Lansing Update: MCC Board Recognizes Outgoing Archbishop and Chairman
Posted February 28, 2025
Governor Addresses State of the State in Speech to Legislature
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week gave her annual State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, touching on several policy topics that spanned from road funding to limiting the use of cell phones by students in schools.
The Governor used the address to focus on broad themes, such as lowering the cost of living, as well as specific proposals, such as enacting taxes on vaping devices. A full version of the speech as prepared for delivery can be found here.
Michigan Catholic Conference did not release an official statement in response to the address this year. Last year, MCC urged lawmakers and the Governor to craft policies and budget recommendations through the lens of supporting and growing family life in Michigan, given the fact that families are the cornerstone of society.
Several policies mentioned by MCC in the press release last year have not yet passed the Legislature, including the proposed Working Parents Tax Credit, which would be designed to aid working low-income parents who have young children. MCC is currently working with the Legislature to gain support for this proposal.
The Governor earlier this month released her initial budget proposals for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which MCC previously reported on.
As in years past, MCC will be advocating for a student-centered approach to education funding in the upcoming budget, including support for improving safety and mental health services, increasing the number of teachers statewide, and improving access to healthy food for students in all types of educational settings, including nonpublic schools.
MCC recently published a Word from Lansing column on this student-centered approach to education spending and advocacy, which can be found by clicking or tapping here, or at Detroit Catholic.
Renewed Effort to Improve Indigent Defense for Youth Passes Senate Panel
Legislation supported by MCC to ensure youth in the justice system have access to adequate legal defense was approved by a Senate committee last week.
The bill represents the final—and crucial—piece of a wide-ranging legislative effort to reform the state’s juvenile justice system to improve outcomes for juvenile offenders and their families.
The legislation would pave the way for state standards around the provision of indigent legal defense for juvenile offenders. The bill comes as a response to a statewide task force on juvenile justice that found Michigan lacks a centralized structure and minimal standards, supports, or resources for juvenile public defense.
MCC supports the legislation and previous efforts to reform the juvenile justice system as a matter of promoting restorative justice and ensuring adequate state resources for indigent individuals to receive their constitutionally guaranteed right to legal counsel.
Senate Bill 81, sponsored by Sen. Sue Shink (D-Ann Arbor) is a reintroduction of legislation from last session that failed to advance to the Governor’s office. The bill was reported to the full Senate floor by the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee. There is a similar bill in the House sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) that has not been acted upon yet.
Bill to Secure Justice for Foster Children Reintroduced in Senate
Lawmakers are again considering MCC-supported legislation to stop the state’s seizure of benefits owed to foster children that had been used to offset the cost to care for children.
Senate Bill 18, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), is a reintroduction of similar legislation last term that was also supported by MCC, which passed the Senate unanimously but did not advance from the House before session ended.
Currently, on an annual basis, Michigan takes in about $3 million in foster children benefits that it uses to pay for the cost of caring for foster children.
In testimony provided to a Senate committee this week, one man who approached Sen. Irwin about the issue said he lost out on $18,000 in Social Security benefits that his father had earned prior to his death, which could have benefited him and his four other siblings who ended up in foster care.
Under Senate Bill 18, the state would stop seizing and spending the money tied to foster children, which can include certain federal benefits like Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. Instead, the state would keep those benefits in accounts that foster children could access after exiting state supervision, benefits that could help them get on stable economic footing.
The Senate Housing and Human Services Committee took testimony only on Senate Bill 18 this week.
Retiring Archbishop Vigneron Honored by MCC Board of Directors
During its quarterly meeting, the MCC Board of Directors formally recognized retiring Archbishop Allen Vigneron for his 23 years of service to MCC, serving on the board as an auxiliary bishop as well as chairman in his role as archbishop of Detroit.
The board meeting chaired by Archbishop Vigneron was his last after Pope Francis announced earlier this month that he had accepted the Archbishop’s retirement that he submitted in 2023 upon his 75th birthday as required by Church law.
In the resolution adopted by the MCC Board, Archbishop Vigneron was commended as “a kind and pastoral leader, one who exemplifies leadership with faith and love at the center of your vocation.”
The resolution, in referencing the dual mission of MCC, expressed gratitude to the retiring archbishop for his “courage and wisdom to promote human life and dignity on matters of public policy advocacy, and for providing necessary support for efforts to serve church employees throughout the state of Michigan.”
Following the meeting, Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing offered a toast in honor of Archbishop Vigneron.
Archbishop Vigneron will be succeeded by Archbishop-elect Edward J. Weisenburger, who was appointed to lead the Detroit archdiocese by Pope Francis. The new archbishop will be officially installed March 18.