Dana's Dispatch: Reduced Utility Rates, Airline Infrastructure Investments, the National Robocall Summit & More!

--------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan A.G. Urges Michiganders to Protect Their Data While Using Period and Fertility Tracking Mobile Apps Until we can codify into law the right to control our reproductive health, I urge Michigan residents to protect their data while using fertility and period tracking apps. Your private information about your menstrual cycle is none of the government's damn business. Attorney General Dana Nessel put out a consumer alert Wednesday urging Michiganders to protect their data when using period and fertility tracking apps. While abortion remains legal in Michigan thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by a Michigan judge in May. Nessel says she’s concerned law enforcement could obtain a search warrant to gather evidence from a health app and use it as evidence against a woman who got an abortion. Nessel says law enforcement should not be able to view private medical information to build a case against a woman who received an abortion illegally. She calls it an invasion of privacy that could scare not only women seeking an abortion, but couples trying to start a family. “I know a lot of couples that have actually been trying to conceive and they’re afraid to now. Because they don’t know, ‘what if I have a miscarriage, am I going to be investigated for that,'” Nessel continues. “It’s not the kind of thing you want to think of when it’s just you and your spouse and you’re trying to have a baby.” She says she hopes the people get to decide this upcoming election. The Reproductive Freedom For All will be submitting over 800,000 signatures on Monday to put the right to abortion on the state’s November ballot. [READ MORE]( Zachariah Wheaton, 9 and 10 News (July 10, 2022) Michigan A.G. Urges Michiganders to Protect Their Data While Using Period and Fertility Tracking Mobile Apps Retrieved from: [Michigan A.G. Urges Michiganders to Protect Their Data While Using Period and Fertility Tracking Mobile Apps]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Pete Buttigieg says $8.68M will help Grand Rapids airport handle more travelers American consumers are returning to air travel, & MI is no exception. As Chair of the Consumer Protection Aviation Committee, I joined Sec. Pete Buttigieg to highlight how federal funding can improve the infrastructure at facilities like the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Photo courtesy of Joel Bissell, MLive U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was in West Michigan on Monday to highlight an $8.68 million federal grant that will help fund Gerald R. Ford International Airport’s concourse expansion. “This grant is going to help to fund eight new passenger boarding bridges so that this airport is able to handle more travelers and so that they can walk or roll more comfortably from their gate to their plane,” Buttigieg said. “It’s going to allow Grand Rapids to accommodate that increasing passenger growth and support the economic opportunity that is emerging across West Michigan.” Construction on the expansion is underway, and the press conference Monday with remarks from Buttigieg, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Kent County Board Chair Stan Stek was held in front of the site, with workers busy in the background. “The investment couldn’t come at a more urgent time, because as we’re emerging from the most recent stages of the pandemic people are returning to the air to see their loved ones and that’s great news: we’re delighted to see more passengers than we have had in a long time choosing America’s aviation system,” he said. “But we’re also seeing how airlines have struggled to meet that demand.” In Michigan, other grant recipients include Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which will receive $49.6 million to replace passenger boarding bridges, update public bathrooms and install new baggage claim belts, and Flint Bishop International Airport, which will receive $3.5 million to replace the existing terminal roof. [READ MORE]( Michael Kransz, MLive (July 11, 2022) Pete Buttigieg says $8.68M will help Grand Rapids airport handle more travelers Retrieved from: [Pete Buttigieg says $8.68M will help Grand Rapids airport handle more travelers]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Warren Man Faces Five Felonies In Connection To Sex Trafficking A Minor Let this case be a reminder that regardless of how many years have passed, our team will always fight for survivors of abuse. We remain committed to securing justice. A man from Warren has been charged with sex trafficking a minor and faces five felonies, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday. James Earl Madison-Cranford, 28, was arraigned on the following charges in Oakland County’s 46th District Court: minor sex trafficking, a 20-year felony; prostitution – accepting earnings, a 20-year felony; prostitution – transporting female, a 20-year felony; conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a 15-year felony. Officials say that in 2017 the Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Task Force received information about a minor being sex trafficked. The task force immediately began investigating, which included responding to an advertisement online in an undercover operation, which led to the rescue of the minor. Madison-Cranford’s was given a $900,000 cash/surety bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 20. [READ MORE]( Sara Powers, CBS Detroit (July 12, 2022) Warren Man Faces Five Felonies In Connection To Sex Trafficking A Minor Retrieved from: [Warren Man Faces Five Felonies In Connection To Sex Trafficking A Minor]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan AG backs federal rule to regulate ghost guns Ghost guns, which are commonly used in homicides, continue to proliferate on our streets and we must close the dangerous loophole that keeps them from being subject to the same regulations as other firearms. I stand with my colleagues in supporting this new common-sense rule. