Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition Untitled page

Letters to Use for Legislative Representatives and your Customers/Vendors/Friends/Family

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 18:02:14 GMT

Dear Members and Supporters,

As we continue our efforts to advocate for vital legislative changes that benefit our industry, your involvement is crucial. Below, you will find prepared letters aimed at our Michigan House and Senate representatives, as well as a template letter for you to share with friends, family, customers, and vendors. These letters are crafted to highlight the importance of the proposed insurance changes that will benefit our industry by making insurance costs more competitive and fair.

Here’s how you can help:

Contact Your Legislators:
- Find your Representative and Senator: Use the following links to identify your local Michigan House Representative and Senator:
  - Find Your House Representative
  - Find Your Senator
- Copy the appropriate letter: Choose either the House or Senate letter using the link below, depending on the official you are contacting. Simply copy the text.
- Paste and personalize your letter: Paste the letter into your email client or into a word processor to print and mail. Feel free to personalize the greeting with your representative’s name and adjust any specifics relevant to your experience or business.
- Send your message: Email or mail the letter. If emailing, ensure you include your name and address to show that you are a constituent.
Engage Your Network:
- Copy the letter for friends, family, customers, and vendors: This letter is designed to encourage our wider community to support our legislative efforts.
- Distribute widely: Share this via email or on social media, encouraging others to also reach out to their representatives. The broader our voice, the greater our impact.

Why This Matters: These bills are not just a reform but a necessary step towards creating a balanced competitive field that benefits all stakeholders, including our clients and communities. By participating, you are taking a stand for the future of our industry.

MPTC LETTER TEMPLATES

Thank you for your proactive support and participation. Together, we can make a significant difference.

https://michiganptc.org/join-us

Warm regards,

Sean Duval
CEO, Golden Limousine International
Co-Chair, Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition
sean@goldenlimo.com
734-668-8282 x1208

Chad Cushman
President, Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer
Co-Chair, Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition
ccushman@indiantrails.com
989-277-8047

Coffee Hour Meeting

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 17:40:03 GMT

The Legislature has kicked off session and committees are just getting up and running in Lansing. We have several meetings planned with Legislative leaders and Members to discuss our proposed policy change - to address the shocking insurance costs for our industry. We have a variety of supporters in both Chambers - House and Senate - but we also have a huge task to inform and educate almost 60 new members on our industry’s unique challenge and desperate need.

This is where you can help! Many incumbent Members and new Members often host in-district coffee hours or public office hours, which are posted on their websites (or you can call their office if it is not posted). You can find your Representative here Michigan House - Home Page and your Senator here Home Page Find Your Senator - Michigan Senate.

Please attend one of these coffee hours and simply talk to the Representative or Senator about your business, and about the ever-increasing and impossible pressure of your insurance costs. You could give them an example of how much you paid in insurance costs in an earlier year versus a later year, or what the percentage increase was. You could explain that if an erratic driver hits one of your transport vehicles, your insurance is required to cover all passengers (even though the crash is not your fault, and even though you could be on the hook for many people). Let them know that we are all working together on a solution and we will need their help and support.

If they have additional questions, please have them reach out to our Lansing lobbyist, Governmental Consultant Services, Inc., Samantha Zandee at 517-275-6757.

If you are interested to attend a coffee hour but don’t want to go alone, please reach out to Sean Duval, 734-668-8282, ext. 1208 or Chad Cushman, 989-723-9600. We are happy to attend with you and be a part of the discussion!

If you do attend a coffee hour, please let us know so we can make sure to follow up with your Legislator.

This is the session we NEED to make this happen! Please help us help our industry!

Maya Adrine
Golden Limousine International

MI House & Senate Committee Assignments

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 13:00:00 GMT

As we get into the new legislative session, it is important that we are able to each out to our legislators, just to introduce ourselves and make sure they know our company and have a sense of what we are facing. We need your help in ensuring that your local legislators know who you are and what your company is contributing to the local and statewide Michigan economy.

Attached are the Senate committee assignments and the House policy committee assignments, which includes the full Appropriations committee. We have not yet seen the appropriations subcommittee assignments, so I will forward those once they are available. I have already sent a request email to Tammy in our office to start scheduling some of our meetings with certain leadership and committee members, so Michigan PTC members will likely see scheduling requests start coming through from her as we get the Members’ availability.

These sessions with legislators is our first step in building relationships with new members and re-acquainting with returning members while educating both about our industry challenges.

