By state Rep. Ryan Berman of Commerce Township 

Making state government more transparent and supporting reforms that make it easier to live and work in our state are fundamental principles I believe in as a state legislator. I’ve strived to uphold them in my first year representing residents of southeast Michigan.

Our work in the Michigan House in 2019 has improved the state in these areas – and I will continue these efforts into the new year.

I have been pushing for more disclosure in government with House Bill 5015 – my legislation requiring all departments at the state level to post salary information for the positions they employ. The Michigan House has been voluntarily providing this information for several years, and bringing all state employees under one framework is a good government practice that will give taxpayers easy access to information on where their money is going.

It’s time to turn around our state’s consistent low ranking in public access to information and integrity within state government. We shouldn’t be making people who wish to have this material go through a burdensome Freedom of Information Act process to access it.

Burdensome was also the name of the game in our state’s no-fault car insurance system before landmark reforms were signed into law earlier this year. Costs were so out of control for Michigan drivers that it forced some to operate their vehicle without insurance and knowingly break the law. That phenomenon was concerning and unacceptable, and change needed to happen to bring rate relief to drivers.

I voted for a plan to give people the freedom to select an amount of personal injury protection (PIP) coverage that best meets their financial needs. This new approach gives drivers choice and preserves live-saving benefits that have helped so many people after catastrophic accidents. The plan also puts an end to price gouging by medical providers for accident victims and combats fraud to further lower costs.

Like our no-fault reforms, pivotal updates to our criminal justice system earned the governor’s signature after seeing bipartisan support. Michigan was one of only a few states in the country to automatically treat 17-year-olds as adults when prosecuting crimes. But they aren’t treated as adults in many other instances, and studies showed their psychological development could be significantly altered when in a general prison population with older inmates.

By “raising the age” in Michigan, we more closely aligned our laws with the rest of the country and allowed for discretion to treat juveniles as adults in instances of violent crimes. We also developed sweeping reforms to help people get back on their feet by clearing criminal records for certain non-violent offenders. Those who have already done time behind bars and paid their fines shouldn’t be subjected to government red tape and a time-consuming waiver process to get their records cleared.

It bears repeating: there is, and has been, broad bipartisan support for these issues. The state budget process and the governor’s proposed 45-cent gas tax certainly took up a lot of air, but many ideas come across our desks each week on the House floor to help improve the lives of Michiganders. I’m going to diligently look into each of them and listen for more from residents in my area. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at 517-373-1799 or email [email protected]. I’m committed to making sure the voice of our communities is heard in our state legislature.

State Rep. Ryan Berman, of Commerce Township, serves residents in the 39th District, which includes the city of Wixom, Commerce Township, a portion of West Bloomfield Township and the village of Wolverine Lake.