By: State Rep. Pauline Wendzel

As the Legislature prepares to enter the final weeks of 2021, I wanted to take a moment and provide a brief update on what’s coming down the pipeline for Southwest Michigan and our entire state.

Support for law enforcement

My colleagues and I recently detailed a comprehensive plan to support public safety personnel and better protect the people they serve – including an innovative out-of-state recruitment plan to address officer shortages at local law enforcement agencies. The $250M supplemental budget plan – focused on recruitment and retention, community outreach, and equipment upgrades – was unveiled during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.  Our first responders protect and serve our communities every day, and they deserve support from elected officials.  Calls to defund the police are wrong, and I will always vote to support our brave men and women in uniform.

Addressing the nursing shortage

Southwest Michigan is home to Lake Michigan College, a great institution that does so much to educate the people of our community and help develop our local workforce.  Just recently, House Republicans announced a plan to allow Michigan community colleges to grant bachelor’s degrees in nursing, a change to help prepare more nurses to fill the health care worker shortage.

According to the Michigan Public Health Institute, the shortage of nurses in the state is predicted to continue until at least 2030. Joined by experts from community colleges and the health care field, bipartisan House Bills 5556-5557 were unveiled and should see action in the House very soon.  Lake Michigan College and other schools are perfectly positioned to help train more nurses for hospitals all across our great state.   

Flexibility for Michigan drivers

The governor recently signed legislation that allows Michigan drivers to opt into a two-year vehicle registration rather than dealing with the Secretary of State every year. Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of Michiganders had the unpleasant experience of trying to conduct their business with the Secretary of State.  Any chance to cut burdensome government red tape is a good thing, and I’m proud we finally passed this commonsense plan.