MI House Policy Committee Assignments 2023.pdf

MI Senate Committee Assignments, 2023.pdf

JAN 2023 Update

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 21:28:43 GMT

Thank you for your patience while I get you the ACTUAL insurance legislative update. Please take a look and consider supporting our effort. We will get this done this year with your help and support. No, we can't compete with the lobbying efforts of UBER/LYFT. Transit, or the Trucking industries, for the first time in a long time, we are advocating for our industry. Your support will go a long way to sustaining this effort.

THE UPDATE:

Although the recent lame duck session ended with no further action on House Bill 5718, this past year has proven great strides for our industry! Thanks to your help, we have been successful at raising the alarm with our state's legislators and the Governor's Office about our crippling insurance rates and we have brought much needed attention to this issue.

As a quick recap, HB 5719 (and HB 5718) were introduced back in February of 2022 by then-Representative Roger Hauck and Daire Rendon and referred to the House Committee on Rules and Competitiveness. This bill introduction was followed by countless policy meetings attended by your fellow business owners to educate legislators on the state of our industry, on our dire need for help, and on why this bill package was so necessary. Slowly but surely, we grew interest in and commitments to support the bills. A springtime committee resulted in a mobilization of our industry and so many of you stepped up to provide your support, input, and outreach to Legislators on these bills. Disappointingly, we soon learned that the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) formally opposed this bill package and seemed unwilling to provide alternative options or assistance. Despite this huge headwind, we were successful at getting the bill voted out of Committee in early May.

Once the bills passed out of Committee, we continued our work and policy meetings to build as much support as possible on the House Floor. Despite numerous roadblocks along the way, HB 5719 (Hauck) finally saw a full House vote in mid-June, the bill passing with some bipartisan support and heading over to the Senate, a feat many political insiders had said may not be possible.

In the Senate, the bills were referred to the Committee on Insurance, where we faced an even bigger challenge with doubting Members, an extremely limited session schedule, and an impending election. Despite many positive strides, only two formal session days occurred between July 1 and the election, leaving almost zero time to address our issue.

The election was followed by another period of extremely limited session days and a very light lame duck. With Democrats taking full control of the State, there was very little both parties could agree on before the end of the year. The lame duck session adjourned with few policy bills and no agreement on various state issues.

Although we are disappointed with the ending of 2022, we celebrate the huge success of our industry in bringing attention to this massive insurance issue and to the irreplaceable value that our businesses bring to this State. We are not quitting and we are not giving up on this valuable momentum we have built.

The 2023 legislative session kicks off this week Wednesday, January 11th, with committee assignments expected sometime later this week as well. As next steps throughout the winter and spring, our Coalition will be meeting with new Members and with the newly formed Committees to continue to educate on this policy push and on the challenges we are facing. Given the new Democratic majorities, we are working to identify a bill sponsor with enough influence to help guide a new bill through the legislative process. We have also received some positive initial feedback from DIFS, with a seemingly renewed interest in taking a look at this topic.

We have come so far and continue to need your support! Please reach out to your Legislator to talk about your business and about the insane insurance costs we are facing. Please join the Coalition and support us in any way you can! Every outreach helps and every dollar helps as we reset for this new legislative session and continue to build on our momentum.

If you want a voice, please consider supporting the Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition. Our Membership Levels are affordable for operators of all sizes.

Membership level

Industry Partners - $2,500.00 (USD)

Partner Level members pay one annual fee, get additional updates and invites to legislative briefings and events, and posting on our website.

Large Charter Operations - $100.00 (USD)

Subscription period: Monthly
Automatic renewal (recurring payments)

Small Operator - $50.00 (USD)

Subscription period: Monthly
Automatic renewal (recurring payments)

If you have any questions or are interested in supporting the Coalition in any way, please reach out to the MI-PTC at 734-531-7882 michiganptc@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Sean Duval, CEO Golden Limousine International

sean@goldenlimo.com

734-668-8282x1208

Chad Cushman, President Indian Trails, Inc. and Michigan Flyer

ccushman@indiantrails.com

989.723.9600

Kyle Fenton Partner -EVP KIG

kylef@getkig.com

248.765.6565

Samantha Zandee, MSW, JD

Associate Vice President

Governmental Consultant Services, Inc. (GCSI)

120 N. Washington Sq. #110

Lansing, MI 48933

Office: 517-484-6216

Cell: 517-275-6757

HB 5719 PASSES the House!

