ABOUT JENNIFER CONLIN:
Rep. Jennifer Conlin is serving her second term as state representative for House District 48, which comprises the northernmost precincts in the city of Ann Arbor, the townships of Ann Arbor, Dexter, Genoa, Hamburg, Northfield, Waterloo, Webster, Lyndon and Putnam, and the village of Pinckney.
She is a wife, mother, daughter, caregiver and Washtenaw County native. Her family has a long legacy of public service in city, county and state governments, and continues to serve on the judicial bench to this day. During her decades-long career as a journalist, she had the opportunity to meet people all over the world and share their stories. For the last 12 years, she has been covering Michigan news, writing about small businesses, tourism, health care, arts and culture and economic development. She believes her profession has uniquely prepared her to be a state legislator who listens to all sides of an issue, finds common ground and amplifies the voices of her community.
Rep. Conlin understands real-life issues. She and her husband made the important decision to return to Ann Arbor to be closer to family, including her aging parents. Since then, they have lived in a multigenerational home. She has watched her children struggle to pay off their student loans, saw her mother worry about the rising cost of prescription drugs and, as an independent contractor for most of her career, experienced the challenges of running a small business.
As a state representative, her legislative priorities include strengthening infrastructure, protecting Michigan’s natural resources, improving health care access and affordability, increasing school safety, recruiting and retaining teachers, and strengthening the economy.
ABOUT LISA WOZNIAK:
Lisa’s career spans over two decades of environmental and conservation advocacy in the political arena. She is a nationally- recognized expert in non-profit growth and management and a leader in Great Lakes protections. Lisa is a three-time graduate from the University of Michigan, with a bachelor's degree and two ensuing master's degrees in social work and Education.
Lisa serves a co-host and content partner in 89.1 WEMU's '1st Friday Focus on the Environment.'
RESOURCES:
Michigan League of Conservation Voters
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to another year of First Friday Focus on the Environment. I'm David Fair, and I think we all enter 2026 with high hopes, but also with the understanding there's going to be significant challenges to work our way through. For about 30 years now, we've spent the first Friday of each month taking a look at vital environmental issues that impact our state and county. For most of our first Friday years, I've had the pleasure of co-hosting with Lisa Wozniak. She is the executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and with us again in 2026. And Happy New Year to you, Lisa!
Lisa Wozniak: Happy New Year to you too, Dave! And I do think you're right. There is much to look forward to in this coming year, but there will undoubtedly be challenges, which will require a lot of work from all different sectors of our state and our county. And as we make our way through 2026, I know you and I are committed to addressing those challenges and whatever opportunities come our way on this show. So, today, our guest represents much of the listening area in our state Capitol. Jennifer Conlin is a Democrat from Ann Arbor and serves the 48th district in the State House of Representatives. Thank you so much for joining us today! And Happy New Year to you, Representative Conlin!
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Thank you so much for asking me to be here, Dave and Lisa! I'm so happy to be talking about this very important issue throughout the state, but very much so in my district.
David Fair: You know, one of the biggest issues we're going to deal with in 2026 on both the environmental and economic fronts is the matter of data centers. In Washtenaw County alone, Saline Township is about to become home to a major center. There's another proposed center in Augusta Township, and the U of M and Los Alamos National Laboratory are planning a massive supercomputing center in Ypsilanti Township. They won't call it a data center, but the environmental concerns are just the same. Knowing that Governor Gretchen Whitmer is in full support of making Michigan a home to such facilities, what role do you think the state should play in limiting the environmental impacts that these centers may have?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Well, I did sign on to the letter that a lot of other representatives signed on to as well that was sort of asking the Michigan Public Service Commission to take a look at this situation in Saline more closely and allow public hearings. But in the end, I think, as we know, that happened last week. They have approved that data center coming in Saline. But they have also said that DTE must agree to absorb a financial hit if there is one in terms of the rate going up. So, part of me thinks that's a bit of a compromise. I know they are trying to do things in a more environmental way. It's hard for us, and as you point out, the governor's in favor with the workforce issues we have and the need we have for innovation in our state to sort of say a blanket "no" to data centers. But communities have to have a say of what happens in their backyards. And I feel strongly about that and also know exactly whether the water will be affected, whether their electricity rates will go up. And the environmental concerns have to be addressed.
