Hall says Michigan’s Public Safety Trust Fund next priority for House Republicans

Having passed a Republican-led plan to fund repairing Michigan’s crumbling roads through the state House, pending negotiations to get the Democratic-led state Senate on board with the plan, House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has his eyes set on the Public Safety Trust Fund that didn’t make it to the finish line last session.

A $75 million Public Safety Trust Fund allocation in the state budget to fund local law enforcement initiatives and community violence prevention programming gained bipartisan support in the Michigan legislature last session, but the bills that would have created the fund itself were left behind in the chaos of the final days of the previous session in 2024.

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Public safety is a priority of the new Republican majority of the Michigan state House, Hall said during a news conference Wednesday and that safety is ensuring roads and other infrastructure are properly maintained and local communities have the funds to support tailored approaches to safety. When the House returns from its spring break in April, Hall says the Public Safety Trust Fund will be the body’s top priority.

“We can invest more in our local communities by, for the first time in the history of Michigan, investing state dollars in our local communities for public safety,” Hall said.

House Bills 4260 and 4261, introduced earlier this month, would create the fund, dedicating $75 million to local safety efforts, along with additional funds coming from sales tax revenue to support grant programs for community violence prevention resources. The bills have bipartisan sponsorship.

Lawmakers are working with community leaders to ensure the formula for distributing funds works well for communities where the need is greatest, Hall said, noting that legislators have engaged with Detroit’s Mayor Mike Duggan, who was a vocal supporter of the fund last session.

In Detroit, one arena where the city had planned to use the fund is the ShotStoppers program as federal dollars expire after the city reported drops in violent crime up to 83% where programs were implemented. Created through a $10 million investment from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, ShotStoppers utilizes performance grants to community organizations to develop and implement violence reduction initiatives.