Noah’s Priorities for a More Resilient Michigan
Noah Arbit is committed to advancing and supporting legislation to make Michigan's economy and society stronger and more resilient for all families. In the State House, he will work to tackle Michigan's mental health crisis, particularly among youth; boost regional competitiveness, innovation, and job growth and reverse "brain drain;" invest vital resources to support our kid’s education, expand financial literacy curriculum; make Michigan a national leader in combating hate crimes; defend our constitutional rights - including the freedom to vote, the freedom to choose, and the freedom to love; as well as work to arrest climate change and protect Michigan's natural inheritance - including our lakes and water.
MENTAL HEALTH Confronting Michigan's Mental Health Crisis
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Expand access to vital, affordable mental health treatment for all Michiganders regardless of income or zip code
- Increase mental health personnel and other resources in public schools to help address Michigan’s youth mental health crisis
- Greenlight a comprehensive study on the epidemic of loneliness among seniors, and issue public policy recommendations for interventions to improve mental health among elderly residents
- Incentivize mental health practitioners educated and trained in Michigan universities to stay and practice in Michigan through partial tuition repayment programs
- Expand insurance coverage for treatments and therapies centered on addiction recovery, trauma, and behavioral health
- Increase reimbursement rates to providers and reduce red tape to incentivize greater insurance network adoption by providers, including therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists
- Reduce the barriers to mental health practitioners wishing to move to Michigan to practice by reforming Michigan’s endorsement process for psychiatrists and speeding Michigan’s accession to the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (Psypact) and Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards Agreement of Reciprocity (AOR)
- Ensure stronger compliance by the State of Michigan with federal insurance parity laws for mental and physical health (as recently as 2018, Michigan netted an “F” on mental and physical health parity)
- Support community organizations working to address the mental health needs of underserved communities, including LGBTQ+ Michiganders
ECONOMY, JOBS, & INNOVATION Building a Dynamic, Thriving Michigan for All
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Partner with local officials and community leaders to boost economic development and incentivize new business growth across the Lakes Area, with particular attention to the Orchard Lake corridor in Keego Harbor and Sylvan Lake
- Support our vibrant small business community in West Bloomfield, Commerce, and the Lakes by reducing overbearing regulatory burdens, cutting red tape, and swiftly connecting local businesses with the resources they need within state agencies
- Build support for a multi-modal rapid public transit system - including light rail - to unite Oakland County and the entire Metro Detroit region as one dynamic, interconnected regional economy and attract young people across the country
- Implement a fair and manageable tax structure that generates enough revenue to adequately fund the quality services Michiganders desire without unduly burdening families
- Protect workers’ rights and dignity, including the right to organize and collectively bargain, as well as repealing the right-to-work law and Governor Snyder’s unfair retirement tax
- Invest in workforce development, apprenticeship, and training programs to ensure our workforce is fully equipped to help Michigan compete and harness the opportunities of a rapidly changing global economy
- Work with local, county, and state partners and community leaders to develop closer trade links between Oakland County and high-tech markets housing firms seeking to invest in our region, including South Korea, Israel, and the European Union
- Advocate for the Lakes Area - particularly Commerce Township’s industrial corridor - in efforts led by the Oakland County Executive’s Office to incentivize defense firms to locate in Oakland County
- Pursue grant funding to help establish a community-wide public art competition to showcase dynamic local artists from diverse backgrounds, beautify our public spaces, and attract visitors from across the state
- Reverse the impacts of “brain drain,” by attracting young people educated in Michigan to stay in Michigan to build their careers and families
HEALTH, FAMILIES, & SENIORS Strengthening Families and Supporting Seniors
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Protect safe and legal reproductive care everywhere in the State of Michigan, including by signing on as an original co-sponsor of the Michigan Reproductive Health Care Act the day it is introduced
- Repeal Michigan’s egregious 1931 “snap-back” abortion ban, which would criminalize any Michigander aiding or performing an abortion in the event Roe v. Wade is struck down by the Supreme Court
- Help reduce the rising costs of vital prescription medications for all Michiganders, including senior Michiganders, and make it easier to receive those prescriptions via online delivery
