feedback to construct Michigan’s Middle-Class Plan, including the following tax initiatives:

Repeal the new tax on senior retirement income
Require employers to inform employees about the Earned Income Tax Credit
Restore the Earned Income Tax Credit to 11 percent in the first year
Restore the Homestead Property Tax Credit
Restore the child deduction

Along with these initiatives, the House Democrats pledge to continue fighting against tax increases on the middle class and seniors every time a new, harmful tax is introduced to the Legislature, and to keep Michigan taxpayers aware of the changes through a series of town halls held across the state.