LANSING – State Representatives Andy Coulouris (D-Saginaw) and Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee) today announced that State Representative George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, will convene a hearing next week on Secretary of State branch closures.
Planned closures include offices in Buena Vista Township in Saginaw County and Milan in Washtenaw County. Coulouris and Angerer sent a letter to Cushingberry this week urging him to convene a meeting of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Investigations so that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land can publicly explain the process she used in determining which branches to close.
The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8, in Room 352 of the State Capitol Building, located on Capitol Avenue in downtown Lansing. Individuals providing written testimony should bring at least 15 copies for distribution.
"I am pleased that Chairman Cushingberry responded so quickly to the request for a hearing into Secretary Land's poorly considered decisions to close these Secretary of State branches," Coulouris said. "Our residents deserve a full accounting of why the Buena Vista Township branch has been targeted for closure, forcing residents to travel greater distances for the most basic state services."
More than 200 people recently rallied at the Buena Vista Community Center to call on Land to reverse her decision to transfer resources from the Buena Vista branch to the Saginaw Township branch.
Angerer has urged the Secretary of State to reconsider the decision to close the branch in Milan.
"Convening this hearing is the right thing to do for our communities," Angerer said. "The Milan office location serves residents from Monroe, Wayne, Washtenaw and Lenawee counties. I look forward to hearing Secretary Land explain the process and data she used to justify closing down such a strategically located branch."