Dear Friends,

 

  • Changes to Saginaw Secretary of State Office
  • Sunshine Week Legislation
  • House Bill 4207

 

As your representative, I am most effective at my job when acting on your input, and I encourage you to reach out to me and my staff with any questions, comments or concerns you may have about issues in the district, or legislation that will impact our state. You can contact me toll-free at (855) 347-8095, by email at vanessaguerra@house.mi.gov or through my website, guerra.housedems.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your commitment to the community we both call home.

            A new program that will streamline services at local Secretary of State offices has been introduced at the Saginaw Secretary of State located off Bay Road, and is being referred to as MI-Timeline. You can now make an appointment or hold your spot in line at SOS offices by using your phone or the internet. When your turn in line nears, you can opt to receive a text or call. You can also use red kiosks in the SOS offices to get a paper ticket or to receive a call or text. There are now three ways you can sign up for an appointment:

    • At a SOS office: Customers can get a paper ticket from the MI-TIME Line kiosk or they can enter their mobile phone number to get in line as well. Follow instructions on the kiosk screen, and you can leave to take care of other business and receive an alert when your turn is coming.

Currently, this program is only available in Saginaw County at the Saginaw SOS office, but it is being rolled out to additional offices over time. For more information, please visit: http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1640_3408_9135-315692–,00.html.

  •             Last week, I was proud to join colleagues in both chambers to introduce legislation centered on Sunshine Week, celebrated by journalists every year in order to shine more light on the inner workings of our government. House and Senate Democrats held a joint press conference to announce our plan to make Michigan a national model for transparency and accountability, which includes requiring state elected officials to disclose their personal finances, and presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on the Michigan ballot.            I am happy to support House Bill 4207, introduced by my colleague Rep. Andy Schor (D-Lansing) that would direct at least 5 percent of existing community revitalization program dollars toward developing and assisting grocery stores within urban areas. This bill would help stimulate economic growth and bring neighborhoods together by increasing access to fresh, healthy food and improving the walkability of neighborhoods.Sincerely,
  •             At the end of the day, we all want accountability for our elected officials. It is important that the people of our state feel they are able to trust those they vote into office, not only to represent the interests of the people, but to not abuse their position for personal gain. I will continue fighting to bring transparency and accountability to our state government, and make sure that is truly of, by and for the people.