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:51:54 GMT

WE HAVE FANTASTIC NEWS TO SHARE --

The bill we've been pushing for months, House Bill 5719, has finally PASSED the State House of Representatives! There were 57 votes in support and 48 votes in opposition - 53 Republicans voted yes and 4 Democrats voted yes, 3 Republicans voted no and 45 Democrats voted no, and 5 Members were absent from the vote. If your Representative voted yes, please be sure to reach out and thank them for their crucial support of our industry! (A list of Members and their votes is below.)

A HUGE THANK YOU to every single one of you that reached out to your Legislator to encourage them to vote yes on this legislation!

The bill is now sent over to the State Senate, where it has been referred to the Senate Committee on Insurance and Banking, chaired by Senator Lana Theis. We will continue our advocacy and work with this Senate Committee.

If you are able, please get engaged! The bill has passed one Legislative Chamber and we will be advocating for the coming weeks and months for it to pass the second Chamber, but we need your help! Any financial contribution or commitment you can make to the Coalition will be critical to continue the services of this Coalition and of our effective lobby team at Governmental Consultant Services, Inc. (GCSI). Also, Coalition leadership will be calling on different businesses to meet with various Senators, help us tell our story, and enlist Senate support for this policy.

For reference, below is the list of House Members and their vote of support or opposition to our efforts. Again, please reach out to your Member(s) who voted yes and thank them for their support!

Thank you all so much!

REPRESENTATIVES:

* Aiyash (D) - NO
* Albert (R) -- YES
* Alexander (R) - YES
* Allor (R) - YES
* Anthony (D) - YES
* Beeler (R) - YES
* Bellino (R) - YES
* Berman (R) - YES
* Beson (R) - NO
* Bezotte (R) - YES
* Bolden (D) - NO
* Bollin (R) - YES
* Borton (R) - YES
* Brabec (D) - NO
* Brann (R) - YES
* Breen (D) - NO
* Brixie (D) - NO
* Cambensy (D) - absent
* Camilleri (R) - NO
* Carra (R) - YES
* B. Carter (D) - NO
* T. Carter (D) - NO
* Cavanagh (R) - NO
* Cherry (D) - NO
* Clemente (D) - NO
* Clements (R) - YES
* Coleman (D) - YES
Damoose (R) - YES
* Eisen (R) - YES
* Ellison (D) - NO
* Farrington (R) - YES
* Filler (R) - YES
* Fink (R) - YES
* Frederick (R) - YES
* Garza (D) - NO
* Glanville (D) - NO
Glenn (R) - YES
* Green (R) - NO
* Griffin (R) - YES
* Haadsma (D) - NO
* Hall (R) - YES
Harris (R) - YES
* Hauck (R) - YES
* Hertel (D) - YES
* Hoitenga (R) - YES
* Hood (D) - NO
* Hope (D) - NO
* Hornberger (R) - YES
* Howell (R) - YES
* C. Johnson (D) - NO
* S. Johnson (R) - YES
* Jones (D) - absent
* Kahle (R) - YES
* Koleszar (D) - NO
* Kuppa (D) - NO
* LaFave (R) - YES
* LaGrand (D) - NO
* Lasinski (D) - NO
* Liberati (D) - NO
* Lightner (R) - YES
* Lilly (R) - YES
* Maddock (R) - NO
* Manoogian (D) - NO
* Marino (R) - YES
* Markkanen (R) - YES
* Martin (R) - YES
* Meerman (R) - YES
* Mekoski (R) - absent
* Morse (D) - NO
* Mueller (R) - YES
* Neeley (D) - absent
* O'Malley (R) - YES
O'Neal (D) - NO
Outman (R) - YES
* Paquette (R) - YES
* Pepper (D) - NO
* Peterson (D) - NO
Pohutsky (D) - NO
* Posthumus (R) - YES
* Puri (D) - NO
* Rabhi (D) - NO
Reilly (R) - YES
* Rendon (R) - YES
* Rogers (D) - NO
* Roth (R) - YES
* Sabo (D) - NO
* Scott (D) - NO
* Shannon (D) - NO
* Slagh (R) - YES
* Sneller (D) - NO
* Sowerby (D) - NO
* Steckloff (D) - NO
* Steenland (D) - YES
* Stone (D) - NO
* Tate (D) - NO
Thanedar (D) - NO
* Tisdel (R) - YES
* VanSingel (R) - YES
* VanWoerkom (R) - YES
* Wakeman (R) - YES
* Weiss (D) - NO
* Wendzel (R) - YES
* Wentworth (R) - YES
* Whiteford (R) - YES
* Whitsett (D) - absent
* Witwer (D) - NO
Yancey (D) - NO
* Yaroch (R) - YES
* Young (D) - NO

HB 5718 5719 Update

Thu, 26 May 2022 15:55:51 GMT

Dear Coalition Members,

Your outreach and voices last week were critical to further increasing our support for House Bills 5718-5719, thank you!! Unfortunately, Speaker Wentworth elected to remove those bills from the voting agenda last week and this week. If you have not yet reached out to your Representative, please be sure to do so! We are pushing hard to have these bills re-added to the agenda for a vote in the coming weeks, and we continue to stress the need for urgent bill movement to support our industry. We will be sure to share any further updates, and we are still urging all House Members to commit to voting yes on these essential bills.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your Coalition leaders listed below, Sean Duval and Chad Cushman.

