State Rep. Andrew Fink has introduced and co-sponsored several bills in the Michigan House of Representatives during his first few weeks in office.
Fink, who represents Michigan’s 58th district, said some of his primary goals are streamlining knife laws, criminal justice reform, and COVID-19 recovery.
“The first bill I introduced as the primary sponsor is the Michigan Knife Rights Act, which is an attempt to organize our knife laws better. Right now a couple dozen cities have more restricted ordinances than the state law,” Fink said. “And so a person could be very cautious and careful and make sure that the knives that they’re carrying for hunting or recreation complies fully with state law and then if they drive from the Indiana border to Port Huron you might drive through two or three cities where your knife would actually be illegal for the time you’re there.”
According to Fink, he is sponsoring a bill to change certain criminal penalties from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction. He said one problem with current legislation is that it makes “things crimes that really don’t need to be, which just clutters up somebody’s criminal history.”
Fink is also sponsoring House Bill 4091, which he said is a bill that is part of a package on human trafficking reforms.
Another major area of concern for Fink’s office is the state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fink supported the $3.5 billion COVID-19 recovery plan that the Michigan House of Representatives passed on Feb. 4, according to the Michigan GOP.
Fink said one of the goals of the recovery plan is to increase transparency from Gov. Whitmer’s administration.
“One [bill] is funding for mainly vaccine distribution that requires excessive reporting by the administration,” according to Fink. “One of the problems with the Whitmer administration is that it has not communicated clearly with the legislature about how appropriated funds are being used.”
As part of the COVID-19 relief package, the legislature also adopted a bill for tax reimbursements for businesses, especially restaurants.
“There is a large effort to help get small businesses who have been harmed by the government’s response to COVID-19 back on their feet, including property tax reimbursements, unemployment insurance tax reimbursements,” Fink said. “These businesses haven’t been able to make money but have been taxed as though they were making money and we don’t think that’s right.”
An additional element of the recovery plan is to lessen school closures by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and allow schools to localize decisions.
According to Fink, “We don’t think it is the province of [Gov. Whitmer’s] administration to close schools across the state or terminate all high school sports.”
People can ask questions about the COVID-19 recovery plan or other bills sponsored by Fink at his first local office hours on Feb. 19, according to the Michigan GOP. Fink will be available to meet with residents from 9-10 a.m. at Spangler’s Hilltop Diner and from 1-2 p.m. at Quincy Diner.
“I was elected to represent our local Branch and Hillsdale County values,” Fink said. “Office hours give me the opportunity to hear directly from those I represent about their concerns, questions, and ideas they have about state government and law.”
