State Rep. Kevin Cotter has recommended several state policy changes — some of which have already been implemented — since his election to the job last November .

But the first four months of the term have not been free of criticism for Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, representing Isabella County and most of mid-Michigan in the state House.

For more coverage ... State Rep. Kevin Cotter spoke with constituents at a protest last week. See the story here.

“Our district is very diverse,” said Cotter, who has lived in Mount Pleasant for 33 years. “There’s a great balance of an agricultural community and a city community.”

Cotter is currently working within appropriations on four subcommittees. He serves on the community colleges subcommittee, and is vice chairman of both supplementals and higher education and is also judiciary chairman. He handles the budgets within each subcommittee.

Lansing sophomore Virginia Bernero, president of College Democrats, said it is too early to tell how much of an impact Cotter has had while in office.

"From what we can tell he hasn't done much for constituents and the student population," Bernero said. "A lot of us are unhappy with how the budget is being handled."

Cotter's first bill, House Bill 4096, was introduced Jan. 21 and is intended to create an online database of government spending. The database would allow anyone to track Michigan’s budget in action.

With the hopes of increasing tourism and allowing people more time to hunt, Cotter introduced House Bill 4259 Feb. 15, which proposed the opening day of firearm hunting season should be moved to the Saturday closest to Nov. 15.

“We have a very low or reduced rate of recruitment for hunters,” Cotter said. “For every 100 hunters we lose in the state, we bring back 26.”

He said there is a 10-percent increase in hunter participation when opening day falls on a Saturday. Cotter said he hopes the change will introduce the activity to more people, particularly children.

The state also gets a 3-to-1 match from the federal government for every $15 hunting license it sells.

“We also see an economic impact from people traveling to hunting locations and tourism,” Cotter said.

An initiative to help residents prepare their tax returns was also pushed forward by Cotter on Feb. 24. Cotter provided a 2011 Michigan Taxpayer’s Guide and a newsletter about appealing a property tax assessment through his website.

Through Resolution 13, Cotter also declared the week of Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 as Catholic Schools Week in Michigan. The resolution was initiated to recognize the impact Catholic schools have on the community, he said.

Cotter and his wife Jennifer belong to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 302 S. Kinney Ave. He graduated in 1999 from CMU with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship and business administration and earned his master's in science in administration from CMU in 2002.

“He has a lot of great legislative ideas,” said Matt Golden, Cotter spokesman. “For CMU, having a representative for Mount Pleasant in a higher education community is beneficial for the university.”

-Staff Reporter Jordan Spence contributed to this report