Let's continue to remind the legislators that our industry is vital to Michigan's economy and that these bills must pass!

Thank you!

Sean Duval , President

Golden Limousine
sean@goldenlimo.com
734 668 8282 x1208

Chad Cushman, President

Indian Trails & Michigan Flyer
ccushman@indiantrails.com
989.277.8047

Kyle Fenton President

KIG Insurance
kylef@getkig.com
248.765.6565

URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED TODAY!

Wed, 18 May 2022 16:00:44 GMT

Dear Coalition Members,

The House has posted for a vote on House Bills 5718-5719, which targets and addresses our industry’s urgent need for insurance rate relief. The vote is scheduled for TOMORROW, Thursday, May 19th. Please call your State House Representative and urge them to VOTE YES on these two bills. Please call them or reach out to them today! If the Representative has additional or detailed questions, PLEASE txt our lobbyist, Samantha Zandee, at 517-275-6757, with the name of the Legislator and the questions they had. You can click here to enter your address to find your House Member: https://www.house.mi.gov.

Some Representatives are trying to tie this issue to broader no fault challenges on the personal, long term care side. Encourage your Member to understand that this is an industry that supports transportation options and access, supports events, both large and small, supports our economy, supports statewide tourism, and is made up of countless small businesses around the state who employ workers and who pay taxes. Continuing to lose this industry is unacceptable, especially when there is a policy change up for a vote that can and will help ALL passenger transportation companies to stay in Michigan.

The time is now! Today and tomorrow morning is our window of opportunity to try and pass these bills out of the House.

Please call your House Member and implore them to vote YES on HBs 5718-5719.

Please reach out with any questions, and if possible, please report back if you reached out to your legislator so we can properly follow up with them.

Thank you!

Sean Duval , President
Golden Limousine
sean@goldenlimo.com
734 668 8282 x1208

Chad Cushman, President
Indian Trails & Michigan Flyer
ccushman@indiantrails.com
989.277.8047

Kyle Fenton President
KIG Insurance
kylef@getkig.com
248.765.6565

Commercial Transportation & Small Business Issue

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 19:19:25 GMT

Although this issue continues to be highly challenging, the Coalition and Governmental Consultant Services, Inc. [GCSI] are hard at work highlighting the severity of our situation to both the Legislature and to the Executive. We are now aware of an existing bill draft that would address our concerns and we anticipate bill introduction by mid-December, with a committee hearing shortly after. Thank you all for your willingness to participate when we had planned on the last bill hearing that did not come to fruition in October. The reality is that some stakeholder groups want to make this an auto no-fault issue and tie it to other unrelated challenges in the no-fault space. We continue to identify that this is a commercial transportation issue, a small business issue. That message is resonating and we are gaining momentum with the Legislature.

Please, if possible, reach out to your House and Senate Members directly and tell them about this challenge! Please let them know that GCSI and the Passenger Transportation Coalition are actively working on a fix, and to contact Samantha Zandee at GCSI to get even more information. We will keep pushing and fighting for our industry, and we need your help alongside us! You can find your State House Representative at Michigan House - Home Page<https://house.mi.gov/#findarepresentative>, and your Senate Member at Find Your Senator (michigan.gov)<https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html>. If you do reach out, please let us know how it went and who you reached out to. This will help us coordinate our efforts and identify those that are willing to fight for our industry.

Thank you for your participation in this Coalition. If you are willing to put time and/or financial support behind our efforts, please reach out to Sean Duval at 734-531-7882 or Chad Cushman at 989-277-8047.

