Guest Commentary

Since putting in place HMP, Michigan’s uninsured and uncompensated care rates have substantially improved. But lawmakers must proactively address coverage and access barriers to improve enrollee outcomes.

Our local, decentralized voting system makes Michigan elections incredibly safe and secure. But costs, and the threats posed in recent elections, have risen. Democracy depends on dedicated funding for election administration.

Food pantries rely on cheap items like bread, dried pasta and tomato sauce, which provide calories but lack the nutrients of fresh produce. Everyone benefits when locally grown food is distributed at pantries and meal sites.

More than 85 percent of those in Michigan prisons will return home. What do we want that to look like? Ensuring they’re prepared for jobs once they leave makes them less likely to return and keeps communities safer.

Over $20 billion of investments in Michigan relating to EVs and solar panels are expected to add more than 13,700 jobs. But these opportunities may evaporate if investors stop trusting the U.S. government is as good as its word.

Democrats must stop measuring how much they love public education by how much taxpayers’ money they spend. We need vertically aligned public schools that hold leaders accountable for students’ academic success.

Democrats’ swift passage of gun safety, abortion rights and LGBTQ protections earned Michigan the moniker of the ‘anti-Florida.’ But the state has yet to take action to protect undocumented immigrants from regressive laws.

As political divisions escalate, Michigan must ensure polling places are safe from violence or intimidation. It is time to pass a law that bans firearms at or near polling and early voting sites, clerk’s offices and ballot drop boxes.

Michigan lawmakers are considering a 20-percent budget cut for full-time virtual schools. This threatens countless students who won’t thrive in traditional schools due to bullying, crippling anxiety or behavioral challenges.

I see families whose lives are routinely impacted by asthma and other respiratory issues. Detroit has some of the dirtiest air in the nation. It’s the government’s duty to protect the most vulnerable among us.

Michigan prosecutors oppose these bills, arguing there are already safeguards in place that make life terms without parole rare for teens convicted of murder. The pending legislation also would allow parole boards to consider release after just 10 years.

St. Clair can serve as a model in Michigan for the progress a community can make when government, philanthropy and business work as one. Listening to voices across the area is a good start.

Immigrants are a bright spot in our state’s population stagnation. We must stop thinking of new arrivals as a humanitarian challenge or domestic threat and recognize them as an integral part of our history, economy and future.

Filipino nurses aren’t the villain here; the villain is hospitals that refuse to invest in healthcare workers in their own communities, putting profits over worker retention, recruitment and respect.

Research on Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) shows that kids who have a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences as compared to children who do not attend a high-quality preschool program. They also have a greater likelihood of success in many areas throughout life, research shows.

All residents deserve safe, affordable water and the funding for water infrastructure. This requires more money, which might include state tax revenue, fees on groundwater removals for bottled water, variable utility rates and adding bottled water to the state deposit law.

Cellphones are a major cause of distracted driving accidents and deaths. Bipartisan bills requiring hands-free driving will save Michigan lives, as they have saved lives elsewhere. Please urge the Senate and governor to pass them.

Michigan has among the nation’s worst resource gaps between wealthy and low-income school districts. The Legislature is proposing historic investments. Here’s how lawmakers can do even better.

Michigan is failing to attract young, skilled workers. We need a coordinated campaign, akin to Pure Michigan, that targets urban areas in states that are passing anti-women, anti-gay, pro-gun, anti-democratic legislation.

Putting solar farms on agricultural land is meeting more resistance in rural areas. But in the emerging agrivoltaics movement, solar panels peacefully coexist with crops, allowing both to benefit from one another.