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 20 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting a new federal rule regulating ghost guns. Ghost guns are unserialized weapons that are often made at home from weapon parts kits or partially complete frames and receivers that can be purchased without background checks. The rule would help ensure that buyers pass background checks before they can purchase the kits. It would also help law enforcement trace any self-made guns that are used in a crime. It would also limit gun traffickers’ ability to distribute weapons. “On average, more than 1,200 Michigan residents die each year from gun violence,” Nessel said. “Ghost guns continue to proliferate our streets and I have been asking ATF to close the dangerous loophole that keeps these weapons from being subject to the same regulations as other firearms. So I gladly stand with my colleagues in supporting this new common-sense rule.” ATF’s Final Rule regulates ghost guns by clarifying definitions in the Gun Control Act. The Final Rule makes it clear that weapons parts kits and partially complete frames and receivers are “firearms” under the act. That would make them subject to the same background check requirements as conventionally manufactured guns. [READ MORE]( Kayla Clarke, Click on Detroit (July 12, 2022) Michigan AG backs federal rule to regulate ghost guns Retrieved from: [Michigan AG backs federal rule to regulate ghost guns]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Nessel, Consumers Energy reach settlement limiting rate increase for natural gas Michigan consumers cannot afford a double-digit energy cost increase at a time when household budgets are already strained. With this $100M settlement, my office nears $2B saved on behalf of Michigan ratepayers & reaffirms our commitment to affordable energy in this state. A settlement involving Consumers Energy has been reached that will save money for natural gas customers in Michigan. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office tells us the energy company sought to increase revenue by about $278.4 million per year in a request filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). Under those conditions, customers would have paid an additional 12.5% for natural gas, the state explains. Nessel filed testimony asking the MPSC to lower the energy service provider’s rate increase by $140 million; the settlement ultimately resulted in a $100 million reduction, a 40% decrease. The state says the newly approved settlement will allow Consumers Energy to make the upgrades and repairs it needs while also maintaining sensible gas rates for customers. “Michigan consumers cannot afford a double-digit energy cost increase at a time when household budgets are already strained,” says Nessel. “I am committed to continuing to use the resources of my office to ensure increases are limited to what is absolutely necessary to help ensure reliability.” [READ MORE]( Fox 17, Fox 17 (July 13, 2022) Nessel, Consumers Energy reach settlement limiting rate increase for natural gas Retrieved from: [Nessel, Consumers Energy reach settlement limiting rate increase for natural gas]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Beware more spam texts: Michigan AG, experts talk robocall increase, enforcement In 2019, my office launched the nation's first Robocall Task Force — pursuing aggressive litigation, releasing PSAs, & hosting 2 national summits to address the scams. We've made a dent, but our work is far from over. Visit to learn more or report a call. Photo courtesy of MI Department of Attorney General on Twitter No one with a phone is immune to robocalls, those pesky automated messages that can fool and defraud. And neither is Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s 81-year-old mother. “I’m the top law enforcement official in this state, I am the top consumer advocate in this state, and I can’t help my own mother sometimes, because I can’t remove the phone from her hand,” Nessel said Wednesday at a robocall summit hosted by the National Association of Attorneys General. Michiganders receive more than 1 billion robocalls annually, and Nessel’s office has been fighting back. She started a robocall crackdown team in 2019, combining initiatives that include working with service providers and federal agencies, publishing known scams and setting up phone lines monitored by trained investigators. Nessel said her office has engaged in “a massive amount of litigation,” like joining interstate coalitions to shut down operations. That includes stopping a massive telefunding operation last year based in Oakland County. Scammers bombarded more than 2.2 million Michigan phone numbers with about 35 million calls asking for fake charity donations. Nessel also applauded a bill introduced last month in the state legislature to expand the definition of an illegal call and regulate unsolicited text messages. “We’re all working together to make sure that people like my mom don’t have that issue anymore,” she said. [READ MORE]( Ben Orner, MLive (July 13, 2022) Beware more spam texts: Michigan AG, experts talk robocall increase, enforcement Retrieved from: [Beware more spam texts: Michigan AG, experts talk robocall increase, enforcement]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan AG relaunches consumer power outage feedback form Consumer feedback is invaluable as we continue to advocate for consumers before the Michigan Public Service Commission. Residents deserve reliable service and speedy restoration when outages occur. File complaints via the Attorney General's office website or call 877-765-8388. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has relaunched an online form to gather consumer feedback about power outages to assist with the office’s continued advocacy before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The short, five minute form, available on the Department of Attorney General website, gives consumers the opportunity to supply the AG’s office with information about the length of an outage and their restoration experience. “Summertime in Michigan should not correlate with expected and prolonged outages,” Nessel said. “Residents deserve reliable service and speedy restoration when outages occur." First launched last summer, the form was designed to better understand the impact that extended outages have on consumers. Feedback from last year was used in the comments filed before the MPSC in October. Consumer participation allowed Nessel to play a pivotal role in saving consumers more than $100 million by securing a 40% reduction in Consumers Energy’s gas rate increase. Nessel’s office will also be able to review consumer alerts related to flooding and power outages, including researching contractors if home repairs are needed before paying for a project and alerting drivers of water-damaged vehicles being sold on the used car market. [READ MORE]( Alisha Dixon, WXYZ (July 15, 2022) Michigan AG relaunches consumer power outage feedback form Retrieved from: [Michigan AG relaunches consumer power outage feedback form]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for being a part of Dana's re-election campaign! Sending emails is a crucial way to keep supporters like you updated on Dana's fight for justice and progress. Plus, this campaign is fueled by grassroots supporters like you! [Will you chip in today to join Dana in the fight for a better tomorrow?]( [CHIP IN TO RE-ELECT DANA NESSEL >>]( KEEP IN TOUCH WITH DANA: Any donor history information in this email reflects what we have on file for this specific email address. If you have donated with a different email address, with a check, or with a spouse – thank you so much. We have that on file and cannot thank you enough for your support. Paid for by Friends of Dana Nessel Friends of Dana Nessel P.O. Box 11141 Lansing, MI 48901 United States This email was sent to: {EMAIL}. [unsubscribe](