Advocation for Insurance Reform Continues

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 17:41:39 GMT

We are excited to report that progress is being made! The Passenger Transportation Coalition [PTC] continues to advocate for legislative changes in order to address the burdensome and unsustainable cost of auto insurance in Michigan. The PTC has had multiple meetings with Representative Rendon, chair of the House Insurance Committee, and she is actively working to draft supportive legislation for our issue. The Coalition has also met with several Members of the House Insurance Committee to alert them to our industry's widespread challenges and urgent need for relief. Moreover, the PTC has discussed our issues with Senator Nesbitt, chair of Senate Regulatory Reform Committee, and Senator Horn, Chair of the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee, both of whom are very sympathetic to this plight and are keeping a close eye on the forthcoming House policy. We are continuing meetings with the rest of the House Insurance Committee, as well as a discussion with Senator Theis, Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, in order to keep moving the ball forward. We really want these Members to be aware and knowledgeable of our critical issue even before there is any hearing on a policy bill. We will continue to provide updates as things progress.

If you are able to support our efforts in any way, please reach out to Sean Duval or Chad Cushman at 734-531-7882 or michiganptc@gmail.com. It will take a unified effort to get this across the finish line, and we need all the help and support we can get!

Insurance Reform Update

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:21:00 GMT

I have promising news to report this today. Legislation is being written in Lansing to correct a few of the challenges that prevent insurance companies from writing more affordable policies in Michigan. This will increase the number of insurance companies willing to do business in Michigan, creating a competitive insurance landscape. Now is the time your help is needed. Attached you will find an outline of the changes we are looking for from our state legislators, in order to allow our companies to thrive in Michigan. Review the document and begin contacting your local State of Michigan representatives so they fully understand how current Michigan Commercial Insurance Laws are affecting your business, employees, and local economy. Don’t be dismayed if they are not fully informed of the changes coming down the pike. The insurance committee has not yet introduced the bill to the governing body; they are still working on a solid plan. If you have questions about the talking points, please send an email to michiganptc@gmail.com.
This segues into the next bit of exciting information I have to share with you. The Michigan Passenger Transportation Coalition (MPTC)has been created to allow us to all share information and be on the front side of issues that effect our businesses and industry. The plan is for the MPTC to be a fully functional, impactful association that will always fight for our industry. Right now, the sole focus of the MPTC is to bring about change to commercial insurance for passenger transportation. It is no secret that these efforts take money, a great deal of money. The firm, GCSI, has been engaged to lead our fight. They have made amazing progress and it comes at a price. We must raise $65,000.00 to continue. That covers the contractual agreement with for the insurance reform and the very modest administrative costs of the website. The website for the Michigan Passenger transportation Coalition is https://michiganptc.org/.
Today, visit the site and pledge your support. After that, contact your state lawmakers and start having a conversation with them about your business’ challenges related to commercial insurance. Don’t be get frazzled if you end up speaking with an aide, it is often the first step. Request a meeting or a call from your representative, in addition to giving the information to the aide. See the links below if you need assistance locating your lawmaker:
State of Michigan House of Representatives: https://www.house.mi.gov/mhrpublic/frmFindARep.aspx
State of Michigan Senators: https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html
We have work to do to ensure our survival in the Michigan market. I urge you to pledge and submit funds today so we can continue and win. We are in this together and your help is greatly needed – TODAY. https://michiganptc.org/

We Are Making Progress!

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 17:39:40 GMT

Thank you for your continued attention and readiness to help us in our mission of addressing Michigan’s private, for-hire transportation vehicle insurance challenges. We are making progress! The House Insurance Committee Chair, Daire Rendon (pronounced: Dare Ren-don), is working directly with Speaker Jason Wentworth’s office to obtain a draft bill that would eliminate the section of Michigan law that places liability on the for-hire vehicle insurance for all passengers. Although the draft bill is not yet fully prepared, we anticipate that it will be a great starting point to address the insurance issues that have plagued for-hire transportation companies for years.

With regard to timing/process, the bill draft may not be prepared for a few weeks yet, and official bill introduction comes after that. It is likely that Chair Rendon will hold group meetings to discuss and debate the draft once it is out, in order to ensure it is ready for a committee hearing which is estimated to be this coming fall.

We know business are barely hanging on and many of your insurance renewals are approaching. Chair Rendon has been urging the insurance companies to offer special rider coverage that could help cover companies at a lower cost for a short term, while the Legislature works to update Michigan law. We also encourage all of you to have these conversations with your insurance providers as well. Please let them know that solutions are being debated in Lansing and that relief is in reach.

There are ways to help! Support of our new coalition, the Passenger Transportation Coalition [PTC], is vital to this issue’s success; our coalition is committed to assisting this issue get across the finish line. Please contact Sean Duval or Chad Cushman at 734-531-7882 or michiganptc@gmail.com to learn more about ways to get involved.

We will continue to keep you updated and we hope you will join us in this effort to keep business open!