By: State Rep. Pauline Wendzel

As the new Chairwoman of the Commerce and Tourism Committee, my goal is to listen to residents of our community about what I can do to make their lives better and work with my colleagues to turn those ideas into real solutions. 

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the vice-chair of my committee and listen to some of his constituents about issues facing Traverse City.  For being three and a half hours away, it’s surprising how many shared challenges our communities face.  From access to childcare to affordable housing to lack of reliable broadband, these issues are not only front and center in Berrien County but also across the entire state.   

Access to childcare was among the most important issues facing working families in Michigan before the pandemic, and it certainly remains so now.  I made this an issue when I was running for re-election in 2020, and I’m proud that the House has passed several reforms and created a bold new strategy to expand access in our state.  Some of the bipartisan reforms will:

·      Offer enhanced reporting requirements and more concise regulation to let high-quality providers thrive while bad actors are held accountable;

·      Expand access in areas where families live and work by offering a safe path for providers to utilize multi-use buildings; and

·      Help parents access health and safety information by allowing providers to share certain records online.

My committee will also look into the housing situation and find ways to improve affordability in our state.  Right now, our companies are having a hard time recruiting talented individuals to move to Michigan simply because we lack available homes in our communities.  We also risk losing our local talent if they’re unable to find good housing and are poached to go out of state.  If Michigan wants to be competitive with our surrounding states, we must tackle this issue.

There’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m excited about the challenge! The people of Southwest Michigan have a strong advocate as the chairwoman of this committee, and I look forward to delivering real results for our community.