Lisa Wozniak: So, you touch on one of the key issues, which is affordability. Affordability is an issue across the board. And with the proliferation of these data centers in Michigan and here in our county, we've been told that utility ratepayers will be held harmless for the massive energy upgrades necessary to support them. What are the real assurances that we have that there's truth to this assertion?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Yes. I think that we don't really know for sure what's going to happen with these rates. And it's a big issue as we know for everybody, including myself. I live in a multi-generational home, and my DTE bills have gone up and up and up in the last 15 years that I've lived here. So, it's been something I've noticed personally. And I did take the utility challenge that MLCD has put forward to not accept any money from DTE or consumers because I do feel strongly about addressing the fact that we are all paying way too much to have what should be a human right of electricity.
David Fair: So, how should state lawmakers balance that need for infrastructure investment with protecting rate payers from further financial strain when it comes to our energy costs?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Yeah. Well, I think that's where we've seen the MPSC coming in and trying to come up with some compromises. We're a large tent, as you know, on the Democratic side. So, even though I personally had voted "no" against the legislation around data centers that exempted them from sales and use taxes, others did not, and that did pass. And so, we do have a lot of members, obviously on the other side of the aisle as well, who believe that we need these data centers and that we need the jobs and for construction, even though it's not a ton of jobs because they go up quite quickly. So, I think it's going to be something we're going to be talking more and more about. And then, the Saline one is one example, but now we've got a big conflict over what's happening with the data center in Ypsilanti the University of Michigan is behind.
David Fair: WEMU's First Friday focus on the environment conversation with State Representative Jennifer Conlin continues. The other voice you hear this morning is that of my co-host Lisa Wozniak. She's from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
Lisa Wozniak: So, Representative Conlin, climate change and environmental justice are increasingly tied to economic stress for families. And so, in your view, how do these issues intersect with affordability, particularly for low-income and front-line communities all across the state?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Yeah. Well, now, obviously, I worked with Senator Chang the last term, State Senator Chang, on the statewide water affordability program. And we did not get that over the finish line, but it's back now. And these bills would put a cap on water bills for low-income Michigan households. It would forgive up to $1,500 of an individual's water debt each year for the first two years of participation and then forgive all debt after two years of participation. And that includes additional shutoff protections. I mean, we have got to help people. As I said earlier, having water, having heat, are human rights. And we cannot have people who are low-income suffering as a result of not being able to pay. And so, we know that people are suffering financial stress right now because of inflation and price rises. And so, this is a really important thing, I think, for us to get this done. The Senate bills right now are waiting further action on the Senate floor. And then, we have some House bills too that would establish a structure for household, income-based water billing measures. But those bills also offer debt forgiveness.
David Fair: It's not only access to water, it's the quality of water that we get. Contaminants, like PFAS, lead and agricultural runoff, continue to threaten drinking water systems. What specific policy solutions do you think have the best chance of advancing in Lansing this year?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Well, I don't know about this year, but we have reintroduced our polluter pay. And those bills, in my district, I have a lot of inland lakes, my district extends all the way up to Howell, Michigan, so I have lot of Livingston County as well. And we had, as you all probably remember in 2022, Tribar Technologies in Wixom had 15,000 gallons of untreated wastewater with hexavalent chromium in it that's toxic go into the Huron River, and that went into the sewer system. So, that meant, it was August when they shut everything down, and nobody could go canoeing and on the Huron River. I mean, it was horrible. And in the end, Tribar only had to pay $200,000 in a criminal fine. And I think they have a five-year probation, $20,000 in restitution. And we really need polluter pay legislation. We have put that back in, introduced it again this term, and I'm a cosponsor just to hold polluters accountable by requiring more thorough cleanups, making the information about sites more available, and making it easier for people harmed by pollution to seek justice. I also happen to have, in my district, the one farm in all of Michigan, a cattle farm, that got closed down for PFAS contamination that came from the kind of biosolids he used to fertilize his land that had PFAS in it. So, we know PFAS is a huge problem, and I have legislation. I'm working with other legislators to have a huge PFAS package of bills that we put forward. Mine would specifically help some farmers who have been affected by this problem and help hopefully with giving them some funding to remediate the situation if it's possible.