- Reverse the egregious, glaring failures of the 2019 Auto No Fault Reform and do everything humanly possible to fulfill our promise to protect and care for vulnerable Michiganders with catastrophic injuries
- Hold DTE and other utility companies accountable for all cessations of service to Michigan households, ensure that consumers are compensated, and ensure energy security for all Michigan families
- Finally repeal Republicans’ egregious retirement tax on seniors and restore the value of a career devoted to public service
- Address the increasingly unaffordable cost of child care and long-term care for loved ones, seniors, and developmentally disabled Michiganders, which places far too many families in a bind
- Boost assistance for senior living and long-term care facilities and ensure all residents enjoy a high quality of life by holding facilities accountable to meeting rigorous quality of care benchmarks
- Streamline standards and address pay inequities for direct care workers, home-care workers, and childcare workers
HATE CRIMES & EXTREMISM Strengthening Michigan’s Hate Crimes Law and Countering Violent Extremism
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Make Michigan the national leader in combating and prosecuting hate crimes by implementing a multidimensional, innovative approach to reforming existing laws and implementing new ones
- Expand the scope of protected classes covered by Michigan’s antiquated, 1980s era “ethnic intimidation” statute to include sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, real or perceived physical or mental disability, age, citizenship or immigration status, and language
- Introduce and pass a standalone statute criminalizing vandalism targeting religious and communal institutions and property, including houses of worship
- Pass a sentence enhancement statute for crimes motivated by hate or bias to provide local prosecutors an additional, more flexible tool in their arsenal to ensure perpetrators of hate crimes are held accountable
- Mandate cultural competency education as a component of hate crime sentences, which has seen success in a number of other states
- Increase funding and training for law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices in identifying potential hate crimes when they occur and, critically, interfacing with victims of hate crimes in the course of an investigation
- Increase penalties for those convicted of hate crimes and eliminate structural features of Michigan’s existing law that disincentivize prosecutors from charging hate crimes more frequently
- Champion expanded resources for community organizations such as the ADL, NAACP, and Equality Michigan that are dedicated to rooting out racism, antisemitism, homophobia, bigotry, and all forms of hate and extremism in our communities
DEMOCRACY & RIGHTS Safeguarding Democracy, Constitutional Rights, and Improving Governance
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Protect safe and legal reproductive care everywhere in the State of Michigan, including by signing on as an original co-sponsor of the Michigan Reproductive Health Care Act the day it is introduced in the State House
- Repeal Michigan’s egregious 1931 “snap-back” abortion ban, which would criminalize any Michigander aiding or performing an abortion in the event Roe v. Wade is struck down by the Supreme Court
- Amend Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ+ Michiganders from employment, housing, and other forms of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression
- Defend the constitutional right of every Michigander to have their voice heard at the ballot box through free and fair elections
- Thwart efforts by Republican extremists and legislators to implement voter suppression laws and starve municipal clerks and elections officials of the resources necessary to deliver swift and accurate vote counts to the public
- Vocally combat purveyors of the “Big Lie” who undermine confidence in our democracy by making false, dangerous claims of election fraud
- Institute campaign finance reform measures, including amending contribution caps to rebalance the proportion of funds campaigns can receive from real people as opposed to PACs (political action committees) and special interests
- Support Michigan’s entry into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) to ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote also receives the most electoral votes
EDUCATION Empowering Students and Educators to Reach Their Fullest Potential
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Sustainably increase public school funding across the board to ensure every kid in every ZIP code has access to a quality K-12 education, including funding for the arts and extracurricular enrichment
- Address Michigan’s crisis in teacher, paraprofessional, and school support staff recruitment and retention by increasing benchmark salaries, offering competitive benefits packages, and implementing retention bonuses for educators
- Ensure educators have a voice at the policymaking table in Lansing
- Expand opportunities by investing in continuing education for adults and seniors as individuals progress along their careers and incentivize employers to defray costs for classes as a benefit for employees
- Work towards developing universal a pre-kindergarten program to ensure all young children have access to enrichment in the most critical early years of development
