Terri Lynn Land

Terri Lynn Land began her second term as Michigan’s 41st Secretary of State in January 2007.  Her leadership and emphasis on technology have transformed the Department of State into a cutting-edge provider of quality, efficient customer service.  A champion of voting rights and traffic safety, Secretary Land has played key roles in modernizing Michigan’s election process and bolstering the state’s driver’s education program.  She has also demonstrated a strong commitment to saving lives through the promotion of organ donation in the state.

Monday

May 5, 2008

Customer Service

Hi, I’m Terri Lynn Land.  As an elected official, there’s no more rewarding feeling than having helped people.  That’s why I traveled more than 50,000 miles across Michigan over the last five years visiting each of our branch offices at least twice, seeking feedback from customers, employees, and local officials on how we could improve service. 

Thanks in large part to the input we received, we’re achieving many innovations and advancements for the people of Michigan:

• To better meet customer needs, we created SUPER!Centers and PLUS Offices.  They offer enhanced services such as instant titles, driver records, expanded hours and self-service stations that dispense license tabs in minutes.  This project, which involved the consolidation of some branch offices, has allowed the department to provide even more services while meeting budgetary challenges.
  

• We’ve placed self-service stations in more offices, and in locations such as government centers, which improves efficiency by reducing the number of customers needing to come to the counter.  There have been more than 200,000 transactions on the machines since the program began three years ago, each saving valuable time for customers and employees.

• The department offers a growing number of online services to allow people to “skip the trip” to a branch office.  By visiting www.Michigan.gov/sos, customers can renew vehicle and watercraft registrations, file an automotive service complaint, or visit the Michigan Voter Information Center, among other options.  You can even check to see if a certain license plate is available.

  
  
  
  
  

• We continue to upgrade branch office technology.  Now, customers’ basic information can be brought up instantaneously with a swipe of their driver’s license or ID card through a bar code reader.  This saves time, makes transactions faster, and brings the next customer to the counter sooner.  Thanks to a partnership with a Farmington Hills-based company, we’ve also been able to install televisions in many of our offices at no cost to quickly provide crucial information to customers.

• As part of our continuing technology upgrades, our department is in the process of implementing new business procedures and a revolutionary computer infrastructure.  These enhancements will allow us to achieve an exciting level of service that’s more customer focused than ever before.  The new system will combine a customer’s driver, vehicle, and related information into a single consolidated record and will give customers and employees secure access to all the information they need.  It will also improve the department’s ability to conduct business with customers 24/7 by way of additional self-service options. 
  
  

Providing quality customer service must be a priority for government, just as it is for business.  As we seek higher and higher levels of service, I greatly value your comments and ideas If there is something the Department of State could be doing better, or if we could be partnering on a project to better serve Michigan, please click above or give us a call at 1-888-SOS-MICH.

Check back tomorrow to hear Terri’s thoughts on elections.

Tuesday

May 5, 2008

Elections

“God Bless America!”

That’s what a Lansing-area woman without sight shouted in August 2006 after voting for the first time in her life without assistance.

She was able to do so because of the AutoMARK, specially designed voting equipment that has been installed in every polling place in our state.  This technology allows those in the disabled community to mark their ballots independently.  Voters with disabilities can make their selections using a Braille keypad, a foot pedal, or other attachment.  It’s flexible, according to their need.

We can’t get that kind of enthusiasm out of every voter, but we can strive to make our election system, already a national model in many respects, even stronger.  Over the last few years, together with Michigan’s incomparable local election officials, we’ve:

• moved the entire state to an optical scan voting system.  It’s faster and more accurate than the former methods and still leaves a paper trail.  Now everyone is using the same standard ballot.

• implemented Michigan’s Voter ID law.  If voters forget their photo ID or don’t have one, they aren’t prevented from voting.  They just need to fill out an affidavit stating they aren’t in possession of ID.  This law adds another layer of security that protects the integrity of our elections.

• consolidated elections.  Instead of a multitude of elections being held throughout the year, we have efficiently reduced the number of election dates on the calendar to four.  This has streamlined our election process, given it consistency, and made it easier for voters to participate.

• used federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds to help improve local polling place access.  The federal funds paid for facility entrance modifications and other improvements to accommodate voters with disabilities. 

Next on the agenda is to pre-register kids to vote at age 16 when they apply for a driver’s license.  Then, when they turn 18, they’ll be automatically eligible to vote.  Legislation to accomplish this has been introduced in the state House and Senate.

We’re also proposing “super precincts,” electronic poll books and early in-person voting to dramatically enhance the way people vote.  These innovations would bring unprecedented convenience in voting to the more than 7 million registered voters here. 

Many of these proposals can be found in my Election Reform Plan, a roadmap for the future of elections in our state.  Please take a look when you have a moment.

Exciting changes are ahead and we look forward to a very high level of participation in this fall’s exciting presidential election.

Check back tomorrow to hear Terri’s thoughts on ID security.

Wednesday

May 7, 2008

ID Security

A major challenge facing my department is helping ensure the security of our state and nation.  Thwarting terrorism and identity theft is essential to protecting the people of Michigan.

It has been a longstanding objective of the Michigan Department of State to upgrade the security of the driver’s licenses and personal identification cards we issue.  Earlier this year, we finally received the legal clearance to toughen the document requirements for obtaining ID so those individuals who are in this country illegally no longer qualify for driver’s licenses. 

We’ve also been working with legislators to create two types of driver’s licenses in Michigan, and I’m pleased to say the Legislature and governor have given approval to the bulk of the plan at this point.

The new laws create an optional enhanced driver’s license / state ID card that will provide citizens with a more convenient option for cross-border travel than a passport.  The new card will cost less than a passport and can be used to cross back into America from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.   

As you may be aware, beginning in June 2009, the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will require all travelers to produce a passport or other accepted secure document to enter the United States by land.  WHTI has the ability to impede Michigan’s $70-billion-a-year trade relationship with Canada by discouraging people from traveling across the border due to the expense and hassle of obtaining a passport.

To protect our security and our economy, this department is now moving forward on a pilot project with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to produce these voluntary enhanced licenses for our citizens.  We need to do everything we can to thwart terrorists and criminals, while minimizing the impact on our economy and our ability to travel.

The legislative changes we’ve achieved also create an upgraded standard driver’s license / state ID card that will soon be available to legal Michigan residents.  This new card will have improved security features and will be tamper resistant and harder to counterfeit.  This upgraded standard card will offer even greater protection against terrorism and identity theft.

As part of our plan, we were successful in having measures placed on the books that:

• require legal presence in order for someone to be issued a license and strengthen the department’s process for verifying the identity and citizenship of applicants.

• ensure the physical security of locations where driver’s licenses are produced;
  

• subject all persons who have some part in the licensing process to appropriate security clearance requirements; and

• allow us to provide fraudulent document recognition programs to department employees who help issue licenses.

We’ve made great gains but there’s more yet to be done.  We still need the Legislature’s and the governor’s help on some remaining issues to ensure Michigan’s upgraded standard license meets the federal REAL ID Act, which was approved by Congress and the president to strengthen our homeland security against terrorists. 

REAL ID requires states to increase the security of the IDs they issue by the end of 2009.  After that, our old licenses won’t be acceptable for any federal purpose, including boarding domestic airline flights.

Protecting our security and our economy is a great challenge.  It takes constant vigilance, but by working together at the state, local and federal levels, I know we’ll continue to meet it.

Check back tomorrow to hear Terri’s thoughts on organ donation.

Thursday

May 8, 2008

Organ Donation

One of my roles as Michigan’s Secretary of State is to advocate for organ donation.  Along the way, I have witnessed the miracle of the gift of life and the amazing courage and kindness of the people involved in transplants.