Lisa Wozniak: So, let me just dig into that polluter pay piece just a little bit more. Here we are on the first Friday of the brand new year. This has been an issue that has been talked about for years and years. Do you think there's actually a chance with State Senator Jeff Irwin and State Representative Jason Morgan really leading on this, right from this listening area, any chance in this year, in 2026, of getting this done
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Yes, I'm hopeful! I always try to be hopeful. That's my attitude is not to be pessimistic and to work as well as you can across the aisle. Obviously we have the Republicans have the majority right now in the House, but I feel like this is an issue when it comes to the environment and when it come to our lakes and our water that it's something that everybody cares a lot about. So, I'm hoping that we can get something done on this and work across the aisle. And Senator Irwin and Representative Morgan are very, very good at kind of doing that, and I think might help us get this legislation moved.
David Fair: Once again, this is 89.1 WEMU and our First Friday Focus on the Environment guest today is 48th District State Representative Jennifer Conlin. Representative, getting legislation passed is always a challenge, but even more so in any election year. And there's a lot of weight being put on this midterm election cycle. Do you expect environmental issues, particularly water quality and utility affordability, to be framed by the candidates and political parties in a manner that brings these issues to the fore?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Very, very much so. I campaign in my swing district very much on the environment because everybody it seems to be a very bipartisan issue. But affordability is also, I hope, a bipartisan issue. And we see more and more of our constituents and Michiganders throughout the state really struggling. And as food prices go up and as their prices for utilities go up and it's all becoming too much. And when you look at housing as well. We know we have a huge problem there, in terms of people getting on that ladder who are young. And I happen to have three children in their twenties and thirtie,s and it's not easy to sort of try to start that grown-up living and buy a house when the prices are as they are. So, affordability will be at the forefront, as well as the environment. Because, again, when I talk to my children, they worry about climate change. They worry about where they should buy something, where they should live, what's going to be a safe place in the future. And between the costs and then the concerns about our climate, it has to be part of the issue. The environment has to a huge part of our discussions on affordability.
Lisa Wozniak: So, with the election year in mind, what concrete steps can Michigan residents take right now to engage their lawmakers in these top tier environmental concerns? What can they do?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: You know, I'm going to tell you. When you write to your representatives and senators, federal and state, it makes a big difference. When I get a lot of letters in, if it's something I've been wondering about, it helps me feel what my constituents really want me to do. Now, obviously, I am a real environmentalist, and I think my voting record shows that. But it makes the big difference still to know I'm supported by those when I take a hard vote, but also, the data center vote was not an easy one to take, and with my caucus going mostly the other way. But in terms of the Republican legislators who, because they have the power right now, writing to them makes a big difference and saying what you're concerned about, in terms of the environment and bills that might be coming their way.
David Fair: We often talk about the polarization of our political lives in the United States of America, and there's quite a bit of evidence toward that end. I'm wondering. Are these environmental concerns perhaps one of the bridges that can bring us together?
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: I'd like to think so. I mean, I am the only Democrat elected. I think there's one township supervisor, but I'm the only elected Democrat in Livingston County. And I know that I'm there in great part because I care about the environment, because it's a big issue. And even up in Howell right now, you're seeing they're having a problem about the data center there and concerned about the water and land use. So, I really do think so when I look at my Republican counterparts and how much they care. You might not be an avid hunter, but hunters do care a lot about the environment and so do our recreational people who are voters and fishermen. And I feel like there's a lot of movement that we could take to try to bring each other together. I've personally been working on a recreational group that brings together all the parks commissioners in Livingston and Washtenaw Counties to connect our biking trails, like the Lakeland trails and the Border-to-Border trail, and they love getting together and discussing how we can environmentally work together more to have people out and enjoying the landscape, which is so beautiful here in Michigan.
David Fair: Representative Conlin, thank you so much for the time and the perspective today! And a Happy New Year to you!
Rep. Jennifer Conlin: Thank you! Happy New Year to you, too!
David Fair: And his 48th District State Representative Jennifer Conlin. The Ann Arbor Democrat is the first guest of 2026 on WEMU's First Friday focus on the environment. My co-host for these monthly get-togethers is Lisa Wozniak. She's executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. And I'll see you in February!
Lisa Wozniak: I look forward to it, David! Happy New Year!
David Fair: I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti.
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