- Implement a financial literacy curriculum requirement for high school seniors to teach basic functions of contemporary financial life, including navigating insurance markets, credit, investment, taxes, and more
- Increase mentorship opportunities for young adults in our communities by establishing partnerships between school districts and local businesses, organizations, and institutions
- Discontinue sending public funds to for-profit schools and hold charter schools accountable to the same measures of performance as public schools
- Address the increasingly unaffordable cost of higher education for young people by returning to pre-2008 levels of public university funding in the state budget
- Pressure the federal government to expand Pell grants and non-interest bearing loans to university students and provide some semblance of debt relief for Michiganders with student loans
ENVIRONMENT & WATER Protecting Our Lakes, Climate, and Natural Resources
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Establish access to clean drinking water in every household in every community in the State of Michigan as a human right protected in the state Constitution
- Hold corporate polluters accountable for egregious harm to our precious natural resources
- Eradicate use of industrial chemicals and contaminants like PFAS that seep into our lakes, waterways, and drinking water
- Pass a resolution in the Legislature to formally declare the climate crisis a statewide emergency in Michigan
- Continue fixing Michigan’s roads, bridges, and dams, and invest in strong, clean infrastructure built to last
- Cease the outsourcing of state regulatory and compliance audits on environmentally critical infrastructure to the same corporations managing these sites
- Support implementation of Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan to make Michigan a carbon-neutral economy by 2050
- Expand electric vehicle (EV) charging point stations across West Bloomfield, Commerce, and the Lakes
- Pursue flooding mitigation measures to more proactively prepare, protect our communities, and keep residents safe
- Adequately fund the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to ensure increased protections of our natural resources, environment, and Great Lakes
- Partner with local officials to advocate for additional funding to maintain our community’s beautiful system of public parks and trails, including increased safety mechanisms along the West Bloomfield and Air Line Trails
- Bring together state, county, and municipal officials to address the ongoing problem of maritime patrol on Cass Lake and ensure the protection of residential properties and the safety of all recreants
SMART & EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL Building Safer, More Resilient Communities
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Increase funding and support for cost-saving and effective diversion programs and interventions, including veterans’ treatment courts, drug treatment courts, and mental health courts, particularly for juvenile offenders
- Eliminate Michigan’s unjust, ineffective, and costly cash bail system and replacing it with a public safety risk assessment of the level of threat (or lack thereof) posed by a defendant to public safety and making that risk assessment the main determinant of whether a defendant should be held in jail pending trial or released pending trial
- Pass safe storage laws, red flag laws, and robust criminal background checks for firearm purchase and ownership in the State of Michigan to reduce gun violence and protect public safety
- Declare gun violence a public health crisis in the State of Michigan
- Sustain necessary funding for first responders who keep our towns safe and healthy
- Provide funding for mental health responders to attach to local police units and provide vital expertise in responding to incidents potentially involving individuals suffering mental health issues
- Pursue common-sense accountability and transparency measures for law enforcement agencies, including greater emphasis on de-escalation
- Banning the use of ineffective and dangerous physical maneuvers, such as choke-holds
- Share the lessons learned from the success of the West Bloomfield Police Department, which has become the gold standard for responsible, effective, and professional policing and law enforcement in the State of Michigan
- Address the issue of maritime patrol and recreational safety on Cass Lake
COMMUNITY & REPRESENTATION Ensuring Accessible, Responsive, Transparent, and Community-Focused Leadership
As State Representative, Noah will work tirelessly to:
- Run a responsive, constituent-centered office in Lansing that seamlessly connects constituents with the resources they need in state government and responds to residents’ concerns on local and state issues swiftly, efficiently, and effectively
- Host one public coffee hour each week and one town hall each month to ensure constituents across West Bloomfield, Commerce, and the Lakes maintain consistent access to their representative
- Attend township and city board meetings regularly to provide legislative updates to local leaders and residents
- Be present at community events, celebrations, and functions to consistently and constantly engage members of the community and build strong relationships
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