The motion prevailed.
Senator Johnson’s statement is as follows:
I rise to ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this supplemental. Much of the funding in this bill would be directed to help Oxford Schools, which experienced a horrific act of violence and loss last November. This took four young lives. The youngest victim—14-year-old Hana St. Juliana—was my constituent. No amount of funding will bring back those who were lost, but we must give the school the resources they need to best serve their students, teachers, and staff who were deeply affected by this tragedy.
This bill includes funding to support a school psychologist, family liaison, and a mental health coordinator. It will also help the school to implement additional safety measures. The substitute we approved today also includes grant funding which would be available to any public or private school in our state to conduct professional security assessments to help make improvements that would strengthen the safety in their schools.
As the community in Texas mourns this week—and as the families of Oxford continue to deal with the wounds and scars of last November—this bill is a concrete step this body can take to help provide needed support services to Oxford’s students and teachers; and to provide new resources to schools across our state to help them improve their security and to keep their school communities safe. I ask for my colleagues’ support .
Senator Bayer’s statement is as follows:
I want to thank my colleague from the 14th District for her remarks and helping to explain what’s in this important piece of legislation before us now. I want to thank the folks who worked on putting this together. It has taken some months to come to a final place where we’re going to support the school system in this horrible tragedy. I know it was a lot of work here; it was work down the hall; and work down in these offices behind us—yours, over there. Thank you all very much for your support on this. I appreciate a “yes” vote and I know that the Oxford community will never forget our help in this circumstance.
The following bill was read a third time:
House Bill No. 5875, entitled
A bill to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled “The social welfare act,” by amending section 109 (MCL 400.109), as amended by 2018 PA 315.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: