Two Southwest Michigan area legislators have put Governor Gretchen Whitmer on full blast after she used her veto pen Wednesday on legislation that would have expanded access to rural broadband, an issue that has troubled area businesses and residents for years. 
State Rep. Pauline Wendzel, a co-sponsor of House Bill 4210, blasted the governor’s veto saying that the legislation would have lowered costs for service providers by exempting them from personal property taxes on broadband equipment under certain conditions. The legislation would have incentivized investments in rural communities leading to more people gaining access to high-speed internet throughout Michigan’s Great Southwest and the rest of the state as well.
Wendzel says, “While Gretchen Whitmer and big city Democrats enjoy access to this basic necessity, far too many people find themselves lacking access to high-speed internet,” and adds, “I can’t even begin to count how many times I had to leave my house and drive into the city just to complete a Zoom or conference call.”
Wendzel contends, “By vetoing this legislation, Governor Whitmer is telling rural Michigan that she doesn’t care that your kids are falling behind in school, that you’re out of luck if you run a small business, and that you don’t deserve access to a basic necessity she enjoys.”
Rep. Wendzel concludes, “I’d ask my constituents to send the governor an email, but their internet is too slow.”
Meanwhile, Wendzel’s colleague, fellow State Representative Beth Griffin from Mattawan, who sponsored the measure, concurs that the governor’s veto hurts rural Michigan families and businesses, essentially denying them critical increased access to broadband-based Internet service in under-served areas.
Griffin argues, “The governor stresses the importance of increasing access to broadband, but when it came time to actually do something about it, she failed to help people in our rural communities,” adding, “People need high-speed internet in all areas of the state – not just big cities and booming suburbs – and the COVID pandemic has dramatically accelerated this need. With this veto, the governor is hurting people in under-served areas of the state – patients who can’t get to a doctor and need telehealth options, kids who are relying more and more on online learning, and workers forced to do their jobs from home. These Michigan families face a connectivity crisis, and the governor refused to help them at a time they needed it most. I will continue to fight for our students, businesses, and families who were left behind as a result of this veto.”
Broadband service is generally defined as high-speed, always available Internet access. It is costly to install – which is a problem in rural areas, which often have so few customers that companies do not see a return on investment.
Griffin’s measure would lower costs for companies like Bloomingdale Communications by exempting them from personal property taxes on broadband equipment under certain conditions – and only in areas with slow Internet speeds.
