Late July 2025 Newsletter

Maddock: Economic Development Incentives Are A 'Fairy Tale,' Urges James to Stay in Congress
Rep. Matt Maddock said the Trump administration is not to blame for the Mundy Township project falling apart during his appearance on WKAR-TVs "Off the Record" on Friday.

"(The policies) are designed to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. Where the manufacturing happens to locate depends on a number of things, and in Michigan, part of the reason that they didn't locate here is because the cost of energy is so high."

Maddock (R-Milford) went on to say that the cost of the jobs the site was expected to bring was too high.

"Why are we taking money from people living paycheck to paycheck in Garden City and in Flint and giving it to multibillion dollar companies and multibillionaires?" Maddock said. "To me, that's insane, and I think it's immoral to be honest with you."

Maddock called economic development incentives a "fairy tale."

"I don't think they ever intended to relocate to Michigan," he said of Sandisk and the Mundy Township project. "If they have a state they're going to relocate to, they're going to go there, whether we give them the incentive or not. I think that's a scam. They get our taxpayer money, and they're coming her anyways."

Maddock is a top ally of President Donald Trump in Michigan. He said the Trump team is unhappy with U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) forgoing reelection to run for governor.

"I think he should stay out of the governor race and stick it out in the House," Maddock said. "I think it'd be very foolish of him at this point to run for governor."

Maddock said he loves James and thinks he would make a great governor. But his best value is holding the competitive 10th U.S. House District.

"He is a great member of Congress," he said. "I think he needs to stay there. That seat's too valuable."

Regarding the state budget, or the lack thereof, Maddock, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee , blamed Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids).

"I want to tell you about negotiations: These Democrats are so weird, that before the negotiation can start, they sit in the room and they figure out how many coffee cups are allowed on the table," he said. "They can't even communicate."

The House, however, has not yet passed its own budget bills for the General Fund, which is unrelated to negotiations with the Senate.

Maddock said House Republicans are still in the process of rooting out fraud and waste in the budget.

"We are still in the process of doing our due diligence," he said. "We are going through this budget line item by line item."

He said that there were too many pork projects being funded in the budget.

"I had no idea until this year that there was such a concentration of lobbyists that are focused on our education budget," he said. "There's over 110 pork barrel projects in our education budget, money that does not go into the classrooms. Money that goes to all these outside, nonprofits run by a bunch of leftists and doesn't benefit the kids."

Maddock also defended the Legislature's inactivity this year – only six bills have made it to the governor's desk – saying that the less Lansing politicians do, the better it is for Michigan residents.

The Michigan Legislature is paid as a full-time legislature.

"Democrats aren't going to do anything good for Michigan. The handful of bills that have passed have been nonpartisan," he said.

He reiterated that budget negotiations weren't going well because Democrats were "weird."

"I don't know how to explain," he said. "I've been in Lansing for seven years, but I've never seen such weirdness from the Democrats."

While on the show, Maddock also brought up the Jeffery Epstein files unprompted, calling them a Russian hoax designed to keep the media distracted from everything good the Trump administration is doing for the country.

Whitmer: Budget Won't Be Done Until Roads Are
The budget won't be done until a roads plan is done, the Governor told members of the media today, after being asked about legislators missing their July 1 budget-making deadline.

"Here we are in the middle of July – toward the end of July now – and we still have work to do when it comes to getting a budget done," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "And I want to be clear, the budget is not done until the roads are done, as well."

Both the Governor and House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) want to restructure Michigan's tax structure to ensure any state taxes paid at the fuel pump go toward road improvements. However, the idea raises concerns regarding the state's other financial obligations, as the sales tax paid at the gas station goes toward the School Aid Fund and local governments.

Hall wants to make the plan financially responsible through downsizing business incentives and economic development grants, and the Governor has proposed subjecting marijuana retailers to the same wholesale taxes as nicotine sales. She's also suggested a new tax on technology companies that transport heavy weights and deploy excessive advertisements.

However, no legislation has progressed in the Senate, as various Senate Democrats have different concerns about establishing a new road funding plan. Some want to ensure more money stays in Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit, giving motorists the reassurance that their money spent at the pump will remain in their community instead of going up north.

Others are most worried about ensuring money is available for other budget-making expectations for the state, especially as Michigan's Medicaid system will face new administrative mandates from the federal government after next year. Additionally, officials such as Senate Majority Leader Winnie BRINKS (D-Grand Rapids) want confidence that any new plan that's adopted won't result in legislators returning to the subject years later.

Earlier this month, an organization connected to the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), America Works USA, started running media ads calling on online users to contact state senators to support the MI Road Ahead Plan. The plan was announced by Whitmer in February, detailing her road funding vision.

"The DGA?" Whitmer said when asked how comfortable she was with the ads. "I don't know anything about that."

Whitmer also spoke to the press about Wednesday's news that plans to bring a $55 billion semiconductor development to Genesee County were scrapped. When discussing the news recently, Whitmer cited "national economic turmoil" affiliated with Trump-era tariffs on imports.

