2024 Senate Concurrent Resolution 19

Whereas, It is with great sorrow that the members of the Legislature learned about the passing of Nancy Cassis. She will be remembered as a dedicated public servant and leader who was committed to her constituents in the Fifteenth Senate District and Thirty-Eighth House District; and

Whereas, Nancy Cassis was born and raised in New York. She came to the Midwest to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Ohio University, from which she graduated in 1966. Afterwards she went into teaching. She came to Michigan to get a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, completing that degree in 1979, and continued her studies for an additional year to attain an education specialist degree. Thereafter, she began working as a school psychologist for Novi Community Schools; and

Whereas, Nancy got her start in elected office in 1985, when she won a seat on the Novi City Council. She served until 1993, and then returned to the City Council in 1995. In 1996, she won a special election to fill a vacancy in the House, where she served until she was elected to the Senate in 2002, serving for the next eight years in that chamber; and

Whereas, Nancy was a trailblazer throughout her time in the Legislature. She was the first woman to serve as Chair of the House Tax Policy Committee. In 1999, she was named Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators’ Association. Myriad other groups, such as the Michigan Credit Union League, Michigan Soft Drink Association, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Michigan School Psychologists, Small Business Association of Michigan, and Building Owners and Manufacturers, recognized her with awards for her contributions in the Legislature. Immediately upon her arrival in the Senate, she was named Chair of the Finance Committee, a role she would retain throughout her Senate service; and

Whereas, Nancy’s signature issue in the Legislature, as demonstrated by her pathbreaking committee service, was public finance. She sponsored Michigan’s original earned income tax credit. When the Legislature was looking for a way to replace the former Single Business Tax, she sponsored the Michigan Business Tax Act to replace it. Nancy considered her most significant achievements to be passing legislation to ensure accountability and transparency in the subsidies and tax credit programs provided by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and Michigan Film Office. Her interest in taxation extended to personal finances more generally and saw her sponsor the Social Security Number Privacy Act, a vital measure in protecting the privacy and credit rating of Michigan residents; and

Whereas, In addition to chairing the House Tax Policy Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Nancy served on many other committees in the chambers. These included the House Mental Health Committee; House Urban Policy and Economic Development Committee; House Energy and Technology Committee; House Family and Children Services Committee; House Senior Health, Security and Retirement Committee; House Redistricting and Elections Committee; Senate Education Committee; Senate Government Operations and Reform Committee; Senate Technology and Energy Committee; Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee; and Joint Select Committee on Business Competitiveness; and

Whereas, After completing her time in the Senate, Nancy retired to Florida. There, she and her husband, Victor, achieved what so many Michigan residents dream of: living near the ocean. With the backdrop of a stunning view of the Atlantic, she spent her retirement years enjoying the company of her three siblings, seven children, and 13 grandchildren; and

Whereas, Upon Nancy Cassis’s passing, we offer our condolences to her loved ones. Nancy Cassis’s contributions to the Michigan Legislature and the state of Michigan will be remembered; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That we offer this expression of our highest tribute to honor the memory of Nancy Cassis, a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002, and of the Senate from 2003 to 2010; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Cassis family as evidence of our lasting esteem for her memory.