Update From State Sen. Steve Bieda

Dear Friend,

I am pleased to send you the latest edition of my e-Newsletter. This e-Newsletter is a money-saving way for me to communicate with you and keep you informed about legislative activities. Below you will find information on upcoming events, legislation that has recently been passed by the Senate, as well as other news and updates.

Please feel free to distribute this information to others and contact my office with ideas about what we can do to better serve you. Communication with you is extremely important to me as I consider issues before the Michigan Senate.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the Michigan Senate. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

CONSUMER ALERT: UTILITY SCAM
Individuals in the Metro Detroit area should be aware of a utility scam claiming that President Obama and the federal government will pay your utility bills. All consumers need to know that no such program exists. Individuals are being contacted in person, through social media and by fliers. They are being asked to provide their Social Security number and a bank routing number. Consumers should ignore information they receive regarding this fake program and should not give any personal information to individuals claiming to work for this program. If you have already given your information to someone who is part of this scam, you should contact the police and the utility company immediately.

PROTECT YOUR HOME WHILE ON VACATION
Home burglaries can spike while residents go on vacation. To make sure your home is safe you may want to consider installing dead-bolt locks on your doors and windows. Making it time consuming to break into your home can deter burglars. Also make sure you have strong outside doors and frames, even the best locks do not work if installed on weak doors. Investing in noisy burglar alarms can also scare off intruders. Making these safety improvements can also earn discounts on your homeowners insurance. When traveling, also make sure your electronic data is safe. Turn off your computer and disconnect it from the internet to prevent hackers from accessing your personal information.

VACATION INSURANCE TIPS
It is important to have your insurance information in order and to know what to do in an emergency when traveling this summer. Before going on vacation, make sure to have your auto insurance certificate in your vehicle as well as contact information for your auto insurance provider. For those renting a vacation property, you should know what your homeowners insurance will cover while you are away. Personal property that you take on vacation such as laptops cameras or clothing are generally still covered under your primary homeowner insurance, but damages that occur to the rented property may not be. If you have an umbrella policy in place to provide excess liability coverage, the policy should automatically extend to any new property you purchase or rent. To be sure the umbrella meets your liability expectations and that there are no exclusions in the policy that might be triggered by the new property, read your policy before making your down payment. For more information please visit www.michigan.gov/ofir.

PARKS AND RECREATION
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has been helping communities across the state acquire land for resource protection and development of outdoor recreation opportunities. Several projects in our area will be receiving financing from the Trust Fund to help expand our citizens’ access to our parks. Those include Memorial Park Baseball Fields, Rentz Park, Shaw Park, Shamrock Park and Trombly Park and Warren Outdoor Education and recreation. I hope you find the time to enjoy one of these or any of the other great public parks available to us this summer.