"I called the President yesterday. I spoke with him to share with him what this development was and how it was very disappointing. He said, 'Tell the press we are going to work together and get an even better deal for the state of Michigan,'" Whitmer said.

Oakland Macomb Sewage Feud Continues with EGLE Fine for Oakland County
A saga of retention resentment between Macomb and Oakland counties came to a head on Monday when the latter was issued a fine and penalty from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for sewage overflows from the George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Basin.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller first drew public attention to the action from EGLE in a Monday morning press release, praising the department's escalated approach and taking aim at Oakland Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash, who has said the permitted discharge from the Kuhn Basin is "crystal clear."

"We are applauding EGLE for taking this punitive action against Oakland County for continued violations of state law prohibiting the discharge of raw sewage that threatens public health and the environment," Miller said in a statement. "What's crystal clear today is that the state is not satisfied with Oakland County's actions for years of repeated sanitary sewer overflows and is ratcheting up the pressure by forcing Oakland to take meaningful steps to prevent further illegal discharges – and rightfully so. WRC failed to correct repeated discharges, and obviously their plan to fix their serious problem of dumping on a neighboring county was rejected by the state, leading to this stepped-up enforcement action."

EGLE issued an enforcement notice to Nash and other members of the Oakland WRC on June 27, citing two instances of untreated or partially treated sewage being released from the basin's Dequindre Interceptor Overflow Structure.

"On April 3, 2025, the facility discharged 1.18 million gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage. On August 24, 2023, the facility discharged 2.2 million gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage," EGLE Warren District Office Supervisor Laura Verona said in the notice. "Be further advised that the owner has failed to correct the occurrence of sanitary sewer overflows from the facility."

Before July 28, Oakland County is expected to review its hydraulic models within sewers to identify areas of high infiltration and inflow, evaluate the system to identify capacities, restrictions and limitations up-and-downstream of the facility that could potentially impact the overflow chamber, identify the status and impact that includes modeling results of implementing operational changes within flow distribution in the basin and provide a plan to identify opportunities for improvement in either or both systems to eliminate violations.

Oakland County officials attributed the sewage overflows to severe weather events and continues to call for a regional approach to management, rather than a county-by-county method.

"Oakland County has repeatedly told EGLE that it cannot be expected to control severe weather events that occur across Southeast Michigan and impact multiple communities, counties and jurisdictions," Oakland Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash said in a statement (editor's note: this article has been updated to attribute the quote to Nash). "Without this regional approach Oakland County, Macomb County and Southeast Michigan will continue to be faced with the prospect of sewage overflows and basement backups due to extremely heavy rainfall."

Nash said the penalty from EGLE is a "routine part of the regulatory process" and Miller's statements are misleading and overdramatize the situation.

"Macomb County's Public Works Commissioner is trying to create controversy where there is none – choosing to play politics and cast blame on Oakland County instead of working with the Great Lakes Water Authority on a regional solution that protects all communities in Southeast Michigan," Nash said. "She intentionally issues reckless press releases like she did today that are filled with inaccuracies, misinformation, and false statements. The truth is that EGLE's actions are a routine part of the regulatory process that occurs with many counties, including Macomb County and their recent sanitary sewer overflows."

Nash said Miller "clearly does not understand the issue given the number of false or inaccurate claims in her press release" and that her response illustrates her unwillingness to work alongside Oakland County and the Great Lakes Water Authority.

"While it may now be politically convenient to Commissioner Miller's inflammatory approach, the fact remains that in December 2023, after the region experienced a particularly bad rain event that April, she co-signed a letter with Commissioner Nash to seek that regional solution with the Great Lakes Water Authority," Nash said. "She has since turned her back on that, apparently, and would rather target Oakland County with inaccurate press releases to the media than come to the table and work on the regional solution she herself endorsed. That is not effective local government."

The next step in the remediation process for the sewage overflow penalties is for Oakland County representatives to meet with EGLE officials, which Nash said will happen later this month. Upon the meeting, the county will likely enter into an Administrative Consent Order with EGLE to resolve the issue.

DCD OUT & ABOUT

Jake German attended the Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund Gala last week at Pine Lake Country Club with former Birmingham Mayor Mark Nickita, Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund Founder and Board Member Chris Cornelius, Brigadier General Roger B. Burrows (Ret), and Kevin Rinke.

Senator Mat Dunaskiss and Jake German attended a celebration hosted by WSU Governor Sunny Reddy in Troy last Saturday evening. Among the many dignitaries were State Reps. Steve Frisbie, Donni Steele, WSU Governor Michael Busuito, Senator Michael Webber, Sunny himself and Avinsah Rachmale of Lakeshore Global Corporation.

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ARTICLES OF POLITICAL INTEREST:

Two Democratic County Commissioners Announce Departure from Majority Caucus

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Genesee County Gives Initial OK to $44K Sports Complex Feasability Study

Marijuana News, Updates, & Articles of Interest

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ARTICLES OF CANNABIS INTEREST:

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