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Policy Wins: Michigan and Minnesota

MICHIGAN

In 2022, The States Project contributed 8x more than the next largest funder in Michigan, fueling new majorities in the State House and Senate. Those lawmakers took office in January — and so far, have delivered these results for working families in record time:

  • Cut taxes to save 1.3 million working families and retirees between $600-$1k each year.
  • Enacted broadly popular gun safety policies proven to make communities safer, including safe gun storage requirements, universal background checks, and a red flag policy that will keep guns out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves or others.
  • Ensured equal protection for 400,000 LGBTQ+ Michiganders from discrimination in housing, jobs and public services.
  • Protected abortion access for 2.2 million people of reproductive age by repealing Michigan’s unpopular 1931 statute criminalizing abortion care.
  • Strengthened half a million Michiganders’ right to unionize and collectively demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
  • Invested in attracting and retaining healthcare workers by increasing pay and other benefits to combat a healthcare worker shortage and improve care for all Michiganders.
  • Invested in affordable housing to reduce costs for what lawmakers call the “missing middle” — folks above the federal poverty line but who are not wealthy. For a four-person household, that’s an income range between $55,500 and $90,000.

MINNESOTA

In Minnesota, where The States Project was the largest funder in 2022, helping to flip the State Senate and protect the majority in the State House, the new trifecta has:

  • Cut taxes to save 400,000 retirees an average of $1,200 each year.
  • Moved to provide free breakfast and lunch to more than 800,000 Minnesota students.
  • Given almost 1 million workers access to paid family and medical leave to ensure no Minnesotan has to make the choice between a paycheck and taking time off to care for a new baby or a sick family member.
  • Invested $1 billion in housing to provide Minnesotans in need with rental assistance — there were 20,000 evictions in 2022 — and to ensure homeownership is an option for those who want to call Minnesota home.
  • Codified abortion rights into state law — the first state to do so in the post-Roe era — protecting access for 2.2 million Minnesotans of reproductive age. This is particularly critical for access across the Midwest, as all of the states surrounding Minnesota have enacted abortion bans.
  • Safeguarded the freedom to make personal healthcare decisions by protecting patients from other states who seek abortion care in Minnesota.
  • Enacted universal background checks for all gun sales and a red flag policy that will keep guns out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves or others.
  • Invested in clean, safe energy by enacting a climate action plan with a goal of requiring utilities to be powered by clean energy sources by 2040.
  • Ensured safe, clean drinking water in every tap by moving to replace all lead pipes in the state.
  • Strengthened our democracy by implementing automatic voter registration, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, creating a permanent absentee voting list, and restoring the right to vote for 55,000 people with felony convictions after they have served their sentences.