Many singers perform “Wind Beneath My Wings,” but it’s Detroit resident Pam Powell’s rendition that I’ll always find the most moving.You wouldn’t guess it today when you hear her strong voice, but Pam once relied on an oxygen tank to breathe.  An auto-immune disorder was causing her body to destroy the lungs she’d used so frequently in her church’s choir.  Pam was able to find her singing voice again after the tragic death of Brad Stone, a 12-year-old Fenton boy, and the decision of his family to donate his organs so that others could live.

Pam became a double-lung recipient in 2000 after a year-long wait on the transplant list.  Now she works tirelessly as an advocate for organ donation, often performing “Wind Beneath My Wings” in honor of the boy who helped her live.  In 2006, she sang at what would have been Brad’s high school graduation ceremony. 

Press play to hear Pam’s beautiful voice.

Last year, 881 lives were saved in Michigan through organ donation from a record 301 donors.  However, about 3,100 people in our state and 100,000 in our nation are waiting to hear if they’ll receive a new organ such as a heart, kidney, liver, or lung.  Unfortunately, 19 people a day die waiting for organs that are always in short supply, according to the federal government.

It’s stories like Pam Powell’s that I’ve heard so often as I’ve traveled throughout our state promoting organ donation in cooperation with Gift of Life Michigan and the Michigan Eye-Bank.  This year, we’re encouraging people to “Show Us Your Heart” and enroll in the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.

You can sign up online or at any Secretary of State branch office.  I’d also ask you to urge those in your respective communities to do so as well.  And if you know someone in Michigan who has made outstanding contributions to the cause of organ donation, please nominate them for our Shining Star Award.

When you register to donate, you’ll receive a heart-logo sticker to put on your driver’s license.  The sticker signifies your wish to be a donor and replaces the former method of filling out the back of your driver’s license.  Enrolling takes just a couple of minutes online.  If you signed up on the registry before 2007, please sign up again to ensure your information is up to date and that you receive your heart sticker.

Please give so that others may live.  “Show Us Your Heart” and join the registry today. 

Friday

May 9, 2008

On the Horizon

As your Secretary of State for the past five years, I’m pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far.  At the Department of State, we’ve made it faster and easier for you to do business with us.

That doesn’t mean we’re ready to call it good.  There are many more goals we’d like to achieve for Michigan.  Under our future plans:

• customers could make address changes, purchase driving records, and schedule hearings with the department online. 

• via computer, they could also subscribe to an automatic payment service for tab renewals, access “real time” campaign finance information, and check for serious licensing and regulatory violations by auto repair facilities and driver training schools.

• businesses could conduct more transactions with us electronically.  This would include physicians and optometrists, who could securely transmit medical evaluation reports directly to the department, allowing us to mail disability parking placards to the homes of drivers with disabilities, saving them the hassle of a trip to a branch office.

• the MIFleet pilot program will be expanded.  In this program, companies with large vehicle fleets will be issued special license plates that allow them to skip the annual chore of putting tabs on all of their vehicles.

• We’ll continue to increase the number of auto dealerships participating in our Dealer Direct program, which allows new car buyers to drive off the lot with their permanent plates and tabs in place.

Also on the horizon, Michigan will be hosting the summer conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Grand Rapids from July 25-29.  This event, which my office is coordinating, promises to be a wonderful opportunity to share some of our innovations (as well as reasons why the Great Lakes State is a great place) with government officials from across the nation.  For registration information or volunteer opportunities, please contact Shana Shroll at shana@terrilynnland.com or click on the above link.

Thank you for this chance to bring you up-to-date on what we’ve been doing and what we will be doing at the Department of State.  I appreciate your leadership and service to your local communities.  Please give us a call at 1-888-SOS-MICH if my office may ever be of assistance.

Check back on Monday to hear from State Representative Ken Horn.