Speaker-elect Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, is state representative for the 42nd House District, which includes portions of Kalamazoo and Allegan counties.
Michigan’s retailers bring to our communities the goods that local families need. You deserve a state government that protects your businesses from theft and doesn’t overburden you with high taxes and excessive regulations.
In January, Republicans will regain the majority in the Michigan House of Representatives. As speaker of the House, I will continue my track record of supporting policies that foster a growing economy and safer communities so that you, your employees, and your customers can thrive.
During my time in the House, I’ve worked to tackle the serious problem of retail theft. In 2022, I supported funding that created a dedicated unit in the Department of Attorney General to investigate and prosecute organized retail crime. I also voted for legislation that added organized retail crime to our racketeering laws – allowing tougher penalties to punish thieves and deter others from stealing from retailers in the future. On top of that, I co-sponsored new laws to catch the criminals who sell stolen goods online. These laws require online retail sites to maintain a verified list of large-volume third-party sellers with identifying and contact information for each seller. All these changes have provided investigators and prosecutors tools to crack down on retail looters. It makes more sense to lock up criminals than force you all to lock up products on the shelf. The new House Republican majority will look to build on these successes and strengthen crime prevention even further.
I’ve also worked to provide a fair, affordable tax and regulatory environment so retailers can succeed. For example, I’ve consistently opposed efforts to let local governments jack up property taxes on retailers. Some bad actors have already tried to manipulate the system to assess store property value too high. The Michigan Tax Tribunal has overturned most of these attempts because retailers spent time and money to appeal the unfair assessments. Some legislators have proposed changing the law to legalize this excessive taxation, but you can rest assured that those efforts won’t go anywhere when I’m speaker of the House. Instead, I’ll make fostering a better business climate a priority in the House.
Whether you sell food, books, tools, toys, other merchandise, or all of the above, the new House Republican majority will work to make Michigan a better state for retailers to do business.
